I Strengthen My Nation Challenge: Artistic Expressions of Resilience to Stand Against Substance Misuse - Rules and Requirements

Important Dates:

  • Submission Start: April 8th, 2021: 12:00 AM ET
  • Submission End: July 7th, 2021 11:59 PM ET (Round One) and December 10th, 2021 11:59 PM ET (Round Two)
  • Winners Announced: July 30th, 2021 (Round One) and March, 2022 (Round Two)

Eligibility:

  • The Challenge is open to all United States citizens or permanent residents 14 to 25 years of age, ideally those with a deep knowledge of American Indian and Alaska Native culture. All participants under 18 years old at the time of submission must have signed permission from a parent or legal guardian to be considered.
  • Acceptable artwork includes, but is not limited to visual, literary, multimedia, and performance art.
  • Participants may be individuals, groups of individuals assembled for the purpose of the Challenge, or existing entities (youth councils, non-profit organizations, student councils, etc.).
  • Groups must consist of AT LEAST TWO (2) or more members (the designated group leader plus one other) and clearly show how each group member contributed to the project to qualify. Group submissions are most appropriate for performance art such as dance, theatre, and music. We encourage you to consider virtual options that support social distancing during COVID-19.

How to Enter:

Participants must send an email to NIDAAIANArtChallenge@nida.nih.gov using the subject line “AI/AN Art Challenge [Group or Individual] Entry” with the following:

  1. A completed individual entry form/waiver and group entry form (if applicable)
  2. A written or video response to the provided prompt below
  3. An attachment of their artwork, if digital, or a high-quality photo of their original piece
    • Whenever possible, original artwork should be mailed to the address below

High quality files, such as videos or photos, that are too large to be sent via email should be sent using a Box account (create a free account here). Once the free account is created and the video or large image is uploaded, click on "Share to the right of your file, enter the e-mail address murrayjl@nih.gov and click "Send" to share the file.

Original works of art (beading, paintings, drawings, etc.) should be mailed to:

National Institute on Drug Abuse
Re: AI/AN Art Challenge
C/O NIH Mail Center
3WFN MSC 6024
16071 Industrial Dr
Gaithersburg, MD 20892*
*(Use 20892 for U.S. Postal Service, 20877 for UPS and FedEx)

If you submit by the Round One submission date of July 7th, your project will be considered in round one of judging. If you are not selected for a prize in round one, your submission will still be considered in round two of judging unless you send an email to NIDAAIANComChallenge@nida.nih.gov stating you do not want to be considered in round two of judging. 

Submission Requirements:

  1. Original work of art. Projects may include but are not limited to traditional and/or non-traditional painting, sketch, print, dance, music, theater, sculpting, beadwork, written work, and carving. It is preferred that you mail the physical piece of art, but you may also send a photo or video of the piece instead. Digital art submissions should be sent in a photo, video, or audio clip that includes a written title.
    • Video and audio clips should not exceed 5 minutes and must be sent via Box (create a free account here)
    • Written submissions (poetry, essays, short stories, etc.) should not exceed 5000 words.
  2. Written or video response. In 500 words or less (written) OR approximately 30 seconds (video), explain 1) your knowledge of and/or connection to AI/AN culture, and 2) how your artwork represents resiliency against substance misuse.
    • Type and submit your response in a PDF or word document and include your name and the title of your original art OR attach your video as a file with the rest of your email submission.
  3. Individual entry form/contest waiver. All participants MUST submit an individual entry form/waiver, including those participating in a group. 
  4. Group entry form/contest waiver, if applicable. Each group must submit ONE group entry form per art submission in addition to individual entry forms (see Requirement #3). 

Rules for Participation:

