The 2024 Department of the Air Force Art Contest opened March 1 and runs through April 30.

Any authorized patrons of DAF morale, welfare and recreation programs and facilities – beginning at age six – can participate in the contest.

Following the success of last year’s introduction of three-dimensional art, this year’s contest, managed by the Air Force Services Center, again includes both 2D and 3D works of art.

“We’re excited to have 3D art be a part of our annual art contest,” said Abbie Pollard, AFSVC Community Programs team lead. 

With 3D art, the contest now includes items such as hand-made sculptures, basket weaving, jewelry, pottery and quilting, as long as it’s three dimensional.

For 2D art, artists can create submissions in oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel, mixed media, gouache, egg tempera, pen and ink, charcoal, colored pencil, scratch board, markers, and metal point. Digital art isn’t included in the contest.

Artists can submit one or two photos of their entry at https://forcesupport.awardsplatform.com no later than April 30 at 11:59 p.m. CDT.

“This is a great opportunity for our Air Force and Space Force families to showcase a talent that reflects the beauty of their creativity,” said Naybu Fullman, AFSVC art contest program manager.

“Art increases social interaction, allows for open conversations and expressions of all types of topics, creating a bridge of understanding between diverse groups,” Pollard said. “It opens a space for people to feel confident in sharing who they are and expressing their personality. 

After the competition closes, a panel of judges will look for impact, creativity and technical expertise when deciding the winners in each of these categories: Adult novice and adult accomplished for those 18 and older at the time of entry.  Adult novice category is for new or inexperienced artists while accomplished is for those with knowledge based on education, training, experience, or those who operate as professional artists. Youth categories, based on the age of the artist at the time of submission, are ages 6-8, pre-teens ages 9-12 and teens ages 13-17.

AFSVC will announce the top three winners in each category this summer.