T-shirt contest
Welcome to the annual T-shirt design contest for the GLOBAL SDS AWARENESS WEEK!
Global SDS Awareness Week is just around the corner starting April 16th. Help us design the official T-shirt for the occasion! Show your talent, inspire your community, and win! Submit your design by March 8th, 2023. Read the rules and guidelines to find out how.
We welcome all SDS-focused nonprofits to partner with us on this initiative. Partnering consists of advertising this event in their local community. In exchange, we will add their logo to the final design, and share the final design file with them to print and distribute locally.
About Global SDS Awareness Week:
The community chose a week at the end of April to mark Dr. Harry Shwachman's birthday. Drs. Shwachman and Diamond, as well as Dr. Bodian, were instrumental in defining Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome with their landmark publication in the journal Pediatrics in 1964, entitled "The Syndrome of Pancreatic Insufficiency and Bone Marrow Dysfunction".
It is our hope that more and more organizations and families will participate over time so that this campaign can grow and reach more families and medical providers.
Raising awareness can save lives. Any diagnosis made sooner lessens the burden and suffering of the diagnostic odyssey, and life-saving interventions can begin sooner. The SDS community can grow to support more targeted research, accelerating the pace toward therapies and cures.
Lorin (33)
Artist statement:
"This piece is called be a unicorn. In the medical world, there is a saying 'if you hear hoof beats it's probably a horse. The horse represents common disease and sickness. If a doctor calls you a zebra it's not a very common disease. If you hear a unicorn it's extremely rare. We are not horses or zebras. We are unicorns and we should be proud to be rare."
Teresa
Title: For the Love of Blood
Artist statement: This design is the shape of a heart that is made up of 2 S's. The S that is facing the right way holds the thought/dream of a cure and the other S is backwards and holds the D for diamond inside. Both sides are filled with blood but the D for diamond is not so clear. The diamond, which is considered the jewel of them all, is the treasure that we are seeking and (re)searching for. Heart shaped droplets of blood drip from the narrow gap at the base of the 2 S's onto the whole name of the condition. Blood issues are the main issues that affect those who have SDS. Blood is the drop of life and identity (genes/DNA/blood type), and is part of our identity. The health of the blood affects the whole body and all the different systems. We all want to live the best life we can and so we need our blood to work, we would love for our blood to work properly and in turn circulate around the body so that we are healthy. Instead for some of us the blood seems to gradually drip away (metaphorically as the health of the blood declines (and also from lots of blood tests!)) and needs to be replaced by blood infusions or even bone marrow transplants. The challenges of living with SDS vary from person to person but together we are all united by the desire, the dream, for a cure for each of us so that we are each able to be the healthiest we can and in turn live a long life that we love.
PenguinsDraw (8)
Artist statement:
"I was thinking of the earth for the word global. The arrows are supposed to show the earth spinning. I like to draw and color."
HannahBanana (11)
Artist statement:
"This is my attempt at digital graphic design. It shows the earth for "global", with people supporting each other and working together to make things better for people with SDS, like my little sister."
HannahBanana (11)
Artist statement:
"Awareness day is for raising awareness and starting conversations! This design is meant to invite others to ask questions about SDS."
HannahBanana (11)
Artist statement:
"This design is to invite others to join and raise awareness together. I drew this first for the kids calendar, and we reused it for this T-shirt design. Ribo is holding a megaphone."
Eszter
"I adopted this design which HannahBanana drew years ago for the kids' calendar. I feel that this graphic of Ribo and Somi drawing the #CureSDS diamond shield is a great way to show the strength and focus it takes to work toward what we want for people with SDS, like my daughter. Turning hope into action."
Rules and Guidelines
General Rules and Guidelines
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The contest 2023 will be open for submissions until March 8th, 2023 using this submission form. Participants are required to be part of the SDS community, meaning you have SDS or someone you know has SDS. Patients, siblings, relatives, friends, teachers, healthcare providers, researchers, etc are all welcome to participate.
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Each artist is allowed up to three different submissions. Revisions don't count toward the total. However, an artist may only win for one piece.
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All submissions are required to complete an artist profile, including contact information, age, SDS connection, and the title of the artwork using the submission form above.
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All participants must acknowledge they have read the Contest Artwork Release Form. The winner must sign a release form.
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Participants are able to submit on behalf of others in the event that someone is unable to submit themselves. Entries submitted on behalf of others must credit the artist. The prize (up to 5 t-shirts for the same household) will go directly to the artist, with the exception of an artist who is under 18 years old.
Contest Timeline
Please note the 2023 T-shirt Design Contest for Glocal SDS Awareness Week schedule is subject to change.
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February 25 – March 8th, 2023: The contest opens for submissions. Use this submission form.
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March 9th – March 15th, 2023: Public voting period begins. VOTE HERE!
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March 16th, 2023: The winner will be announced.
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March 17 – March 27th, 2023: T-shirts will be available to order in the SDS Alliance Bonfire store, to be shipped in time for SDS Awareness Week in April.
