Creative Power Awards Celebration – May 17, 2025 

Mark your calendars for the third annual Creative Power Awards Celebration on May 17, 2025! Join us at the Madison Youth Arts Center (1055 E Mifflin St, Madison, WI) to view the Creative Power Showcase, honor award-winners, and celebrate the arts.  

Learn More and Purchase Tickets

Creative Power Showcase

Our 2025 Creative Power Showcase is displayed at the Madison Youth Arts Center and has the following viewing hours:

Recurring Showcase Hours
Wednesdays from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm (April 16, 23, and 30; May 7 and 14)
Thursdays from 4:00 - 8:00 pm (April 17, and 24; May 1, 8, and 15)
Saturdays from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm (April 19 and 26; May 3 and 10)

One-Time Showcase Events
Office Art Market: Friday, April 25 from 1:00 - 5:00 pm
Gallery Night: Friday, May 16 from 5:00 - 8:00 pm

By Appointment
Contact Exhibitions Manager Matthew Sanborn at [email protected] or 608-241-2131 ext. 205.

Address
Madison Youth Arts Center
1055 E. Mifflin Street, Madison WI, 53703

Call for Art 2025

Our Creative Power Call for Art is now closed.

AFA welcomes submissions from Wisconsin residents over the age of five who identify as having a disability. All submissions are juried by arts professionals who look for creativity, originality, and craftmanship. Artists should drop off or ship artwork to MYArts by the submission deadline for jurors to assess in-person, excluding digital artwork which will be displayed digitally. Jurors select pieces in each age category for Creative Power Awards and Merit Awards. Creative Power Award-winning pieces are added to the Creative Power Collection, an AFA exhibition that travels throughout Wisconsin, providing public recognition of the vast talents and contributions of artists with disabilities each year.

Questions about Creative Power submissions?
Please contact AFA at [email protected]  or 608-241-2131.

Submission Guidelines

Submission deadline: March 17, 2025 

Artists should drop off or ship artwork to MYArts by the submission deadline for jurors to assess in person. Physical artworks must be at MYArts by 10:00 pm CST on March 17, and digital submissions must be received by 11:59 pm CST on March 17.

AFA’s Creative Power Call for Art is open to Wisconsin residents over the age of five who identify as having a disability. No documentation or disclosure of disability is necessary to participate.  

All submissions will be exhibited in the Creative Power Showcase at the Madison Youth Arts Center (MYArts) and/or online in our virtual showcase. Creative Power Award-winning art becomes the property of AFA and spends three years in the Creative Power Collection, a thirty-piece exhibition that travels the state. Host sites for this collection are physically and economically accessible public places that welcome people of all ages. Please note new content guidelines that reflect considerations for young and diverse audiences.

• Age Categories: 
  • Child (ages 5-10) 
  • Youth (ages 11-15) 
  • Young Adult (ages 16-21) 
  • Adult (ages 22+) 
• Each artist may submit up to two original works of visual art. 
• To be considered for a Creative Power Award, visual art may not exceed 24” x 36” or weigh over 20 pounds, and digital entries must be under four minutes. 
• Artists must provide a brief description or artist statement for each submission (artists may dictate this statement). 
• Previous Creative Power and Merit award winners are welcome to submit work, but artists who have received Creative Power Awards in the past three years are only eligible for Merit Awards. An artist may have no more than one piece in the Creative Power Collection at a time. 
• Content Guidelines: 
  • Artwork should be appropriate for children to view. 
  • Artwork should not depict graphic or overt depictions of sexual acts or violence. 
  • Artwork should not demonize individuals, groups, or specific political parties. 
• Arts for All Wisconsin reserves the right to determine if artwork adheres to these standards. 
• All art meant to be displayed hanging on a wall (e.g. framed works or canvases) should have hanging hardware and wire already in place. We appreciate your cooperation with this.

Call for Poetry  

To ensure that our staff and volunteers are best prepared to accept and honor your poetry submissions, we have made the decision to postpone our Call for Poetry. Please contact AFA staff if you have questions about this decision. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you know when the next Call for Poetry is announced! 

Previous Award Winners

Click the links below to view award-winning pieces from previous calls for art and poetry (Note, in 2021 and 2022, Call for Poetry was part of our Call for Art).