Students and community members under 18 are encouraged to submit a t-shirt design for the upcoming Queer, Trans, and Allied Student Summit of the Central Coast — Fall 2025. 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 “Cosmic Queerness: An Affirming Universe”
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 “Cosmic Queerness: An Affirming Universe”
- Must include the name of the conference “Queer, Trans, and Allied Student Summit of the Central Coast — Fall 2025”
- Must include the date of the event “September 27, 2025”
- The design will be printed in white ink on a black t-shirt
About the Theme: Students from the Fall 2025 Student Summit Planning Committee have chosen the theme as “Cosmic Queerness: An Affirming Universe”
Theme Statement written by the Fall 2025 Student Summit Planning Committee:
The Queer Community can be described by its defining features such as accepting others, finding ourselves, and never giving up. We can also be explained by our night sky. The constellations represent groups; queer people come from and originate in every culture. The Muxes from México and Māhū from Hawaii are both groups of indigenous populations who we can historically trace to a non-conformative gender diversity within their constellations. These constellations are then broken down into stars, better known as the individuals themselves like Harvey Milk, RuPaul, Chappell Roan, Sarah McBride, and Demi Lovato. Each star expresses importance through their unique shine, a leading light of the Queer Community in our dark, vast space. All of these aspects gather to illuminate the path of an affirming future. Join us on this path to explore the night sky while celebrating the Queer Community with your peers.
How to Submit a T-shirt Design
The entries must be emailed to CoordinateSummit@gmail.com by 5:00 pm, Sunday, September 10th. All emails should include a subject line of “T-shirt Design Submission – insert name.” The winning design will be announced by Monday, September 18th, 2025, 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 / TBA
Infographic Summit "Call for T-shirt Design" for Instagram — PNG & PDF / TBA