Art Showcase

​NCASA – Art Showcase Rules

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A. Registration

All participating schools must register before the competition according to Rule IX of NCASA Competition Rules. Each school may register just one team. 

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B. Withdrawal

Schools that choose to not participate in a Competition after registering to participate in that Competition must notify NCASA. 1) Registered schools that withdraw from the Competition during the Competition registration period will not pay a penalty. 2) Registered schools that withdraw from a Competition after the conclusion of the Pre-Competition Registration period must pay a penalty. a) Registered schools that withdraw from a competition eight (8) or more days prior to the day of the competition must pay a $30 penalty. b)  Registered schools that withdraw from a competition between eight (8) and one (1) day prior to the day of the competition must pay a $50 penalty. c) Registered schools that withdraw from a competition less than twenty-four (24) hours prior to the start of the On-Site Registration period shall incur a $100 penalty. 3) Penalties for withdrawal from a competition may be waived at the discretion of NCASA. 

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C. Volunteer

1) Each team advancing to state may need to provide a volunteer to help administer the state competition. If required, coaches will be notified at least two weeks prior to the state finals. 2) Details for volunteer arrival time will be sent to all Coaches prior to each competition. 3) Teams failing to furnish the necessary volunteer will have the Coach serve in that role. 4) If the coach is unwilling or unable to serve as Volunteer, the team will forfeit. 

 

​D. Regional Submission and State-level check-in

1) NCASA will publish a hard deadline date and time for the regional-level competition at least two months before submissions are due. 2) NCASA will publish a “check-in” period for the state-level competition at least a week prior to the day of the live competition. A representative from each school must check-in during this time period. 3) Late check-ins at the state level of competition will NOT be accepted to allow the judges adequate time to assess all work equally. 4) The check-in deadline may be adjusted in extraordinary circumstances which affect multiple teams. 

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E. Team Composition

1) Coach – one individual who is not a student may serve as a Coach. 2) Competitors - eligible students from a Member School that submit a work for the competition. 

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F. Competition 

1. On the designated date, the theme will be published to all registered schools. 

2. Work may not begin on the submission until the theme or prompt is published. 

3. Following submission of the photographs, coaches are to maintain possession of the works. Works may not be altered once photos have been submitted to NCASA unless NCASA directs them to be altered.

4. The work submitted by students must be their own. 

5. Middle school and high school students may work on their submissions outside of the school. Elementary school students may not work on their submissions outside of school. Their works must remain in the school until art works are submitted.

6. Elementary school students who attend school from home must submit at least two pictures that show the work at the beginning or middle stages of its creation. 

 

G. Submitted works guidelines 

1. Except for sculpture, submitted works may not exceed 24” x 36” or 4” in depth. Submission size limits do not include matting or framing. 

2. Each team is permitted one submission per medium. 

3. Each student may submit just one work. 

4. Submitted works may not identify the school or student in the work itself. Students should use “Central Middle or High School” if a school name is required as part of the work. 

5. If photo / pictorial resources are used in the development of a work, 75% of the work must be original. No AI (artificial intelligence) may be used in the development or creation of a submitted work. Works found to have used AI will be disqualified. Additional sanctions may be levied against schools submitting work(s) generated or developed with the assistance of AI.

6.  Except for sculpture, submitted works may not exceed 24” x 36” or 4” in depth. Submission size limits do not include matting. Works must not be submitted using a frame or placed behind glass.

7. The media categories are as follows for middle school and high school teams. See item below for Elementary school categories.

   • Painting: original art created using pigment including oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, tempera, ink, encaustic, fresco, spray paint, etc. and applied to a two-dimensional surface like canvas, canvas board, paper or other flat surfaces. At least 90% of the work must be painted. Works with less than 90% painted surface should be submitted in the Mixed Media category.

     1. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: In your Google Forms application, identify the materials used in the “List Materials” section and the height and width in the “Dimensions” section.  The size must not exceed 24” x 36 x 4” in depth.

   • Drawing: original art created using pencil, ink, charcoal, pastel, crayon, scratchboard, marker, etc. and drawn on a two-dimensional surface like paper, board, or fabric. At least 90% of the work must be drawn. Works with less than 90% drawing media should be submitted in the Mixed Media category.

     1. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: In your Google Forms application, identify the materials used in the “List Materials” section and the height and width in the “Dimensions” section.  The size must not exceed 24” x 36 x 4” in depth.

