🎨 Call for Artists: 2nd Annual Gift Card Design Contest

Presented by Huntsville Art Supplies

We’re inviting local artists to submit original artwork inspired by this year’s theme, Space to Create.

Your interpretation can be literal or imaginative. Think outer space, Huntsville’s Rocket City identity, the places where creativity happens, or the limitless places imagination can take us.

The winning design will be featured on the 2026–2027 Limited Edition Huntsville Art Supplies Gift Card.

This annual contest celebrates the talent of our local creative community and gives artists an opportunity to have their work seen, shared, and carried home by art lovers throughout Huntsville.

Submit Your Artwork

🪐 Theme: “Space To Create”

What does Space to Create mean to you?

Your artwork may explore:

  • Outer space, planets, stars, rockets, or exploration
  • Huntsville and its connection to the space program
  • A favorite studio, creative space, or place where inspiration happens
  • The freedom and room to experiment, imagine, and make something new
  • Any original interpretation of the idea Space to Create

We want to see your interpretation!

🖼️ Submission Details

  • Contest Opens: October 1, 2026
  • Submission Deadline: November 15, 2026
  • Artwork Size: The artwork will print to the size of a 5" × 3", so it may be scaled based on the ratio of your image submission.
  • Orientation: no preference
  • File Type: JPEG or PNG
  • Resolution: 300 DPI minimum
  • Limit: One entry per artist
  • AI-generated artwork is not eligible

By submitting, artists grant Huntsville Art Supplies a non-exclusive license to reproduce the winning artwork up to 100 times for use on printed gift cards and to use submitted artwork in related digital and print promotion. Artists retain copyright ownership of their original artwork.

🏆 Prizes

🎖️ 1st Place – Featured Gift Card Design

  • $300 Huntsville Art Supplies Gift Card
  • Artwork featured on the 2026 - 2027 Limited Edition Gift Card
  • Artist credit printed on the back of each card
  • Artist Spotlight in our newsletter, website, and social media
  • Artwork displayed at Huntsville Art Supplies through the holidays. Option to sell prints of the winning design in-store (60/40 artist split)💫

People’s Choice Award

  • $100 Huntsville Art Supplies Gift Card
  • Awarded to the artist whose design receives the most public votes on social media.
  • Recognition as the Community Favorite across our channels.
  • Artwork displayed at Huntsville Art Supplies through the holidays. Option to sell prints of the winning design in-store (60/40 artist split)💫

If the First Place winner also receives the highest public vote total, the People’s Choice Award will go to the finalist with the next-highest eligible vote total.

📣 Selection Process

The Huntsville Art Supplies team will review eligible submissions and select five finalists.

Finalists will be selected based on:

  • Creativity
  • Originality
  • Composition
  • Connection to the theme
  • Suitability for the horizontal gift-card format

Community Voting — Begins November 20

The Top 5 finalists will be featured on the Huntsville Art Supplies Facebook and Instagram pages.

Public votes will continue to be calculated using the combined total of likes and shares received on the official finalist posts.

The eligible finalist receiving the highest combined vote total will receive the People’s Choice Award.

First Place Selection

The Huntsville Art Supplies judging panel will select the First Place winner from among the five finalists based on creativity, composition, originality, connection to the theme, and suitability as a gift-card design.

Winner Announcement — November 27

Both the First Place Winner and People’s Choice Winner will be announced on Black Friday, November 27, 2026.

Limited-edition gift cards featuring the winning artwork will be available for purchase beginning December 1, 2026.

💌 How to Enter

  • Create your "Space To Create" -inspired artwork.
  • Save it as a high-resolution image (JPEG or PNG).
  • Click on the link to submit your entry via google forms
Submission Application

🗓️ Important Dates

Event Date
Submission Deadline November 15, 2026
Top 5 Announced November 20, 2026
Community Voting November 20–25, 2026
Winners Announced November 27, 2026
Gift Cards Available December 1, 2026

🌟 Let’s Celebrate Local Art!

Whether you’re an emerging artist, a professional, a student, or simply someone who loves to create, we’d love to see what Space to Create means to you.

Maybe your space is among the stars. Maybe it’s a corner of your studio. Maybe it’s Huntsville itself. Or maybe it exists entirely in your imagination.

Show us where creativity can take you.

Your artwork could become the next limited-edition Huntsville Art Supplies gift card and be shared with art lovers throughout our community.

Submit Your Artwork

⚖️ Terms & Conditions

Eligibility

The contest is open to artists age 16 and older who live in or around Huntsville, Alabama.

Employees and instructors of Huntsville Art Supplies are not eligible to participate.

Submission Requirements

Each artist may submit one original artwork inspired by the 2026 theme, Space to Create.

Artwork must:

  • Be the artist’s original creation
  • Be free from unauthorized third-party copyrighted material, trademarks, or logos
  • Meet the file and size requirements listed above
  • Not be generated using artificial intelligence

Huntsville Art Supplies reserves the right to disqualify entries that do not meet the contest requirements.

Submission Method

All entries must be submitted through the official Space to Create Gift Card Design Contest submission form.

Entries will not be accepted by email, direct message, social media message, or in person.

This keeps submissions organized and ensures each entry includes the required artwork file, contact information, and agreement to the contest rules.

Artists are responsible for confirming that their submission has been successfully completed before the November 15, 2026 deadline.

Huntsville Art Supplies is not responsible for entries sent through another method or for submissions that are incomplete, corrupted, or not successfully received through the official form.

Copyright & Usage

Artists retain full copyright ownership of their original artwork.

By submitting an entry, the artist grants Huntsville Art Supplies a non-exclusive license to use the submitted artwork in digital and print materials related to the contest and its promotion.

The First Place artist also grants Huntsville Art Supplies permission to reproduce the winning artwork on up to 100 printed gift cards for the 2026–2027 Limited Edition Gift Card.

The artist’s name and artwork title will be credited wherever feasible.

No royalties or additional compensation will be provided beyond the stated prizes.

Prizes

First Place:

$300 Huntsville Art Supplies Gift Card plus featured artwork on the 2026–2027 limited-edition gift card.

People’s Choice:

$100 Huntsville Art Supplies Gift Card plus recognition as the community favorite.

An artist cannot receive both awards. If the First Place winner also receives the highest public vote total, the People’s Choice Award will be awarded to the finalist with the next-highest eligible vote total.

Prizes are not redeemable for cash.

Selection & Voting

Five finalists will be selected by Huntsville Art Supplies staff based on creativity, originality, composition, connection to the Space to Create theme, and suitability for the gift-card format.

Public voting will take place on Huntsville Art Supplies’ website.

Huntsville Art Supplies reserves the right to review and verify voting results and to disregard fraudulent, automated, duplicate, or otherwise manipulated activity.

Deadline & Announcement

Entries must be received by November 15, 2026.

The Top 5 finalists will be announced November 20, 2026.

Winners will be announced Friday, November 27, 2026 — Black Friday.

The winning limited-edition gift cards will be available beginning December 1, 2026.

Agreement

By submitting an entry, artists agree to the official contest rules and consent to the use of their name, artwork, and submitted artist information for promotional purposes related to the contest.

Submit Your Artwork