The Contest
Echoes & Action: The AAPI Soul in a Changing World
Your AAPI identity is more than where you come from—it shapes how you move through the world and how you take action today.
Think about the values, traditions, or stories from your family or community that matter most to you. How do they influence how you see fairness, community, or your role in the world?
Now take it a step further. Share a moment when your AAPI identity pushed you to do something—speak up, create, support others, or challenge something that didn’t feel right. This could be through art, organizing, mentoring, preserving culture, or everyday actions that make a difference.
What happened because you took action? Who did it impact? And what did you learn about your voice, your strength, and the power of your AAPI roots?
We're looking for stories that not only celebrate the beauty of AAPI cultures but also show how that culture inspires you to get involved and make a positive change in the world around you.
Categories
Visual Arts
Painting and Drawing / Sculpture / Photography / Digital Art and Graphics
Description:
Create a piece that visually represents your "cultural foundation" or a specific "action" you took. You could use colors, symbols, or imagery that reflect your heritage and the impact of your actions.
Submission:
This can be through traditional or contemporary art forms, including but not limited to paintings, sketches, digital art, sculptures, or songs.
Inspiration:
Show how your culture lives in you visually.
You might:
Combine traditional imagery with modern symbols (streetwear, tech, city life, pop culture)
Create portraits of yourself, family, or community that reflect both pride and struggle
Use symbols, colors, or patterns from your culture to tell a story about identity or resistance
Capture a moment of everyday action—protest, care, celebration, or quiet resilience
Think about what you want people to feel or question when they see your work.
Performing Arts (Video Submission)
Traditional Cultural Performances / Contemporary Dance and Music / Spoken Word
Description:
Create a performance that shows how your AAPI culture lives through you today—honoring its roots while expressing how you carry it forward through movement, sound, or storytelling.
Submission:
Solo performance in dance, music, theater, spoken word, short film, monologues, or any combination thereof. Maximum 3 minutes in video length.
Inspiration:
You might:
Choreograph a dance inspired by cultural movement blended with contemporary styles
Perform a spoken word piece about identity, pressure, or empowerment
Write a short scene or monologue based on a real experience or generational story
Use music or sound to reflect heritage, resistance, or belonging
Your performance doesn’t need to be polished—it needs to be authentic and intentional.
Literary Arts
Poetry / Short Story / Personal Essay
Description:
Write a poem, story, or essay that shows how your AAPI roots shape your voice—and how you carry those echoes forward through what you say, believe, or do today. No more than 900 words (if written) or 3 minutes (if video).
Submission:
Entries can span personal essays, short stories, poems, or memoirs.
Inspiration:
You might:
Write a poem about a family saying, memory, or language that guides how you live today
Share a personal story about a moment you spoke up, stood your ground, or found your voice
Reflect on how being AAPI influences how you see justice, belonging, or identity
Tell a story where past and present collide—ancestors, parents, or cultural expectations meeting modern life
Focus on voice, emotion, and honesty. There’s no “right” answer—just your truth.
Contest Rules
Eligibility
Open to students who identify as Asian American or Pacific Islander
You must be in high school, currently enrolled in the 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade
Your submission must be in English or translated into English
Submission Period
Submissions open on January 12, 2026.
Submissions close on March 21, 2026 at 11:59 PM PST.
Entry Requirements
You may submit entries in the following categories: Visual Arts, Performing Arts, and Literary Arts.
Your entries must be the original work.
One entry per category per person. No group entries.
Students under 18 years of age must have parent/guardian permission and signature
How To Submit
Visit our Instagram page @makenoisetoday
Follow Us*
Submit your entry below (Submission deadline March 21, 2026)
Contest winners will be contacted via Instagram DM by week of April 20, 2026.*You must follow@makenoisetoday on Instagram to enter the contest. (The submission form will ask you to confirm your Instagram handle.) Submissions by students who do not follow @makenoisetoday will not be included as part of the contest and exhibition.
