The city of Santa Clarita, in partnership with the Santa Clarita Sister Cities Program, invites local students to submit artwork, poetry, essays and creative writing, photographs or music for the 2022 Young Artists and Authors Showcase.

To qualify, students must be between 13 and 18-years-old by April 1, 2022. Interested teens may submit one entry per category, along with a completed entry form, at SantaClaritaSisterCities.org. Guidelines and criteria for each category are also outlined on the website.  Online submissions are due to Santa Clarita Sister Cities by Tuesday, March 15, 2022.

The theme of the 2022 contest is “Generation Rescue: Sustainable Water for All,” which asks students to highlight the importance of climate change, its impact on water resources in local and global communities and how youth are helping address this important global issue. The top entries from Santa Clarita will be submitted to Sister Cities International in Washington, D.C. to compete with submissions from other Sister Cities organizations across the globe for the grand prize of $1,000 in each category.

Santa Clarita students have a track record of success in this contest. In 2021, a poem by Valencia High School student Brandon Cho was selected by Sister Cities International as the National 2nd Place Winner. Additionally, original music by Canyon High School student Julios De Jesus was chosen as a National 3rd Place Winner in the showcase.

Santa Clarita Sister Cities is a local organization whose mission is to foster international partnerships between the city of Santa Clarita and cities abroad to promote mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation through reciprocal youth, cultural, educational, professional, humanitarian and economic programs and exchanges. It is a mission of Sisters Cities International, a non-profit organization created by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to foster partnerships among communities around the globe and promote peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation – one individual, one community at a time. The city of Santa Clarita has international Sister Cities in Tena, Ecuador and Sariaya, Philippines.

For more information on the Young Artists and Authors Showcase and to submit an entry, visit SantaClaritaSisterCities.org. Please contact Tess Simgen at (661) 250-3726 or Elena Galvez at (661) 255-4911, or email SisterCities@santa-clarita.com with any questions.