Indigenous Pollinator Protectors & Garden Challenges for Northern Remote Manitoba First Nation Communities  

Pollinators Success Stories Art Contest 

CIER invites all Indigenous artists and creators to participate in the 2023 “Pollinator Success Stories” Art Contest. The contest is designed to educate youth on why pollinators matter and celebrate pollinator success stories within the community.  

 Although we may not always see them at work, pollinators affect our lives positively. They help flowers reproduce, providing us with clean air and the food we consume and surrounding us with beauty. Due to humans and climate change, pollinators are in great danger. There are so many ways every one of us can help protect pollinators. We can start today by preserving and creating natural spaces and gardens filled with native plants; we can generate nesting areas, avoid using pesticides and chemicals, and reduce our overall carbon footprint. Not only will this help support our pollinators and protect our food supply, but it will also help heal our planet and ourselves.    

Artists across Canada of all ages are invited to submit paintings, drawings, garden designs/layouts, sculptures, photography, or any piece of original art that celebrates pollinator success stories and their habitats within the community. Examples of pollinators and their habitats include subjects like bees, beetles, wasps, flies, birds, butterflies, moths, other pollinators, native plants, and pollinator gardens.  

Mother Earth nurtures and sustains all forms of life, from the land, air, water, plants, and animals.  She provides us with everything we need to survive and guides us toward sacred teachings such as wisdom, humility and respect. Every living being on Earth is connected; we are all her children. We must take care of Mother Earth and respect her many gifts, ensuring a healthy planet for the next Seven generations.   

 Pollinators are necessary for the Earth’s ecosystem, and the art contest celebrates the relationship that is fostered between pollinator beings, plant beings, and human beings.    

Artists across Canada of all ages are invited to submit paintings, drawings, garden designs/layouts, sculptures, photography, or any piece of original art that celebrates pollinator success stories and their habitats within the community. Examples of pollinators and their habitats include subjects like bees, beetles, wasps, flies, birds, butterflies, moths, other pollinators, native plants, and pollinator gardens.   

 Submissions will be used to illustrate a photo book that will be designed for the community and digitally distributed nationally to other First Nations and pollinator protector partners.   

 Artists are encouraged to submit art for consideration following the guidelines below.    

Rules  

  • All ages are invited to participate. Parental/Guardian consent is required for release if under 18 years old.    
  • All art must be original.  
  • Any size or format is accepted.    
  • Each artist can submit up to three pieces in total.    

  Submission Guidelines  

  • Submissions should include photo(s) or digital scan(s) of the art piece.  
  • Entry form to be completed along with each submission (mandatory).  

Awards

18 Years or younger:

First Prize: $300 / Second Prize: $200 / Third Prize: $100

Adults:

First Prize: $300 / Second Prize: $200 / Third Prize: $100

Elders:

First Prize: $300 / Second Prize: $200 / Third Prize: $100

If you have questions about this contest, you can e-mail Emily Hoppe at [email protected].

The contest is now closed. The deadline to submit was September 5, 2023. 

RESOURCES: Submission Guidelines

Congratulations to all the contest winners! Thank you to everyone who entered the contest. View the winning entries here.

The awards are sponsored by The Donner Foundation.