Prizes
Visual Arts Category
First Place: $2,000
Second Place: $1,000
Third Place: $500
Performing Arts Category
First Place: $2,000
Second Place: $1,000
Third Place: $500
Literary Arts Category
First Place: $2,000
Second Place: $1,000
Third Place: $500
Make Noise Today is awarding contest money to the winners as scholarship funds.
The prize is intended to help fund tuition, housing, or school supplies.
Judging Criteria
See “Judging Rubric” for each category criteria.
Adherence to submission guidelines.
Winner Selection
Winners will be selected by a panel of judges within each category.
The decisions of the judges are final and binding.
Notification
Winners will be notified via DM on Instagram and email by the week of April 20, 2026.
If a winner cannot be contacted within seven (14) days, Make Noise Today reserves the right to deem the prize forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected.
Scholarship Distribution
Scholarship money will be paid directly to each winner before the beginning of the 2025 academic year - September 1, 2026.
Rights to Submissions and Publicity
By entering the contest, participants grant the Make Noise Today organization and its affiliates a royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive license to display, distribute, reproduce, and create derivative works of the entries, in whole or in part, in any media now existing or subsequently developed, for any educational, promotional, publicity, exhibition, archival, scholarly, and all other standard Make Noise Today purposes. Make Noise Today will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such uses.
Entry into the contest constitutes consent to use the winners' names, likenesses, and submissions for editorial, advertising, and publicity purposes without additional compensation, except where prohibited by law.
Make Noise Today reserves the right to use all contest submissions on their social media platforms and other publicity materials with proper credit given to the creators.
Privacy
Personal information collected from participants will be used only to administer the contest and award the prizes.
The Make Noise Today Student Exhibition
Select student submissions will be chosen for display in both an in-person and virtual art exhibition.
By submitting an entry, participants waive any right to compensation for the display of their work in these exhibitions.
The exhibition is intended to celebrate the talent and effort of participants and to promote the cultural significance of Asian American heritage.
Exhibition Location & Dates: Billie Jean King Main Library in Long Beach, CA, from June to August 2026.
Exhibition Format: Physical displays for Visual Arts, printed work for Literary Arts, and a screening/listening station for Performing Arts videos.
Art Exhibition Kick-Off Event: We will be hosting a kick-off event for the art exhibition portion at the Edison Theatre in Long Beach, CA on Saturday, May 30th, 2026.
Special Call for Long Beach AAPI High School Students
Make Noise Today was founded in Long Beach, CA, and the city continues to shape who we are. In that spirit, we’re excited to highlight a dedicated section for AAPI high school students who live in or attend school in Long Beach.
For Long Beach students, this is a chance to share your story, creativity, and perspective as part of the community that helped launch Make Noise Today. Your voice reflects the culture, history, and energy of the city we call home—and we’re proud to help amplify it.
This section is a special spotlight for students residing in or attending school within Long Beach city limits. Awards will be selected across all submissions based on overall excellence and a strong, meaningful connection to the theme.
Long Beach Local Excellence Prizes
First Place: $2,000 (1 Winner)
Second Place: $1,000 (1 Winner)
Third Place: $500 (1 Winner)
Award Exclusivity Rule: To ensure maximum recognition across our talented pool of entrants, students who qualify for and are selected as winners in the Long Beach Local Excellence Award Track are subject to an exclusivity rule:
Single Prize Winner: A student cannot win prizes in both the General Contest Awards (1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in Literary, Visual, or Performing Arts) AND the Long Beach Local Excellence Award Track (1st, 2nd, or 3rd place Long Beach).
Prioritization: In the event a Long Beach-based student scores highly enough to win in both a General Category and the Long Beach Local Excellence Track, the student will be awarded the prize that offers the highest monetary value. The student will then be removed from consideration for the other track, allowing the next highest-scoring student to receive the vacated award.
Hometown Recognition: The Long Beach Local Excellence Award Track is specifically designed to recognize and celebrate the talent within our hometown of Long Beach, CA ensuring dedicated recognition for our local community.
Please contact us at info@makenoisetoday.org with any questions.