what is art wars?
Minnesota, South Dakota, Ohio and going National
in-the-moment art
Art Wars is a live, in-the-moment art competition where student artists from multiple schools go head-to-head to create their strongest work under pressure. Competitors work within specific categories—drawing, painting, digital art, digital photography, and clay—responding to a surprise prompt. In just ninety minutes, students complete their artwork and conclude by writing an artist statement that explains their concept, process, and creative decisions.
A timed competition
Students register for a category and are placed in a room with 10-15 other students in that same category. They are given a time period in which to do a theme or topic based work of art, all the while being critiqued by the judge in the room.
history of art wars
Art Wars started in Alexandria, MN in the year 2017. Alexandria Technical and Community College was the first venue of an Art Wars competition, having over 50 participants from 7 different schools participate. Art Wars was created for Artists to have fun in competition, form bonds and friendships, and improve artistic skill. It is meant to improve not only the technical skills needed to create good art, but also the thought and purpose behind its creation. Competitors are encouraged to develop soft skills such as public speaking by describing their process and problem solving through the verbal artist statement.