The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) hosted its 13th annual art competition for all students in Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools world-wide. In total, SAAM received 227 student submissions for the contest from 29 schools located in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Turkey, and the United States
SAAM staff voted on the submissions to select semi-finalists for the Early Elementary (Grades K-2), Later Elementary (Grades 3-5), Middle (Grades 6-8), and High School (Grades 9-12) levels. Winners were selected through a student vote at the participating schools.
SAAM is proud to feature the winning artworks on our website. Below are the images and names of the gold, silver, and bronze award winners from each age group. Please visit our Distance Learning Student Gallery on Flickr, linked below, to see images of all entries.
2025 Theme: Exploring the Senses
What does a day in your life look like? Sound like? Smell like? Taste like? Feel like?
Grades K-2
Gold: Geroen, 1st grade, "Wildflowers", Andre Lucas Elementary School, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, USA
Silver: Ronja, Kindergarten, "Feeling", Wiesbaden Elementary School, Wiesbaden, Germany
Bronze: Isabella, 1st grade, "Hadey the Monster", Kingsolver Elementary School, Fort Knox, Kentucky, USA
Grades 3-5
Gold: Christopher, 5th grade, "Sounds of Nature", E.A. White Elementary School, Fort Benning, Georgia, USA
Silver: Greyson, 4th grade, "The warmth of the sun and the breeze of the ocean", E.A. White Elementary School, Fort Benning, Georgia, USA
Bronze: Kara, 3rd grade, "Riding a horse at the campsite is a feeling of freedom", E.A. White Elementary School, Fort Benning, Georgia, USA, AND Noah, 3rd grade, "Scorpion", Humphreys West Elementary School, USAG Humphreys, South Korea
Grades 6-8
Gold: Hunter, 8th grade, "Feel the Flames", Ankara Elementary High School, Ankara, Turkey
Silver: Alice, 8th grade, "Anxiety Drowns Out the Music", Brussels Unit School, Brussels, Belgium
Bronze: Raylan, 6th grade, "A Kitten and Puppy at 1 Percent Energy... All Senses at Rest", Kessler Elementary School, Fort Stewart, Georgia, USA, AND Liliana, 6th grade, “The Morning Sniff”, Wiesbaden Middle School, Wiesbaden, Germany
Grades 9-12
Gold: Yuina, 10th grade, "Mouse in the Dark", Kubasaki High School, Okinawa, Japan
Silver: Alyah, 10th grade, "Untitled (Hamburger)", Lejeune High School, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, USA, AND Justin, 10th grade, "Yakiniku", Zama Middle High School, Camp Zama, Japan
Bronze: Kacie, 9th grade, "Releasing Spring", Kubasaki High School, Okinawa, Japan
