Students and community members under 18 are encouraged to submit a design for the upcoming Queer, Trans, and Allied Student Summit of the Central Coast — Fall 2024. The design contest is open to all currently enrolled high school and middle school students located in Santa Cruz, San Benito, or Monterey county. All entries must be original creations and designs which incorporate the summit theme “Corals and Queerness: Resilience in the Face of Adversity.”
Objective: The objective is to call local artists, community members, and students to participate in a creative and dynamic process and showcase their artwork.
The winning designer will receive a hoodie with the design and a $25 gift card.
Guidelines:
- Include a design for the front and back of the t-shirt
- Both the front and the back designs of the t-shirt must include the following:
- Must incorporate the theme title “Corals and Queerness: Resilience in the Face of Adversity”
- Must include the name of the conference “Queer, Trans, and Allied Student Summit of the Central Coast — Fall 2024”
- Must include the date of the event “September 28, 2024”
- The design will be printed in white ink on a black t-shirt
About the Theme: Students from the Fall 2024 Student Summit Planning Committee have chosen the theme as “Corals and Queerness: Resilience in the Face of Adversity”
Theme Statement written by the Fall 2024 Student Summit Planning Committee:
The behavior of sea corals responding to climate change bears a striking resemblance to the struggles within the queer and trans community. When confronted with rising ocean temperatures, corals produce a chemical sunscreen, enhancing their colors before bleaching white and ultimately dying.
Just as the vibrant corals once flourished before fading to white, marginalized communities similarly thrive when protected from the harsh realities of bigotry. People can be the target of violence and murder when they openly express their queerness and transness. The chemical sunscreen produced by corals mirrors the resilience of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, who often adopt protective measures against the hostility they encounter.
The aftermath of bleaching reveals a stark truth: while the skeletons of hard corals remained, soft corals disintegrated symbolizing the erasure and invisibility faced by marginalized groups, whose deaths often go unnoticed or unacknowledged due to factors such as race, disability, lack of social support, and other kinds of non-conformity.
Just as coral bleaching highlights the urgency of addressing the climate crisis, the surge in anti-2SLGBTQIA+ rhetoric and violence emphasizes the necessity for acceptance, systemic reform, and unity. When queer and trans people are uplifted, our whole world grows in glorious and mysterious ways. We hope today’s event can act as a much-needed time of refuge, progress, and healing from the societal issues outside.
How to Submit a T-shirt Design
The entries must be emailed to CoordinateSummit@gmail.com by 5:00 pm, Sunday, September 1st. All emails should include a subject line of “T-shirt Design Submission – insert name.” The winning design will be announced on Wednesday, September 11th, 2024, and chosen by the Student Summit Planning Committee. The winning design will be featured on t-shirts delivered at the summit!
Form of Entries:
- The entry should be accompanied by your name and contact information.
- The entry may be any of the following file formats if submitted electronically: .JPG, .PDF, .PNG., .PSD, or .AI.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact CoordinateSummit@gmail.com
Free Resources
- Digital illustration apps: Adobe Illustrator Draw, Sketches, Sketchbook
- Digital NEST
- Your unbelievable talent
Download the PDF Call for T-shirt Design Submissions Flyer
Infographic Summit “Call for T-shirt Design” for Instagram — PNG & PDF / TBA