Snohomish County PUD is accepting entries for its student art and photography contests until Wednesday, April 20 at 5 p.m. All students in grades K-12 who live in Snohomish County or on Camano Island are eligible to enter the art contest and the high school photography contest is open to all students in grades 9-12 from those areas.

This year’s theme for both competitions is “Bringing Joy to our Communities.”

Participants in the art contest are invited to use their artistic talents to design a poster highlighting what they believe to be the most important electrical appliance or device ever invented.

“Inventors have been dreaming up electrical devices for centuries,” the contest’s webpage notes. “Electronics can be life savers or time savers, and some can even provide comfort or entertainment. We want you to think about the electrical appliances and devices many of us use every day. What do you think is the most important one?”

Participants in the photography contest are invited to submit a photo that they believe will lift the spirits of their community members.

Up to 12 entries will be selected from each competition, with each winner receiving $75. All decisions made by the judges are final and winners will be notified by May 18.

Art contest entries will be judged on their creativity, content, clarity and originality related to this year’s theme. Artwork must be an original design created by students with no outside help and only one submission is allowed per student. It may be hand-drawn, computer-generated, and/or created with photograph(s), or even a combination. Any medium such as crayons, colored pencils, markers, paints/watercolors, ink, computer graphics, or photography is acceptable, but stick-on letters, glitter, and stickers are not permitted. In addition, the artwork submitted must not contain copyrighted images, photographs, and/or slogans

Photography contest entries will be judged on how well the photo illustrates the theme along with their artistic merit and technical quality. Photos must be taken by high school students with no outside help and may not include copyrighted content. All photos must be in the landscape/horizontal orientation and only one photo submission is allowed per student. Organizers note that multiple small photos printed on one sheet or in one digital file are not allowed.

Submitted materials will not be returned and become the property of Snohomish County PUD. By submitting an image, students automatically give the utility company permission and rights to display, post, use and store the image along with their name as artist/photographer indefinitely in any media without notification or charge. Photographers retain ownership of all copyrights.

Students who choose to photograph art and then submit it electronically are encouraged to keep their original artwork until the winners are announced on May 18 as the PUD may need to collect the original pieces from winning entries for use in its calendar or on social media.

Artwork and photography may be submitted electronically or by mail with a completed registration form. Additional rules criteria and submission information along with ideas for getting started for the student art contest are available here. More submission information and rules criteria for the high school photography contest can be viewed here.