Art Briefs

Women writers wanted

Radical Arts for Women is sponsoring a short story contest open to women living in Alaska. The fiction pieces must be between 250 and 5,000 words and contain some lesbian content. The grand prize is $500. The deadline has been extended to Dec. 15. Mail entries to Radical Arts for Women Short Story Contest, P.O. Box 244436, Anchorage, AK 99524-4436. There is no entry fee. For more information, e-mail lcarpenter@ gci.net.

Poetry Out Loud open to schools

The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation present Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest, a program that encourages high school students to learn about poetry through memorization, performance and competition. From October through March, schools are invited to participate in classroom and schoolwide contests, advancing to a state competition March 12. State champions will advance to the national finals, to take place April 30 and May 1 in Washington, D.C. Winners receive scholarships and money for their school.

High schools that wish to be part of the Poetry Out Loud program should contact the Alaska State Council on the Arts. Home-school students should coordinate with local high schools to participate. Contact Susan Olson, arts education director for the Alaska State Council on the Arts, at (907) 269-6682, (888) 278-7424 or www.poetryoutloud.org for more information.

VFW Ladies Auxiliary sponsors art contest

The VFW Ladies Auxiliary of the Jerry V. Horn Memorial Post No. 10046 will sponsor the Young American Creative Patriotic Art Awards. The contest was developed as a way to encourage high school students to use their artistic talents to express their patriotism.

Students in grades nine through 12, including home-school students are eligible to participate.

Artwork, including digital art entries, must be submitted on paper or canvas. Discs or CDs will not be accepted. Watercolor, pencil, pastel, charcoal, tempera, crayon, acrylic, pen-in-ink or oil may be used. Artwork must be matted but not framed, not smaller than 8- by 10-inches or larger than 18- by 24-inches, not including the mat.

The first-place state winner will go to the national level, where the first-place prize is $10,000, a jacket, plaque, airfare and two nights lodging to attend the 2007 Ladies Auxiliary National Convention.

The entry deadline is Dec. 8. For more information on contest and a complete list of prize awards, visit www.ladiesaux vfw.com, contact the art teacher in any of the area high schools or call Bea Johnson at 262-1262.