Young Art 2025: Nurture and Nature

On View April 5–May 18, 2025

The San Diego Museum of Art’s biennial youth exhibition, Young Art, holds the extraordinary distinction of being the longest-running program in the Museum’s history. Young Art 2025 marks the 48th celebration over more than 90 years. We are excited to announce the merger of two important youth exhibition programs: The San Diego Museum of Art’s Young Art and the Museum of Photographic Arts’ Youth Exhibition following the historic merge of the two Balboa Park institutions. Starting in the 2024–2025 school year, the combined program will continue under the Young Art name, offering an incredible opportunity for K–12th grade artists from all over the San Diego/Tijuana region to exhibit their works.

Young Art 2025 will be held in the Dammeyer Gallery at the Museum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art (MOPA@SDMA) and is scheduled to open on April 5, 2025. We encourage all schools, teachers, guardians, and caregivers of youth artists to apply! Be sure to check our website and follow our social media for important announcements.

Young Art 2025 features youth works of art from the San Diego County and Tijuana regions, with the theme of Nurture and Nature. This juried exhibition invites youth artists to reflect on how their personal experiences and the natural world influence each other.

Young Art 2025: Nurture and Nature will be complemented by several programs and activities, including Student Art Workshops, docent-led guided tours, and more.


See past exhibitions:
Explorations: 17th Annual Juried Youth Exhibition
Young Art 2023: Comfort and Calm
Magic & Myth: 16th Annual Juried Youth Exhibition
Young Art 2021: My World, Our Planet

Submit Art to Young Art 2025

Submission guidelines, including information on the parameters of what works of art will be considered for the juried exhibition, are available online here. Please review the Young Art 2025 submission guidelines, the list of important dates on the right sidebar of this webpage, and the FAQs below before preparing youth art submissions.

We invite all young artists from the San Diego County and Tijuana regions to visit The San Diego Museum of Art for inspiration. Observe and interpret works of art from the Museum collection in person or virtually through the resources below:

  • Explore the Museum collection online
  • Join us for a free Young Art Family Tour, date to be announced
  • Sign up for a Nurture and Nature Student Art Workshop

Featured: Nour Benmbarek, age 14, Cave K, 2023. ​UV print on litho-grade polystyrene. Collection of the artist. © Nour Benmbarek

FAQ

How can this year's Young Art theme be interpreted?

Consider how to blend imagination, ideas, or memory to create a work of art that gives others a chance to understand your experiences through your own style of personal visual storytelling or expression.

 

Sample prompts for youth artists include the following:

  • What does nature mean to you?
  • What does nurture mean to you?
  • How do you nurture nature?
  • How do you nurture yourself?
  • How does nature nurture you?
  • Reflect on a time and place where you felt nurtured or cared for…
  • Is there a particular place in nature that feels like home to you? How does this place nurture your sense of belonging?
  • What role does nature play in your daily life?
  • What rituals, practices, or traditions do you have that involve connecting with nature?
  • Consider the ideas of change, growth, and renewal in your life.

How can we communicate ideas visually?

We encourage students to personally respond to this year’s Young Art theme by harnessing their own ideas and creativity. Consider how to turn ideas into a visual work, then choose an art media for the translation.

 

  • Objects (Still Life)
  • Environment (Landscape or Interior View)
  • Figurative: Body language or facial expression (Portrait)
  • Abstraction of color, shape or line
  • And more…

 

Consider how the elements of art and principles of design can support decision-making and editing.

  • Elements of Art: (color, value, line, shape, form, texture, and space)
  • Principles of Design: (rhythm, unity, emphasis, movement, contrast, pattern, and balance)

What are the guidelines for submission?

All San Diego County and Tijuana region youth (from K–12 public, private, or home schools) are invited to submit works via an adult representative for consideration. Works submitted may be executed in two or three-dimensional media and must meet the Young Art 2025 Guidelines for Submission to be considered. A broad variety of media is encouraged including youth painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, digital media, video, mixed media, collage, sculpture, fiber arts, artist books, etc.

How are the artworks submitted?

Complete information on this process will be available in Fall 2024. Digital submissions will be open December 2, 2024, through December 20, 2024. Please refer to the Young Art 2025 Important Dates to Remember for a complete list of Young Art 2025–related dates.

How are the works of art exhibited inside the Museum selected?

A jury of San Diego Museum of Art curators, including Anita Feldman, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs; Kara Felt, Ph.D., Lawrence S. Friedman, Curator of Photography; and Rachel Jans, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, will select the works of art to be exhibited in Young Art 2025: Nurture and Nature. These works of art will be selected on the basis of visual elements, originality, age appropriateness, interpretive connection to the exhibition theme, and craftsmanship.

How will artists be notified of acceptance?

Participating educators, adults, and youth representatives will be notified by email whether or not their students’ works of art have been selected for exhibition in Young Art 2025. Notification emails will be sent on or before January 21, 2025.

How are exhibiting students recognized?

Students selected for the Museum’s exhibition will be invited to a celebration for Young Art 2025 artists, families, adult representatives, and educators on April 3, 2025.

 

Digital invitations to the reception will be sent to the adult representatives of exhibiting students who submitted the works of art.