2025 Winners Announced!
We're excited to share the winners of the 2025 Know Your Power civic engagement art contest with you! We hope the talent and creativity of DC's youth challenge you to listen to and observe the city around you while looking to the teens who call this place home for valuable insight on how to create lasting change.
View the 2025 Winners
Know Your Power 2026
This year, submissions for Know Your Power open March 23! Check back here on that date to submit your art, photography, film, music, and writing.
Contest Overview
Art is a powerful tool to share social messages and inspire change. Visual artists like Shepard Fairey, musicians like Beyonce and authors like Mira Jacob have used their creative voices to speak truth to power and raise awareness of the important issues facing us today. Pepco, the DC Public Library Foundation and DC Public Library invite you to find your power and use it to creatively address a topic that is important to you. What change would you like to see in the world? We are calling on youth between the ages of 13 - 19 to use their creative voice to make a difference.
"Esperanza y Realidad" Illustration by Ana, 2024 visual art winner
What are the Contest Rules?
- This contest is open to participants between the ages of 13 and 19.
- You can submit multiple entries in multiple categories.
- Writing can be up to 1,500 words long and be in the format of a poem or short story.
- Photography entries may include 1 - 10 photos that make up a photo story.
- Video entries can be up to 6 minutes long.
- Music should be submitted as an .mp3 and be 1 - 3 minutes in length.
- Your submission must be original work.
What Can I Win?
Prize for Writing: Acer Laptop
Prize for Photo and Film: Canon EOS 4000D
Prize for Visual Art: Wacom CTL4100 Intuos Graphics Drawing Tablet
Prize for Music: Fender Electric Guitar
*All winners will have their work published on the library's website.
