IMAGINE NO VIOLENCE
Congratulations to the grand prize winners of the 2024-2025
Imagine No Violence Art Contest!
Penelope Diamantopoulos
Fort Worth Independent School District-High School
"Painted Stars"
From a young age, my mother, an art teacher, has instilled in me a respect for art, a world that blew my mind away. It was for a long time a special language for us, and I strived for years to be the best I could. She consistently supported this seemingly frivolous hobby of mine, until, over time, habits of effort and love combined translated into other areas of my life. The theme for this year was "find your spark." No matter where the future takes me, I don’t need to wish on a star. I have the ability and determination from years of pursuing my artistic journey to make my own wishes a reality with only a brush. My mother never told me to reach for the stars, but she did teach me to draw my own. In my small business, my family, my school; I hope my spark, my painted stars, continue to show the world what art has given to me so we can shine together.
Hein Daisy Van
Arlington Independent School District-Middle School
"Shine Like a Star"
My artwork is connected to the theme: “Find your spark: Shine together” because it makes me feel motivated and inspired. My “Spark” is the beauty
of the moon and the light of the star. I can use my “Spark” to motivate people, telling them that they can shine like the star and can be beautiful like a flower. The images that I used to create this artwork to represent the theme are moon, star, and flowers. I used construction paper, scissors, and glue to create this artwork.
GALLERIES
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.