Second Lady Usha Vance to Judge National Student Art Competition on American Heroes

Second Lady Usha Vance will be among the panel of distinguished judges to choose the winners of a national student art competition, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), honoring important figures of American history.

Planned to commemorate this year's U.S. Semiquincentennial, the Freedom 250 American Heroes Student Art Contest invites students in grades 3-12 to celebrate the nation's 250th anniversary by creating artwork inspired by the historic Americans to be honored with statues in the National Garden of American Heroes. NEH has partnered with Freedom 250 as a sponsor of the national competition, which will culminate in an awards ceremony and exhibition of student artwork in July at the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C.

"The American Heroes Student Art Contest encourages young people to mark America's 250th birthday by reflecting on the values of service, courage, and leadership demonstrated by our national heroes and to express those ideals in their own artistic voices," said NEH Acting Chairman William English. "NEH is honored to work with Second Lady Vance and Freedom 250 to provide this opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of our nation's past through creative expression."

The competition closed June 1, 2026. Participating students were asked to submit an original artwork that creatively represents one of the more than 2o0 individuals identified in the 2021 Presidential Executive Order "Building the National Garden of American Heroes," accompanied by an "artist's statement" describing the artwork and the importance of the chosen hero. Learn more about the competition at Freedom 250.

Second Lady Usha Vance will be among a small panel of competition judges who will choose national winners from the top regional winners in each age category. An initial group of artists and educator judges will award up to 168 first-place prizes to students at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels from each U.S. state and territory. Winners from each state will receive a travel allowance to attend the Great American State Fair on the National Mall with a parent or guardian. Freedom 250 will announce the state winners for the contest the week of June 8. Regional and national winners will be announced the week of June 22.

The Second Lady also recently launched a 2026 Summer Reading Challenge encouraging children in grades K-8 to read and track 12 books of their choice between June 1 and September 4. Read about the Reading Challenge here. Participating students will receive a special 250th Anniversary-themed bookmark, designed as part of Bookmark Design Challenge: Celebrating America's 250th, a partnership between the Second Lady and National Endowment for the Arts.

TheAmerican Heroes Student Art Contest aims to foster creativity, artistic skill, historic reflection, patriotism, and aspirations of excellence among the next generation of artists, cultural leaders, and citizens. NEH's sponsorship of the contest responds to the January 29, 2025 Presidential Executive Order "Celebrating America's Birthday," and is part of the agency's larger A More Perfect Union initiative focused on exploring America's story and celebrating its 250 years of cultural heritage.

National Endowment for the Humanities:The National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at neh.gov.