The winner of the public vote will receive up to 5 free shirts for their household, courtesy of the SDS Alliance. Partnering SDS nonprofits will also be able to distribute or sell T-shirts if they choose.
Artwork Title & Artist Statement
Entries may include a 200-word or less artist statement, interpreting and describing the art from the artist’s point of view. The artist statement can include anything, but judges are particularly looking for artist statements that connect art to living with SDS, what Global SDS Awareness week means to you, and the importance of rare disease and SDS advocacy.
File Guidelines
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This is a visual art contest. Artists may use any medium but must submit a photo of the artwork.
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Files must be uploaded at a resolution of 2MB or higher. High-resolution files are required in order to allow the artwork to be beautifully translated when printed on T-shirts, apparel, and other merchandise and media.
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All files must be uploaded as a JPEG or PNG. (If you have a vector graphic, we would welcome that if you win).
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Photos must be cropped to remove background items that are not part of the artwork, such as a frame or table.
Voting
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If we receive 20 or fewer submissions, all will be presented for public voting. If we receive more than 20 submissions, the SDS Alliance Board of Directors will select the top 20 and present them for public voting.
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Winners will be notified right after the voting period ends.
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Voting will be conducted via a form, here.
Code of Conduct
The spirit of the contest is about sharing stories, community, and advocacy through art. Poor sportsmanship, cheating, copyright violations, or submitting artwork that does not belong to the artist is subject to immediate disqualification.
Contest Artwork Release
You will be asked to consent to this when you submit the submission form
By submitting an entry (“Artwork”) to this Contest (“Contest”), hosted by the Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome Alliance (“SDS Alliance”), you, as a Contest participant (“Artist”), accept for yourself or, if applicable, as the parent/guardian of an Artist, the following terms:
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I grant SDS Alliance the non-exclusive rights to use my Artwork in digital or hard copy format for advertising, promotional, exhibiting, and or/any other purposes SDS Alliance deems appropriate.
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If I win, I also grant SDS Alliance the right to assign, sub-license, transfer, and grant the same rights to other nonprofit organizations and Contest sponsors. This may include other registered nonprofits that serve the SDS community if they partner with the SDS Alliance in this Contest.
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I understand that submitting to the Contest will not affect my own rights to, and ownership of, my Artwork.
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I certify that my Artwork is my own. No other individual or parties own or have obtained copyright to my Artwork. The permissions being granted do not violate any prior agreements I have made with anyone else.
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I agree that my Artwork, in SDS Alliance’s sole discretion, may be posted online at the Contest website and/or any other website as determined by SDS Alliance, for visitors to the website(s) and social media channels to view.
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I acknowledge that I have read the Contest Artwork Release Form, and if selected as the Contest winner, will be required to sign and submit a copy of said form.
How to Submit Art
Please use this submission form above.
Prizes
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The winner of the public vote will receive up to 5 free T-shirts with the winning design.
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Bragging rights.
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Highlighting their work on the SDS Alliance website and social media channels.
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Promotion of their work through partnering SDS nonprofit organizations.
FAQs
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Is the contest open to international artists?
Yes!
The SDS Alliance is a US based 501(3) nonprofit serving the global SDS community. We have launched Global SDS Awareness week to facilitate SDS awareness and advocacy globally. -
I am unable to upload my photo, it says the picture file is too big or too small.
We do require the artist to submit a minimum of 2 MB or higher. This allows the image to be beautifully translated when displayed. If you need assistance with changing your file size, here are some tips:-
Avoid downloading your artwork from Facebook or Facebook Messenger. This tends to shrink the image.
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Avoid uploading your artwork into the Cloud; your art may shrink in size to save space.
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If you have a smartphone and can take a photo of your artwork, they tend to take photos between 3MB and 9MB.
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There are a few online programs and platforms that may be able to help resize your image. Canva, Adobe Photoshop, or GIMP (a free alternative to Photoshop) are both good options. Instructions for resizing a photo in GIMP can be found here. Instructions for resizing a photo in Canva can be found here.
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If you have tried all the steps above and are still having difficulties, please email your file to connect@SDSAlliance.org and we can try to resize your image.
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Can I submit a sculpture, song, poem, etc.?
We are grateful for your interest in sharing your art with us and recognize that art includes a wide range of mediums, including yours. For this particular contest, we are looking specifically for visual art and artists are able to submit anything that can be photographed, including paintings, drawings, sketches, photography, and graphic design. If you are interested in getting involved with the SDS Alliance and sharing your voice through poetry, music, or other art forms, please email us at connect@SDSAlliance.org. -
I already submitted an art piece, but I want to make edits. Can I do so?
Absolutely! Simply submit your new version using the submission form above. We will use your latest version unless you request otherwise via email to connect@SDSAlliance.org. You are welcome to make as many edits as you want up until the deadline.
Any additional question(s)? Email connect@SDSAlliance.org