In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the pastoral letter Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope issued by the Catholic bishops of Mexico and the United States, and in honor of World Refugee Day 2023, USCCB/MRS and Kino Border Initiative are sponsoring a migration themed youth and young adult art contest that highlights the subtitle of the letter, which reads “Together on the Journey of Hope.”
How to Participate:
1. Read art contest rules.
2. Reflect on the theme of the contest below
3. Create your art!
4. Ask your guardian or parent to fill out this consent form.
5. Email your art (or a photo of your piece if it is a painting or drawing) and your consent form to artcontest@usccb.org by May 22, 2023.
6. Winners will be announced on World Refugee Day 2023.
Theme: Young artists are invited to imagine what this “journey of hope” looks like or represent the ways people in migration walk together on the journey, with their families, with others they meet along the way, with communities in the US who receive and accompany them, with advocates who seek more dignified migration alongside them. Entries could also paint a picture of the artist’s vision for what they hope the migration journey could look like in the future: what does it look like to, as the pastoral letter states, “help newcomers integrate in ways that are respectful, that celebrate their cultures, and that are responsive to their social needs, leading to a mutual enrichment of the local church?” What images, words or colors represent this “journey of hope?”