2021 Contest Details

Are you an emerging Indigenous artist, between 15 and 25 years old, with a story to tell? Submit a design that expresses your identity, and the MOA Shop will help share it with the world. The winning artwork will be printed on a t-shirt and sold and promoted exclusively through the MOA Shop for one year. The winner will receive both a $250 prize and royalties from every sale.

The submission deadline has been extended to April 30th, 2021. The contest is juried by a selection of Museum of Anthropology staff and the winner is announced by June 2021. We look forward to receiving your artwork!

Please send all submissions and any questions to shoptshirt@moa.ubc.ca.

Eligibility

Any individual 15 to 25 years of age who identifies as Indigenous, Aboriginal, First Nations, Inuit, or Métis. International submissions are welcome.

Inspiration

• • Submit an artwork that visually expresses your story.
• • What do terms like Indigenous, Aboriginal, First Nations, Inuit, or Métis mean to you?
• • What symbols inspire your sense of personal identity and culture?

Rules + Guidelines

• • Artwork may be from the artist’s pre-existing work, and does not need to be expressly made for the purposes of this contest.
• • Artwork may use a maximum of two colours, and must be easily visible on a white or light-coloured background. Artists are encouraged to send completed works with the design’s intended colours.
• • Artwork must fit on the front of the t-shirt (no wrap-around, sleeve, or back designs).
• • Artwork must be submitted with file extension .ai, .eps, .pdf, .fxg, or .svg.
• • Two entries maximum per person.
• • Entries from artists who have submitted in previous years are welcomed.
• • Submission checklist:
  • • Artwork submission(s)
  • • Completed entry form found here.
  • •Artist biography (approx. 250 words)

Details

Artists retain full copyright of any submitted entries. The winning artwork will be licensed by the MOA Shop for one year, and the artist is free to license or sell their winning artwork to other parties. Profits from the sale of t-shirts with the winning design goes towards MOA’s public programs, community engagement initiatives, and educational outreach.

The MOA Shop collaborates with the winning artist to provide production and technical support, as needed, and to tailor their artist biography and statement for promotional materials.

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Past Contest Winners

2020 – Coral Shaughnessy-Moon, Ha̱yulis tła̱n’s ma̱lkwa̱lał (We Will Always Remember) 

Coral Shaughnessy-Moon’s contemporary line drawing is meant to be “understood and equal to all Indigenous/non-Indigenous people,” and hopes to raise awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People. Read more here.

 

2019 – Maka Monture Päki, Not Invisible (co-winner)

Maka Monture Päki’s powerful piece Not Invisible depicts a female guardian with a labret piercing and healing hands, in honour of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Read more here.

 

2019 – John Velten, Hummingbird (co-winner)

Hummingbird embodies “the flourishing and light-hearted take” the artist has toward “learning more about who I am and where we reside.” He sees artwork as a way to positively impact and serve his community, with the intention of reaching broad audiences. Read more here.

 

2018 – Sarah Jim, Orca Ontology 

Orcas are protectors of the sea and native creatures to the Northwest Coast. Jim’s circular formation of killer whales depicts the delicate balance of life, and the duality of her design symbolizes the even distribution of the Salish Sea between animals and people.

 

2017 – Maya McKibbin, The Black Snake

The Black Snake illustrates the prophecy of the Lakota, that when the black snake comes, the world as we know it would end. McKibbin connects this prophecy to the Dakota Access Pipeline, in hopes that this design can raise awareness, while promoting hope and unity.

 

2016 – Danika Naccarella, Touching Spirit

This design is inspired by an old house front in Bella Coola. It represents a human figure touching the ancestral spirit, which is expressed by the red circle. Naccarella’s design emphasizes the importance of connecting with one’s ancestors to remember their teaching and triumphs.

 

2015 – Alison Marks (née Bremner), How Raven Accidentally Wiped Out the Dinosaurs

How Raven Accidentally Wiped Out the Dinosaurs tells the tale of how one of Raven’s schemes elsewhere in the cosmos backfired, sending him smashing into earth—obliterating prehistoric life as it was then, and ultimately clearing the way for human civilization.

 

2014 – Alison Marks (née Bremner), Live Long and Potlatch

Live Long and Potlatch depicts a traditional hand making a familiar gesture. The design is a nod to the media and technology-filled world we live in today. Marks hopes that the humourous design will make First Nations culture accessible to youth.