All students must obtain their parents/guardians permission and be in the 6th to 12th grade to enter.
In recognition of National Human Trafficking Prevention month, Whole Child Leon, a provider of the Open Doors Outreach Network, has partnered with Leon County Schools to raise awareness about child trafficking through a visual arts competition. The goal of the “Expression Not Possession: to End Child Trafficking” art contest is to highlight the importance of self-expression while encouraging students to use their artistic abilities to join the fight to end child trafficking. All artwork should be based on the theme “Expression Not Possession” and can include posters, paintings, sculptures, illustrations and/or drawings (hand-drawn/digital). The phrase “Expression Not Possession” does not need to be included in the artwork; however, the artist(s) must demonstrate what the term means to them through their art.
Must be a student in 6th-12th Grade to enter.
Click Here to review the comprehensive rules/guidelines before submitting you work.
Submission Requirements: Completed Entry Form with Parent Signature and Digital Image of Artwork.
Click Here to download the entry form.
Deadline: Submissions are now closed.
Questions? Please email all questions to: OpenDoors@wholechildleon.org
PLEASE EMAIL THE ENTRY FORM WITH A DIGITAL IMAGE OF YOUR ARTWORK TO: OPENDOORS@WHOLECHILDLEON.ORG
Meet the Judges!
George Gadson
Artist
George Gadson Studios
Self-taught artist George Gadson’s artworks express different spiritual aspects and values of life. His unabated passion for creating translates into exuberant and joyous figurative sculptures, abstracts, photography and more, inspired by his surroundings, people and their environment, and mundane objects of everyday life that often go unnoticed.
Drawing on many sources and ideas for his work, including his personal life story and experiences makes the creative process to be as equally important as the final work. The process allows him to feel, explores, and discovers, the insight, enchantments, and spiritual empowerment that the experience of creating brings.
Gadson seeks to bring to life the forgotten history found in many communities and capture civic memories through creative design works for public spaces. Such efforts aid in rebuilding the tangible and intangible characters of a community, bringing disparate groups together, creating safer neighborhoods, promoting a greater sense of place and belonging, and breathing new life into the “soul” of a community and its residents.
Deborah Foote
President
Voices for Florida
Deborah L. Foote serves as President of Voices for Florida. She brings more than 20 years of senior leadership experience in nonprofit organizations, most recently as Deputy Director of Sierra Club Florida where she focused on government and political affairs. A former New Hampshire State Representative, Ms. Foote was a consultant to a variety of state agencies and nonprofit organizations, most recently for the American Academy of Pediatrics and Oral Health Florida. She also served as executive director of Oral Health Colorado, the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved, and State Legislative Director for the American Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In 2009, Ms. Foote received the Award of Legislative Excellence from the Colorado Public Health Association for her work to improve dental services access for low-income Coloradans.
Ms. Foote received a master’s in public administration from the University of New Hampshire and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Bowdoin College. Currently, she chairs the Tallahassee Animal Shelter Advisory Board and is a member of 100 Women Who Care Tallahassee.
Amanda Karioth Thompson
Assistant Director, Education & Exhibitions Manager
Council on Culture & Arts
Amanda Karioth Thompson is the Assistant Director, Education & Exhibitions Manager of the Council on Culture & Arts (COCA). Amanda serves as a liaison with public agencies, private organizations, and community groups regarding cultural initiatives, arts and heritage programs, and events. She is also responsible for COCA’s Arts Education programs and represents COCA on several advisory boards and committees relating to the arts and education. Additionally, Amanda oversees the Art in Public Places program and she curates a rotating season of exhibitions for both the Artport Gallery and the City Hall Art Galleries. Born and raised in Tallahassee, Amanda attended FSU and earned two bachelor’s degrees in Studio Art and Art Education, and a master’s degree in Art Education. She also holds a K-12 Florida Art Teacher Certification. She is a practicing artist working in glass, ceramics, and a variety of other media.
Yvonne Sherron Smart
Co-Owner
AR Workshop Tallahassee
Yvonne S. Smart is a graphic designer educated at Virginia Tech. Her freelance career landed her in Tallahassee where she spent the majority of her career in marketing and management. Today, she continues to use her artistic talents at the AR Workshop at Betton Place, where she is a co-owner. When not teaching do-it-yourself techniques to young and old, she loves photography, gardening and travel.
Robin Hassler Thompson, M.A., J.D.
Executive Director
The Survive and Thrive Advocacy Center
Robin Hassler Thompson, M.A., J.D., is the Executive Director of the Survive and Thrive Advocacy Center (STAC), an anti-trafficking non-profit she co-founded in 2015. She co-chairs the Big Bend Coalition Against Human Trafficking and its Social Services Committee as well as works with FSU’s Center for the Advancement of Human Rights. In 2001 she traveled to Bangladesh on a U.S. State Department mission, which included a visit to a trafficking rescue shelter in Dhaka. This so inspired her work that since, she has directed many anti-trafficking projects, trains extensively, and has authored publications and curricula, including a course for the Florida Medical Association.