Three weeks to submit! — Celebrate the Stories of Unsung Heroes!

Submitted Story

3 hours ago

The annual competition is free to enter and open to all students in grades 6-12. Students begin their ARTEFFECT projects by selecting an Unsung Hero whose story they find inspiring. Unsung Heroes are role models, largely unrecognized by society, who demonstrated extraordinary heroic traits and took actions in service to others that made a positive and profound impact on the course of history.

Students can use the interactive Directory, Timeline, Role Models, and Pictographs to explore over 150 Unsung Heroes and select an approved subject for creating an ARTEFFECT competition submission.

Submissions are due April 21, 2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

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2026 ARTEFFECT Competition
Award Categories

The 2026 ARTEFFECT Competition offers over $35,000 in financial prizes across the Top Awards, Spotlight Prizes and Certificates of Excellence.

In 2025, ARTEFFECT awarded 34 prizes to middle and high school students. Browse previous competition

award-winners and finalists and learn about the multiple prizes.

Download Prize Categories Poster

2026 ARTEFFECT Competition
Certificate of Participation

Making a complete submission to the 2026 ARTEFFECT Competition is an achievement unto itself! ARTEFFECT honors the teaching and learning of all participating students with a Certificate of Participation.

Upon submitting a project to the competition, a participant will receive a confirmation email that includes a link to the Certificate of Participation that they can complete.

If you would like to request a completed Certificate of Participation for yourself or on behalf of your student(s), please email arteffect@lowellmilken.org upon completion of your submission.

PRO TIP: Get ready to submit! Access the 10-Step Submission Guide to submit projects for the 2026 ARTEFFECT competition.

Download ARTEFFECT Competition Submission Guide

Ambassadors in Action!

Meet our three 2024-2025 Ambassadors who are social studies teachers from Jericho, New York! Brian Dussel and Sarah Espinal teach at Jericho High School and James Lawlor teaches at Jericho Middle School.

Each ARTEFFECT Ambassador culminates their visual arts online fellowship with a capstone project that brings the inspiring stories of the LMC Unsung Heroes into their classrooms and communities. Here is an excerpt from James’ Capstone Project report:

“By learning about the unsung hero, students could truly understand the impact that was made and find inspiration for their artwork. By researching and selecting unsung heroes, students gained an understanding of the diverse ways in which individuals have contributed to social justice, equality, and progress. This deeper knowledge encouraged critical thinking about who gets recognized in history and why, and the value of acknowledging the contributions of lesser-known individuals..”

Congratulations to Brian, Sarah, James and their students at Jericho Middle School and Jericho High School for multiple years of incredible and award-winning ARTEFFECT projects!