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Imagine No Violence

IMAGINE NO VIOLENCE  IMAGINE NO VIOLENCE

2023-2024's Theme: “The Future Belongs to You.” We invite you to unleash your creativity in promoting a culture of non-violence, unity, and understanding. By celebrating individual greatness, unique visions, and diverse experiences, we foster a stronger collective and a compassionate community. Through your art, you become an advocate of positive change, contributing to a brighter future where empathy and respect prevail. Please join us in shaping a world where love and shared experiences lay the foundation for a more peaceful community.

Congratulations to the grand prize winners of the 2022-2023

Imagine No Violence Art Contest!

Grand Prize Winner
Grand Prize

Natalia Green 12th Grade, Mansfield Summit H.S.

This piece is broadly about my experience of enduring trauma and abuse from those who I loved the most. The piece is entitled "Le Cygne", which means "the swan" in French. I used the symbolism of the swan in this piece because the swan is a universal symbol of purity, beauty, and grace. Enduring sexual and physical abuse caused me to view myself as impure or dirty, and it made me lose every last bit of self-confidence and self-worth I had left. I was isolated from others, a solitary being, so I had to find solace in loneliness. In turn, I looked within myself to get myself to a safe situation, heal myself from the abuses that were committed against me, and find peace and restfulness. The pose the figure is in is reminiscent of a swan sleeping, and the dress is meant to look like ruffled feathers. The red of the dress, however, represents the impurity that I believed was plaguing me, a juxtaposition against the whiteness and purity of the swan. Overall, this piece shows how I was able to recover and shape my life after hardships that set me back greatly. Through this experience, I was able to achieve peace for myself, and spread the message that recovery is attainable for others who have gone through all types of abuse and trauma. This piece also shows my dream of spreading awareness for other victims and being an advocate for mental health for all people, no matter what their situation may be.

Karol Aguila Villareal, 8th Grade, Monnig Middle School

This paper quilling art represents the theme "work of art" by showing the beauty of helping others that are in need, without needing to use violence or cruelty. I decided to use paper quilling because I simply find it so amazing, it is truly a unique art medium and you can easily perform lovely art pieces with a deep message.

HISTORY

The Imagine No Violence campaign was launched with an event held at Bass Hall in November 2001. More than 1,200 high school students gathered at the event, with delegations from each Fort Worth ISD high school reporting on their concepts of "Imagining No Violence". In several follow-up meetings, students developed the idea of promoting nonviolence through the creation of original artwork--thus the Imagine No Violence art contest was born. 

Each school year more than 45,000 Tarrant County area students participate in the contest. Imagine No Violence artwork has reached millions of people through multi-media campaigns promoting nonviolence and offering practical ways for citizens to prevent crime and violence.

WHY IMAGINE NO VIOLENCE

The great Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes developed a vision of free speech as a "marketplace of ideas." According to his theory, while the First Amendment guarantees free speech, even protecting the right to convey destructive expressions, we needn't worry because the truth and value of each expression will always be determined in the "marketplace" of rival ideas.

Unfortunately, nearly a century after Justice Holmes developed his theory, the "marketplace" is inundated with ideas and images that effectively promote violence, particularly to our children and youth. We know that for some of our most vulnerable children, living in our poorest neighborhoods, gangs and violence are an ever-present reality. For these children especially, the relentless glorification of gangs and violence in the movies television shows they watch, the video games they play, the music they listen to, and the Internet sites they visit can have disastrous consequences.

The first step in winning the battle for the hearts and minds of our children and youth is to ensure there are sufficient ideas in the "marketplace" to compete with those that spread violence and hate. That's what Imagine No Violence is all about.
Hundreds of thousands of students have produced artwork promoting a more peaceful community. Participants have represented every race, socioeconomic background and achievement level. Our student artists have employed every implement from pencils to pastels, incorporating themes from the simple to the complex. Our hope and belief is that every Imagine No Violence piece is the result of thoughtful contemplation on the part of the artist.

The influence of ideas produced by our student artists has extended far beyond the participants' own minds. It is our wish that the outstanding artwork contained on this site inspires you to do your part by contributing your own thoughts to the "marketplace of ideas". Help us spread the word that we are committed to building the safest communities in America, Let us not only imagine no violence, let us make it a reality.