Recognizing Creative Voices in
Los Angeles County High Schools
Expressing Feelings Through Art (EFTA) is an arts and literacy program delivered to public high school students of L.A. County. Students in 9th through 12th grade are challenged to create art pieces that tell stories that hold personal meanings for them. Topics run the gamut of subject matter and emotional tone and are often as moving as they are original. The students must also engage in an exercise of mind mapping & writing that sheds light on their visual imagery, provoking a thoughtful articulation of the stories they were artistically driven to tell and emotions they explored.
APPLICATION OPENS
January 5th 2026
APPLICATION CLOSES
March 27th 2026
WINNERS ANNOUNCED
April 3rd 2025
LIVE ART EXHIBITION
April 26th 2026
WHY ENTER EFTA?
The program is designed to broaden the students’ understanding of traditional and contemporary artmaking techniques, and to help strengthen their creative voices. For many of the students who find artmaking to be cathartic, this mentored self-exploration is very powerful. At year’s end, a jury of community artists and writers give awards and scholarships to outstanding students. We believe that EFTA has contributed greatly to the students’ self-esteem, and has gone a long way to build their visual and communication skills. Perhaps, most important, it gives them a positive outlet through which they can tell us what matters to them most in their own words and images.
Artwork by Isabela Aracla from Van Nuys High School
Artwork by Hanna Peterson Pasadena High School
WHO CAN ENTER EFTA?
Students in 9th through 12th grade from public high school students of L.A. County.
Teachers! Use the link below to sign up to receive more information for your students.
Note: Student submission link will open in January.
COMPETITION GUIDELINES
Guideline 1
All artwork must be original and meet EFTA’s mission and objective.
Guideline 2
All artwork must be submitted as a high resolution JPG.
Guideline 3
All artwork must be submitted with a 100-word description & mind map.
Guideline 4
Only one piece of artwork per student submission.
EFTA is produced by Light Bringer Project. The program is funded in part by the W.M. Keck Foundation.
