2025 National Art Contest Winners
The AKC National Art Contest encourages young artists to celebrate their love of dogs through creative expression. Youth ages 5-18 are invited to submit unique artwork that adheres to the guidelines below. The 2026 contest opens on May 5, 2026, and closes on September 29, 2026.
Download and print the flyer linked below to share with schools, summer camps, homeschoolers, art clubs, and other interested parties.
-
Rules & Guidelines
+
Requirements:
-
- Artists must be between the ages of 5 and 18 at the time of submission
- Artwork must represent the theme “Dog on Vacation.”
- Artwork must be completed on a flat 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. Any artwork selected as a winner that doesn’t meet the dimension criteria will not be displayed.
- The artwork must be original and not have been entered into any previous or other current contests
- Age Categories: 5-8, 9-12, 13-15, and 16-18
- Entry must be completed online via Jotform by a parent or legal guardian 18 years or older
- All entries are due by September 29, 2026, 11:59 PM ET
- Judging Criteria: creativity (40%), fit to the theme (30%), quality of art (30%)
Winners & Finalists:
- Finalists and first-place winners will have their artwork featured in an online exhibition on this page
- First-place winners will receive a $50 gift card
- First-place winners will have their physical artwork displayed at the Museum of the Dog in NYC
-
-
Finalists
+
Congratulations to the 2025 AKC National Art Contest finalists!
-
- Austin Fang Age 5
-
- Grace Wang Age 6.5
-
- Grace Booth Age 9
-
- Abigail Kim Age 11
-
- Beatrice Bernhard Age 13
-
- Reina Fortman Age 14
-
- Aditi Ranjan Age 16
-
- Jayla Sikes Age 16
-
If you have any questions, please email publiced@akc.org