Embrace WNY Buffalo Brunch Cover Page Contest for Local GSAs

Theme: “Stronger Together: Celebrating Unity & Resilience”

Embrace WNY is excited to invite students from local GSAs (Gender Sexuality Alliances and Gay-Straight Alliances) to participate in a creative contest to design the official cover page for our upcoming 27th Annual Buffalo Brunch! This year’s theme, Stronger Together: Celebrating Unity & Resilience, represents the power of coming together as a community, embracing our differences and supporting one another in the face of challenges.

Submission Eligibility:

• Member of an active GSA within the 8 counties of WNY that Embrace WNY services, which includes the counties of Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming.

Submission Guidelines:

• Size: 5.5in x 8.5 in (Half Letter Statement Size)
• Format: The cover design should be appropriate for all ages and should visually reflect what the theme means to you—whether through symbols, colors, people, images, or words that showcase unity, strength, and resilience.
• Medium: Submissions can be created digitally or by hand. If submitting a hand-drawn piece, please ensure it is scanned or photographed in high resolution.
• Artist’s Vision: Each cover photo should be submitted with a brief description of why this cover represents Unity and Resilience. This should be no more than 100 words.
• Submission Options:
  • Digital Submission: Upload your artwork via the Google Form:
    • Submission Form
    • The form above will prompt you to login, you can use any gmail account. This is to enable document uploading.

Guardian Consent: Artists must sign and upload our consent form with their digital submission. Any artist under the age of 18 must have a parent/legal guardian sign the consent form as well, indicating their agreement with these Contest Guidelines and Terms and Conditions.

Deadline: Entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on April 10, 2025.

Selection:

• Judges will be the Board of Directors of Embrace WNY. They come from a variety of backgrounds within the LGBTQ+ and allied community.
• Judges will select one grand prize winner.
• Judges will use the following criteria in selection of winners:
  • Creativity and originality in the piece.
  • Ability to showcase their expression and vision
  • Artist’s interpretation of the theme
    • Judging will be done blindly, without your name and GSA
    • The winners will be notified on April 15, 2025.

Prize for the Winning Desgin:

• Two tickets for your GSA to the Buffalo Brunch!
• $1,000 donation to your GSA!

This is a great opportunity to showcase your creativity, contribute to a meaningful event, and support your school’s GSA. We can’t wait to see your unique interpretations of this theme!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at info@embracewny.org

Let’s come together to create a cover that embodies the strong spirit of unity and resilience!

Terms & Conditions:

By submitting artwork to the contest, the artists and/or artist’s parent, guardian or legal representative agrees that Embrace WNY will possess the right to display, reproduce or use submitted artwork at any time in the future in any media, including online, without the prior approval of, or compensation of the artists or the artist’s parent, guardian or legal representative. Formally, this means that the artist grants Embrace WNY a license to use, copy, change, publish, publicly perform, distribute, or exhibit the artist’s work. This license is perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable and non-exclusive (with the right to sublicense.)