We are excited to announce the New Jersey 4-H Animal Art Contest – FREE and open to all NJ 4-H members in grades K-13! While all artwork must be animal-themed, you do NOT need to be enrolled in that particular animal project to enter art in that department. You don’t even need to have an animal project to enter the contest, as long as you are a registered NJ 4-H member with animal-themed artwork that you created since September 1, 2020. Join the fun and showcase your talent! Entries are due April 12.
Share your artistic talents and love of animals through the New Jersey 4-H Animal Art Contest!
Departments
The NJ 4-H Animal Art Contest is actually five art contests – you may enter your animal-themed artwork in the following departments. Each department will recognize their own division winners and best of show recipients:
- Dogs
- Equine
- Livestock (beef, dairy, goats, sheep, and swine)
- Small Animals (rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, herpetology, and poultry)
- Other Species (any animal not featured in the other departments – including alpacas, llamas, cats, and wildlife)
Divisions and Classes
In each of the above departments, there are four divisions: (1) 2-D Art (includes paintings, drawings, sketches using a variety of media), (2) 3-D Art (includes sculptures and crafts using any type of media, including but not limited to clay, foam, fiber, fabric, wood, model magic, etc.), (3) Photography (includes five classes – Action, B/W or Sepia, Digital Darkroom, Still Life, Storyboard) and (4) Videos (includes short creative videos of animals, taken by you).
Classes in each of the above divisions within each department will be organized by grade.
- Cloverbud (grades K-3)
- Junior (grades 4-8)
- Senior (grades 9-13)
In each of the departments, members may enter two art projects in each class. For example, a member may enter two projects in 2-D Art, two projects in 3-D Art, two projects in each of the five Photography classes, and two projects in Videos – for each department.
Awards
Each participant will receive feedback from our judges. All Cloverbuds will be recognized with a participation ribbon. Those in the Junior (grades 4-8) and Senior (grades 9-13) classes will receive ribbons using the Danish system (Excellent, Very Good, Good, etc.).
In addition, $25 gift cards to Shop 4-H will be awarded to the exhibitor earning Best in Show recognition in each of the five departments for both the Juniors (grades 4-8) and Seniors (grades 9-13). All Best in Division winners for both the Juniors (grades 4-8) and Seniors (grades 9-13) will receive a rosette.
Exhibit Catalog and Registration
For more details, including rules, class descriptions, registration, and project entry instructions, visit our Exhibit Catalog. Entries are due no later than April 12 at https://nj4haac.fairentry.com.
Questions may be directed to our departmental superintendents:
- Dogs – Kelly Dziak at dziak@njaes.rutgers.edu.
- Equine – Lillian Schupe and Carol Ward at ward@njaes.rutgers.edu.
- Livestock (beef, dairy, goats, sheep, and swine) – Chad Ripberger at ripberger@njaes.rutgers.edu.
- Small Animals (rabbits, herpetology, poultry, and little critters) – Jeannette Rea-Keywood at keywood@njaes.rutgers.edu.
- Other Species (alpacas, llamas, cats, wildlife, and other) – Amelia Valente at amelia.valente@njaes.rutgers.edu.
Take a look at the Exhibit Catalog today! Get creative and have fun – we are looking forward to showcasing your talent!