The South Carolina Council on the Holocaust is excited to announce a partnership with Chapman University of Orange County, California to offer an art and writing contest for students in South Carolina.

The Chapman University Holocaust Art and Writing Contest is in its 25th year and offers monetary rewards of up to $400 for students and first place student winners, their parent-guardian, and their teacher will be invited to an expense-paid study trip to Los Angeles, CA!

Additionally there will be $2000 in prizes offered just to SC students who compete as well.

See below for more details on both contests.

SCCH Holocaust Art & Writing Contest

2024 Theme - Answering the Call of Memory: Choosing to Act

Overview

In addition to the Chapman University contest that extends to students throughout the nation, the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust also sponsors its own statewide contest. The South Carolina Council on the Holocaust Art & Writing Contest for 2024 encourages students to engage in deep reflection about the experiences of Holocaust survivors and then engage in creative expression that demonstrates the results of their reflection. Most notably, the theme for this year is “Answering the Call of Memory: Choosing to Act.” You can find more information about the theme and the contest by reading below and going to our website as scholocaustcouncil.org.

Participating students may submit one entry chosen from one of the following categories: art, film, poetry, or prose/essay.

The following prizes will be awarded by grade level:

  • Middle School (Grades 5-8) - $500
  • High School (Grades 9-11) - $500
  • Senior Scholarship (Grade 12) - $1000

Only one award will be given for the best overall project at each level, regardless of the category (art, film, poetry, prose/essay) of the entry. Students may work in groups on an entry, but the prize must be shared among the group members. In addition, winning student entries will be posted on the SC Council on the Holocaust's website.

All entries are submitted digitally through this online submission form due April 15. Specific guidelines and rubrics for each category can be found at scholocaustcouncil.org/studentcontest.

Prompt

  1. Select and view one full-length survivor or rescuer testimony from any of the following:
  2. As you listen to the survivor's or rescuer's testimony, and as you reflect on the stories they tell, write down a specific word, phrase, or sentence that speaks to the inner strength of this individual and the role of connectedness in sustaining strength.
  3. As the person now entrusted with this individual's memory, through your creativity in art, poetry, prose, or film, explore this word, phrase, or sentence as central to the survivor's or rescuer's story or your understanding of the Holocaust.

Art Guidelines

  • Entries must be submitted with this cover sheet.
    • Please do not staple, tape or otherwise attach the cover sheet to the artwork.
  • Entries must reflect genuine engagement with the survivor's or rescuer's testimony in its historical context and constitute a thoughtful and creative response.
  • Entries must be based on a survivor's or rescuer's testimony available from one of the following sources:
    • Entries must be submitted with the artist's statement that includes:
      • Title of the work
      • Name of survivor or rescuer to whose testimony this work is a response
      • Statement of how the work addresses the prompt
      • Statement must not include student or school name and must not exceed 100 words.
      • Acknowledgment of sources - to protect copyright holders, proper citation of all sources is required. Permission for sources that are not public domain must be obtained in writing from copyright holder and submitted with entry.
    • May be only a two-dimensional image on medium no thicker than 3/4" and submission must not exceed 12" x 18".
    • Artwork must not be matted or framed.
    • Fixative spray must be applied to charcoal, pencil, pastel, and chalk art.
    • May include photography, computer-generated images, or may be in charcoal, pencil, pastel, chalk, watercolors, acrylics, or oils. Please note that all images, whether computer, artist, or photo-generated are considered property of the original artist.
    • Renderings of another's work will be disqualified.
    • Entries that do not follow the criteria will be disqualified.
    • All art entries must be postmarked by the contest due date and mailed to the following address:
      • South Carolina Council on the Holocaust
        1 Fernandina Court
        Columbia, SC 29212

Film Guidelines

  • Entries may be submitted using the online submission form.
    • Entries must reflect genuine engagement with the survivor's or rescuer's testimony in its historical context and constitute a thoughtful and creative response.
    • Entries must be based on a survivor's or rescuer's testimony available from one of the following sources:
    • Entries must be submitted with the filmmaker's statement including: Content viewing time may be no longer than three (3) minutes.
      • Title of the work
      • Name of survivor or rescuer to whose testimony this work is a response
      • Statement of how the work addresses the prompt
      • Statement must not include student or school name and must not exceed 100 words.
      • Acknowledgment of sources - to protect copyright holders, proper citation of all sources is required. Permission for sources that are not public domain must be obtained in writing from copyright holder and submitted with entry.
    • Final file size must not exceed 600 MB.
    • Submit film without credits for blind judging. A completed film with credits should be prepared in the event the film is selected for screening.
    • Final films may be submitted using WeTransfer.com, a free file transfer website.
    • To ensure compatibility with MAC and PC, please use either QuickTime or MPEG format.
    • Entries that do not follow the criteria will be disqualified.

Students wishing to use music, photos, video, or other artwork in their films should be aware that these may be protected by U.S. copyright law and therefore require permission from the artists to use them. Purchasing or downloading materials from a website is generally intended for personal and home use only and does not grant the purchaser the right to reproduce, perform, or display copyrighted works publicly. For any copyrighted works appearing in the film, permission must be obtained from the copyright holders and submitted with the entry.

Poetry Guidelines

  • Entries must be submitted using the online submission form.
  • Entries must reflect genuine engagement with the survivor's or rescuer's testimony in its historical context and constitute a thoughtful and creative response.
  • Entries must be based on a survivor's or rescuer's testimony available from one of the following sources: Entries that do not follow the criteria will be disqualified.
  • Entries must be titled.
  • Entries must be word-processed.
  • Entries must not include graphics, drawings or other images. It must be clear that the entry is a poem and not an artwork.
  • Entries must not include reference to student or school name.
  • Students should include the name of the survivor or rescuer about whom the entry is written.
  • Entries may be no more than 30 lines.
  • Entries that do not follow the criteria will be disqualified.

Prose/Essay Guidelines

  • Entries may be submitted using the online submission form.
  • Entries must reflect genuine engagement with the survivor's or rescuer's testimony in its historical context and constitute a thoughtful and creative response.
  • Entries must be based on a survivor's or rescuer's testimony available from one of the following sources: Entries that do not follow the criteria will be disqualified.
  • Entries must be titled.
  • Entries must be word-processed.
  • Entries must not include reference to student or school name.
  • Students should include the name of the survivor or rescuer about whom the entry is written.
  • Entries may be no more than 500 words.
  • Entries that do not follow the criteria will be disqualified

Rubrics

All entries for the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust Art and Writing State Contest will be judged by the SCCH contest committee using the same rubrics as those used for the national Chapman University contest. These rubrics can be found on page 4 of the educator's guide located on the contest website.

While these rubrics will be the guiding measurement used to assess the entries, there will only be one entry chosen as the winner in each division. Therefore, while a student may have the highest scoring entry in one category, it is the highest scoring entry of all categories within a division that will be awarded the top prize. This determination will be made by the SCCH contest committee.