Writing Environment Art and design
Ocean Awareness Contest
Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Contest
A free international contest accepting art, writing, film, music and interactive media on a yearly ocean and climate theme.
Run by Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs
Key facts
- Eligible grades
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Not confirmed. Check the organiser's rules before entering.Bow Seat sets divisions by age, not grade, though middle or high school enrolment is required.
- Official divisions
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Junior division ages 11 to 14 and Senior 15 to 18, judged separately across seven categories.
Based on the organiser's own divisions.
- Eligible ages
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Ages 11 to 18, enrolled in middle or high school or the homeschool equivalent. Junior Division is ages 11 to 14 and Senior Division ages 15 to 18, based on your age at the time of entry.
Students who have started college or university are not eligible, but a high school student dual-enrolled in college classes is. A grade 12 student who graduates during the contest year remains eligible. Students turning 11 during the school year qualify.Source, checked 2026-09-02
- Individual or team
- Individual or team · Individual, or a group, class or club of unlimited size. A group needs one group leader as contact and all member names listed, and all members must meet the age requirement. Award money is split evenly among group members, and the group enters the division of its leader.
- Where it runs
- Online · International
- Entry cost
- FreeThere is no fee to enter.
- Registration deadline
- Set locally, not published as a single national date The 2027 deadline is not yet published; the 2027 theme was due to be announced in September 2026. For reference, the 2026 contest closed 8 June 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern, and the platform closes automatically at the deadline. One scholarship aggregator lists 8 June 2027, which is an extrapolation rather than a published date.
- Competition dates
- Submissions close in June; winners are announced in late November.
- Difficulty
- Some preparation neededYou will want a few weeks of targeted practice. Most motivated students place respectably.
- Prizes
- Scholarship awards of up to $1,000, with five prizes awarded in each of the Junior and Senior Divisions. Winners also gain exhibition, publication and online gallery opportunities, and all participants receive a certificate.Cash awards for winners and runners-up in each medium and age division, plus publication in the online gallery. Amounts vary by year; confirm on the official site.
What Ocean Awareness Contest is
The Ocean Awareness Contest invites students aged 11 to 18 worldwide to respond creatively to an annual theme about the ocean and climate. Uniquely among the competitions in this directory, it accepts work in almost any medium: visual art, poetry and prose, film, music and performance, and interactive media. Entry is free, and it awards cash prizes across every category and age division.
How the competition works
Seven categories: Visual Art Handcrafted, Visual Art Digital, Creative Writing, Film, Interactive and Multimedia, Performing Arts Music and Dance, and Poetry and Spoken Word. Work must respond to the annual theme, which changes each year, and judging is based on how well it addresses that theme. Submission is through Bow Seat's online system only; email and physical mail are not accepted. Entries previously submitted to the contest are not considered again.
Eligibility notes
Open worldwide. Junior and senior divisions separate younger and older entrants. Students enter directly without school involvement.
How to register
- Read the current year's theme and the supporting research material Bow Seat publishes with it.
- Choose your medium. Visual art, writing, film, music and interactive media are all accepted.
- Create the work and write a short artist statement explaining how it responds to the theme. The statement is genuinely part of the judging.
- Submit online before the deadline.
What skills you need
- Creative work in any medium
- Research into ocean and climate issues
- Writing an artist statement
- Connecting science to creative expression
Recommended resources
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Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Contest
Theme, rules, deadlines, categories and winners' gallery.
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Bow Seat research and resources
Free background material on the annual theme, which the contest expects entrants to engage with.
Past problems and materials
Only materials the organiser or an authorised archive publishes openly are listed here.
- Winners gallery
Every past winning entry is published free in an online gallery across all media.
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of work are accepted?
Visual art, poetry and prose, film, music and performance, and interactive media. It is one of the very few competitions where a student can enter in whichever medium they are actually strongest in.
Does the artist statement matter?
Yes. Judges assess how the work responds to the theme and how well you understand the underlying issue, so the statement carries real weight alongside the work itself.
Reviews, tips and resources from other students
Posts are public. Do not share your full name, school, address or contact details.
Something out of date?
If a deadline, fee or eligibility rule on this page no longer matches the official site, flag it and it goes into the review queue.
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