   • Printmaking: original art created using the process of printing on a two-dimensional surface using monotype, collagraph, woodcut/linocut, intaglio, lithography, etching, silkscreen printing, etc. applied to paper, canvas board, fabric, or other flat surfaces.  At least 90% of the work must be printed. Works with less than 90% printing media should be submitted in the Mixed Media category. Works that are created using a cyanotype or photogram method should be included in the photography category.

     1. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: In your Google Forms application, identify the materials used in the “List Materials” section and the height and width in the “Dimensions” section. The size must not exceed 24” x 36 x 4” in depth.

   • Collage: original art created using various paper-based materials such as photographs, newspapers, magazines, handmade paper, maps, and other papers which are cut, arranged, and adhered to a two-dimensional surface. At least 90% of the work must be collaged. Works with less than 90% paper-based collage media and/or works that include three-dimensional items like beads, seeds, yarn, and/or fabric should be submitted in the Mixed Media category. 

     1. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: In your Google Forms application, identify the materials used in the “List Materials” section and the height and width in the “Dimensions” section. The size must not exceed 24” x 36 x 4” in depth.

   • Digital Media Art: original art created digitally and intended to exist in a digital space or images that are heavily collaged or manipulated to produce a new image using digital tools. This includes digital drawing, digital painting, photo manipulation, digital collage, fractal art and illustrations created digitally. The original digital image may be submitted for Regionals instead of a photo of a printed image. At least 90% of the work must be digitally-based. Works with less than 90% digitally-based media should be submitted in the Mixed Media category. 

     1. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: In your Google Forms application, identify the digital applications and/or computer software used in the “List Materials” section and the dpi/pixel resolution in the “Dimensions” section. The size must not exceed 24” x 36 x 4” in depth.

   • Mixed Media: original art created using more than one medium, usually with a three-dimensional element and adhered to a backing with the intention of being viewed from one side. Mixed Media may be combined using drawn, painted and/or digital elements, collage, assemblage, cut paper, handmade paper, batik, fiber-based art, fine art books, etc. Mixed Media works should contain a deliberate combination of at least two media. Works with more than 90% one media should be submitted in that category instead of Mixed Media. For example, a work that is ninety percent painting and ten percent drawing should be submitted to the Painting category.

     1. Mixed media pieces meant to be viewed in the round should be submitted into the Sculpture category. 

     2. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: In your Google Forms application, identify the materials used in the “List Materials” section and the height, width and depth in the “Dimensions” section.  The size must not exceed 24” x 36 x 4” in depth.

   • Photography: original art created using images captured by either an analog or digital camera and viewed as a print on a two-dimensional surface such as paper, plexiglass, metal, or fabric. Works may include black and white photographs, color photographs, photo transfers, digital or analog photographs, photograms, cyanotypes, other experimental photography, etc. Works that are digitally collaged, cloned, layered, merged, distorted, or heavily manipulated with a digital application or computer software program must be submitted in the Digital Media Art category. 

     1. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: In your Google Forms application, identify the equipment/camera used in the “List Materials” section and the height and width in the “Dimensions” section.  The size must not exceed 24” x 36 x 4” in depth.

        • List basic in-camera photo information in the “Metadata” section of the Google Forms application. 

        • The original digital image of a photograph may be submitted for Regionals instead of a photograph of a paper printed image.

   • Sculpture: original three-dimensional art created using building, carving, casting, or other shaping techniques. Materials may include but are not limited to clay, cardboard, metal, acrylic, wood, glass, stone, marble, textiles, and plastics. Sculptures should be created to be viewed in the round.  At least 90% of the work must be sculpture-based. Works with less than 90% sculpture should be submitted in the Mixed Media category.

     1. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: In your Google Forms application, identify the materials used in the “List Materials” section and the height, width and depth in the “Dimensions” section. The size must not exceed 12” x 12” x 24”.

   • Film and Animation: original art featuring a sequence of moving images viewed with a monitor, television or projector.  Examples may include documentary films, narrative films, commercials, experimental videos, as well as hand-drawn, or stop-motion animations, etc. 

     1. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS 

        • Your film must be less than two minutes in length and must be in one of the following formats: .mp4 or .mov. The size limit is 300 MB.

        • Original or public domain music is permitted. You may NOT use copyrighted music in your work. You must cite your music sources in the “Work Sources” section of the Google Forms application.

        • You must enter the film synopsis on the “Synopsis” section of the Google Forms application. 

     2. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS

        • In your Google Forms application, identify equipment and software used in the “List Materials” section. 

        • Since works are judged without knowledge of the student’s gender, age, or hometown, do not include any credits in your film. 

