Outer Banks Sweep the Beach Trash Art Contest

Name: Outer Banks Sweep the Beach Trash Art Contest
Start: 2025-04-22T13:00:00-04:00
End: 2025-04-22T16:00:00-04:00
Location: Jockey's Ridge State Park

Schedule

Tue Apr 22 2025 at 01:00 pm to 04:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Jockey's Ridge State Park | Nags Head, NC

Kitty Hawk Kites is teaming up with Dare Arts Council to create the Outer Banks ‘Sweep the Beach’ Trash Art Contest! In conjunction with Earth Day, we ask artists to create work from the trash they have collected from our beaches and sounds. After submission, the artwork will be placed on our TrART Walk at Jockey’s Ridge Crossing. Submissions will be placed on (or around) March 30th. Until April 21st, pieces will be adjudicated and voted on for varying prize categories. Select pieces will be collected and moved to Jockey’s Ridge State Park for Earth Fair OBX, April 22nd, where winners will be announced at the Kitty Hawk Kites booth in Jockey’s Ridge State Park parking lot at 3:45 pm.

Prize Categories
Each winner will be awarded a $200 prize for their contributions and artwork. The prize categories will go as follows:
- People’s Choice – This will be awarded to the person who receives the most public votes for their art piece. Public voting will be held until April 21st. We ask that people only vote once.
- Youth Award – Awarded to a submission from an artist aged 12 years or younger
- Best Plastics Art - Plastic makes up the largest portion of marine litter. This award will be given to someone who uses different forms of plastics found on the beach or sound.
It's estimated that 8 million tons of plastic bottles enter the ocean each year and an estimated 437 million to 8.3 billion plastic straws go into our oceans each year.
- Best Litter Art – There are many other forms of litter that invade our beaches and sounds, including cigarette butts, styrofoam, paper goods, and more. This award will be given to someone who uses multiple forms of litter found on the beach.

Judging Criteria
Each category will be scored based on the following criteria:
- Originality/creativity
- Interpretation of waste/sustainability theme
- Material usage
- Relevance to personal and/or the Outer Banks waste

Submission Guidelines
- Please submit your work at our Flagship Store in Nags Head at Jockey’s Ridge Crossing. We will be taking submissions from March 1st until March 30th. We will be capping each category (Litter, Plastics, and Youth) at 10 pieces per category, so please submit as soon as possible!
- Submissions must be able to withstand outdoor climates.
- Along with submission, we ask that artists provide set-up/mounting materials for outdoor set-up.
- Please send in a short description and picture of the correlated artwork to [email protected].
- Mention within your description how many ounces or pounds of trash was collected for forming your piece.
- Also mention if the submission is by an artist aged 12 or younger!
- We ask that there is no usage of hazardous materials due to multiple people handling the art throughout the transportation process! If hazardous materials are used, please place a sealant overtop of them to ensure safety of all who may come in contact with the artwork.
*Please note that artwork is not permitted to be sold at the Earth Day event (at Jockey's Ridge State Park) due to an existing show on site. Artists who do not adhere to these guidelines will be disqualified from the adjudication process.
**Jockey's Ridge State Park officials are not responsible for the moving, or possible damages to artwork. Kitty Hawk Kites representatives will be overseeing the artwork to ensure proper placement, shipment, and security of the artwork submitted.