CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. — Increasing youth civic engagement through art is how the Clarendon County Voter Registration Office hopes to inspire kids in the area. The agency has partnered with the county library to host an art contest
“I love it! It’s a nice home,” Alcolu resident John Nelson smiles.
Nelson has called Clarendon County home since 1974, and hopes young people will continue taking part in the local community.
“It's time for it…to get everybody involved, especially the young people to get them more involved so that they can have a voice in how they feel about Clarendon County,” Nelson believes. “They would feel like they had taken part in their own community, that they actually have a say in their own community and that means a lot. You know, it’s just like a child in a home. If they’re never able to express themselves, then they’re just gonna feel like, ‘Okay it’s whatever Mom and Daddy say,’ which it is, but if they have an opportunity to express themselves at least they can say, ‘Well at least Mom heard me,’ or ‘At least Dad heard me and they did take into consideration how I was thinking or feeling about something.”
It’s the goal of a new art contest, headed up by Sharmane Anderson with Voter Registration.
“Especially with elections and the voting process, we want people to be well informed and this is a process for our students to be well informed and for them to look and see and explore things about their county,” Anderson shares. “That may be things that they do like, things that they don’t like, and they can express that in an art fashion.”
Anderson partnered with the Harvin Clarendon County Library to facilitate the “I Love My County Because…” Art Contest, where kids from kindergarten through twelfth grade can submit a painting, drawing or graphic that shows what they love about their community.
“It’s a very exciting partnership and hopefully it’s something we can do every year,” Library Director Holly Cockfield says.
Cockfield hopes this will motivate kids to get out and explore how the area works.
“Interacting with the local government early will teach kids that…it’s not something for someone else to do, it’s something that anybody can do and that they can do and to kind of give them that confidence and that knowledge to really participate in what’s going on around them,” Cockfield explains. “And so I think that by starting early and having something like this, that civic engagement can build as they grow.”
Whether it’s the courthouse, the downtown area, local parks or the library, Cockfield hopes kids will immerse themselves in the community to find out what they love about their county, ultimately serving the area.
“I think it benefits the community because eventually they will be our voting public and they will be our decision makers so by them identifying now at a young age what they value about their local government and thinking about the services they provide, it can give them the space and the time to think of how they would like that to look in the future or what they would live to change about it now,” Cockfield shares.
Kids have until Sept. 15 to submit their art entry. Cockfield says there are three categories:
- Kindergarten - 4th grade
- 5th grade - 8th grade
- 9th grade - 12th grade
Cockfield says there will be a first, second and third place winners in each age group. The winners will be announced on Sept. 19, National Voter Registration Day, and recognized by Clarendon County Council and given trophies in October.
Then, Anderson hopes to submit the first place winners to the national competition.
Kids interested in participating can submit their 8.5 x 11 horizontal art works either by dropping off the physical art at the library, or by emailing the library a JPEG or PDF digital file. The library also has an art station set up with Crayons, colored pencils and paper for students to use.