        • List the music used and the writer/composer in the “Work Sources” section of the Google Forms application. 

   • Elementary schools may have up to six submissions, one each in Painting, Drawing, Mixed Media, Printmaking, Sculpture, and Collage. Please adhere to the guidelines described above for each category.

 

H. Submission Guidelines 

1. Photographs of works will be submitted for the Regional Competition using a Google Form shared with all registered coaches. 

   • One photograph may be submitted for each work, except: 

   • Three photographs may be submitted for Mixed Media and Sculpture. 

   • Three photographs are required for Digital Media. Two of these must show “in progress” images of the work being developed. The words “In progress” may be added to these images to clearly show they are not the final submitted image.

   • Each photograph is limited to 10 megabytes. 

2. Works submitted after the submission deadline will not be accepted. 

3. The photographs themselves may not include any information which could identify the school or student. NCASA will notify coaches on how to properly identify their submissions. 

4. Submissions advancing to the State Finals: for 2D flat work, please single mat or mount work on sturdy cardboard or mat board.  Work on canvas should include a hanging wire.  Frames, easels, and fabric drapes are NOT permitted for the display of 2D work. Sculpture should be self-supporting.  Frames, easels, or fabric drapes are permitted for the display of 3D work ONLY if they are part of the original sculpture.

5. Submissions advancing to the State Finals may include a statement of up to 75 words about the creation of their submission. Statements over 75 words will be obscured and not viewed by the judges. Artist statements should be matted or mounted on poster board, cardboard or mat board.  Frames are NOT permitted for the display of artist statements.

6. Submissions advancing to the State Finals will be hung or placed by NCASA or the host school with assistance from the participating school. 

7. All submissions remain property of their creator, but NCASA retains the right to use images of the submissions for the purpose of marketing the association. 

 

I. Adjudication and Scoring 

1. The NCASA Art Showcase Rubric will be used to score each submission. 

2. For the Regional Competition, qualified judges will score submissions based on the submitted pictures. 

3. For the State Finals, judges will score the submissions while viewing them live. 

4. The scores from all rubrics will be averaged to determine the final score for each submission. 

5. Judges will review the three highest scoring submissions in each category to determine the winning submission in each category. This final step of adjudication will not affect the actual rubric score of any submission. Therefore the submission with the highest rubric score may not be the winning submission for the given category. 

 

J. Ranking and Advancement 

1. The top five final scores for each middle and high school will be combined to create the overall team score. The top four final scores for each elementary school will be combined to create the overall team score.

2. Schools may submit as few as one entry. Non-entries will be scored as “zero” for the purpose of calculating the team score. 

3. Team scores will be ranked to determine advancement and final rankings. 

4. Elementary school individuals and teams will be recognized following the Regional competition. These students and teams will not advance to the State Finals.

5. The number of teams advancing to the State Finals will be determined and publicized to all participating schools following registration and prior to the submission deadline. 

6. The best individual submission from each region in each media will also advance to the State Finals to compete for an individual award even if their team does not advance to the State Final. 

7. The following tiebreakers will be used to break all ties: 

   • The sixth place submission score for all tied teams will be compared to determine the winner. 

   • If still tied, the seventh (then eighth) place submission score for all tied teams will be compared to determine the winner. 

   • If two or more teams are still tied, the teams will be declared tied. 

8. NCASA reserves the right to combine Regions with few entries.

 

K. Copyright & Plagiarism

1. Work must be original and created solely by the student. If a submitted work is found to have been copied from another artist, the work will be disqualified from the NCASA Art Showcase Competition.

2. Please read the following guidelines and advise your students to adhere to them:

   • If there are substantial similarities between the work submitted and another piece of art (including photographs used as resource material), the work will be disqualified.

   • Work created using AI tools or that uses elements generated from AI tools is not considered original and will be disqualified.

   • If a student’s work references another artist, the student’s work must be transformative. That is, the student work must show a new point of view or meaning, and bring a substantial change to the new work.

3. Here are some examples of non transformative work that should NOT be submitted to the NCASA Art Showcase competition:

   • A work in any media that uses a photograph you did not take (including those found on the internet) as the single resource.

   • A work that copies the style, color palette, and subject matter of another recognizable artist.

   • Fan Art (art created using a copyrighted character or cartoon as a single resource).

   • A digital work based on digitally drawing and/or painting over/on top of work created by someone else.

   • A digital work created by applying ready-made filters over a photograph created by someone else.

   • A work copied from an AI generated prompt as a single resource.

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