  1. LIMIT: ONE (1) ENTRY PER PARTICIPANT PER CATEGORY. Participants may be an applicant on ONE (1) individual and ONE (1) group art submission.
  2. NIDA is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, or misdirected entries, which will be disqualified.
  3. To be eligible to win a prize under this Challenge, a Participant (whether participating as an individual or in a group of individuals) —
    1. Shall have complied with all the requirements set forth in this Challenge announcement and submission requirements.
    2. Shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. However, non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents can participate as a member of a team that otherwise satisfies the eligibility criteria. Non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents are not eligible to win a monetary prize (in whole or in part). Their participation as part of a winning team, if applicable, may be otherwise recognized when the winners are announced.
    3. Shall not be a Federal entity or federal employee acting within the scope of their employment.
    4. Shall not be an employee of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (or any other component of HHS) acting in their personal capacity.
    5. Who is employed by a federal agency or entity other than HHS (or any component of HHS), should consult with an agency ethics official to determine whether the Federal ethics rules will limit or prohibit the acceptance of a prize under this Challenge;
    6. Shall not be a judge of the Challenge, or any other party involved with the design, production, execution, or distribution of the Challenge or the immediate family of such a party (i.e., spouse, parent, stepparent, child, or step-child).
    7. Shall be between 14 and 25 years of age at the time of submission.
  4. Federal grantees may not use federal funds from a grant award to develop their Challenge submissions or to fund efforts in support of their Challenge submissions.
  5. Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract to develop their Challenge submissions or to fund efforts in support of their Challenge submissions.
  6. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether participating as an individual, or in a group of individuals) warrants that he or she is the sole author or owner of, or has the right to use, any copyrightable works that the challenge submission comprises, and that the challenge submission does not infringe any copyright or any other rights of any third party of which the Participant is aware. Proof of the right to use copyrighted material must be submitted.
  7. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether participating as an individual, or in a group of individuals) agrees to assume any and all risks and waive claims against the Federal government and its related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from participation in this Challenge, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise. Additionally, by submitting an entry, each Participant releases the NPAIHB and its agents and employees from all claims, demands, and liabilities in connection with all rules listed herein. 
  8. Based on the subject matter of the Challenge, the type of work that it will possibly require, as well as an analysis of the likelihood of any claims for death, bodily injury, property damage, or loss potentially resulting from Challenge participation, no Participant (whether participating as an individual, or in a group of individuals) participating in the Challenge is required to obtain liability insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility in order to participate in this Challenge.
  9. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether participating as an individual, or in a group of individuals) agrees to indemnify the Federal government against third party claims for damages arising from or related to Challenge activities.
  10. A Participant (whether participating as an individual, or in a group of individuals) shall not be deemed ineligible because the Participant used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal employees during the Challenge if the facilities and employees are made available to all Participants participating in the Challenge on an equitable basis.
  11. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether participating as an individual, or in a group of individuals) grants to the NIH an irrevocable, paid-up, royalty-free nonexclusive worldwide license to reproduce, publish, post, link to, share, and display publicly the submission on the web or elsewhere, and a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license to practice, or have practiced for or on its behalf, the solution throughout the world. Each Participant will retain all other intellectual property rights in their submissions, as applicable. To participate in the Challenge, each Participant must warrant that there are no legal obstacles to providing the above-referenced nonexclusive licenses of the Participant’s rights to the federal government. To receive an award, Participants will not be required to transfer their intellectual property rights to NIH, but Participants must grant to the federal government the nonexclusive licenses recited herein.
  12. Each Participant (whether participating as an individual, or in a group of individuals) agrees to follow all applicable Local, State, and Federal laws, regulations, and policies.
  13. Each Participant (whether participating as an individual, or in a group of individuals) participating in this Challenge must comply with all terms and conditions of these rules, and participation in this Challenge constitutes each such Participant’s full and unconditional agreement to abide by these rules. Winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements herein.
  14. As a condition for winning a cash prize in this Challenge, each Participant (whether participating as an individual, or in a group of individuals) that has been selected as a winner must complete and submit all requested winner verification and payment documents to NIH/NIDA following formal notification. Failure to return all required verification documents by the date specified in the notification may be a basis for disqualification of a cash prize winning submission.
  15. Each Participant under 18 years of age MUST have signed permission by a parent or legal guardian to participate in the Challenge.
  16. Each individual participating solo and individual participating as a group leader under 18 years of age at the time of submission MUST have a parent or legal guardian with a bank account to accept a cash prize on their behalf if awarded prize funds.
  17. Each Participant (whether participating as an individual, or in a group of individuals) participating in this challenge must comply with all terms and conditions of these rules, and participation in this challenge constitutes each such participant’s full and unconditional agreement to abide by these rules. Winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements herein.

Disqualification:

Submissions may be disqualified for plagiarism, falsification of any information submitted, use of copyrighted material without permission, and use of profanity, violent images, or nudity. Submissions that are lost, late, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, or misdirected, will also be disqualified.