We’re thrilled to announce that the “Japan Parade Art Contest 2025” application is now open. It’s time to show us your ideas and creativity!

Our Art Contest began in 2012 as the Japan Day Art Contest, when we first invited the public to submit illustrations for our official posters, flyers, and programs. The contest was such a success, resulting in so many splendid entries and yielding such wonderful winning artwork, that we decided to make the art contest an annual part of the Japan Day event. This year marks the 13th annual Art Contest and the fourth Japan Parade Art Contest, and we can’t wait to see your work!

About “Japan Parade & Street Fair”

Japan Day @ Central Park was an annual event celebrating Japanese culture, art, and tradition held in Central Park since 2007, organized with the New York based 501(c)(3) organization Japan Day Inc.’s three objectives: to promote cultural exchanges between Japan and the U.S., to express appreciation for New York City, and to strengthen the solidarity of the Japanese-American community.

After years of cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event was reborn as the Japan Parade & Street Fair in 2022. Following the second event in 2023, the third event in 2024 saw approximately 50,000 people visit to cheer on the Parade and enjoy the Street Fair. With the help of your artwork, we hope to make Japan Parade & Street Fair 2025 an equally great success.

The application’s details are as follows:

Deadline: Friday, January 17th 2025

Theme: Japan, New York, Parade

※We ask participants to create artwork incorporating all three main visual themes. Submissions that do not incorporate these themes will not be considered.

Submission Guidelines:

JPEG format, portrait orientation, actual size H24” x W18”

Initial submission must be under 2MB

Prize Winners will be later asked to send full resolution versions

2D work only

Artwork must be the original creation of the artist

No Photographs

No “AI art”

Only one entry per artist

NOTE: Artwork must be able to be transferred to a digital format in high resolution. Unfortunately, we cannot accept media such as paintings that cannot be digitized to be true to their original.

Application Fee: Free

Winners:

One (1) Grand Prize Winner

Five (5) Honorable Mention Winners

Rewards:

The chosen artwork will be used for the event’s collateral materials (poster, official program, T-shirt, etc.). Prize winners will also be invited to the Japan Parade & Street Fair’s VIP Grandstand.

NOTE: Japan Day Inc. will not provide reimbursements of costs incurred including but not limited to travel expenses and accommodation fees involving your attendance.

Prizes:

Grand Prize Winner:

Two (2) economy class Round-trip Tickets between New York and Tokyo (ANA / All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.)*

Two (2) Afternoon Tea tickets at the Imperial Lounge Aqua (Imperial Hotel, Ltd.)**

Grand Prize Winner, Second Prize Winner, All Honorable Mention Winners:

One (1) Brand Watch (Citizen Watch Company of America)

Variety of Salonpas OTC Pain Relieving Products (Hisamitsu America, Inc.)

*The round-trip economy class tickets for two to Japan (NYC – Tokyo) are exclusive of any applicable taxes and fees as well as travel expenses in Japan such as accommodations. Some restrictions apply.

**Some restrictions apply.

Disclaimer:

The final layout and design of collateral materials that utilize submitted artwork will be created and approved by Japan Day Inc. and does not require artist approval for publication.

By submitting their artwork, artists grant Japan Day Inc. the right to use their work for the purpose of marketing, exhibition, and other Japan Day Inc. related uses.

Japan Day Inc. reserves the right, at any time and in their sole discretion, to disqualify and/or deem ineligible any individual or artwork for reasons including but not limited to violations of contest guidelines and/or the Contestant Authorization, Release, and Agreement, or violations of the terms of use of contest platforms and/or applications.

City of New York restrictions prohibit Japan Day Inc. from presenting prize items exceeding a monetary value of $25 at a public event. Prize winners will be asked to collect their prizes at a later date at the Japan Day Project Liaison Office, located at 1650 Broadway Ste 1210, New York, NY 10019.

Prize winners who are unable to collect their prizes in person (i.e., living out of state, overseas) may have their prizes collected by a representative. Otherwise, they will be asked to provide an address at which they are able to receive packages. Japan Day Inc. will not provide alternative prizes or compensation in the event of lost or damaged prizes as a result of pickup by a representative or through shipping.

Disqualification:

Artwork that has been submitted to previous contests and/or was previously shown or published

Artwork that violates copyrights, intellectual property rights, and/or any related rights of a third party (i.e., violation of copyrights through unlicensed use of characters)

Artwork that is not owned wholly by the individual who is submitting it (i.e., work that is traced, images created using artificial intelligence programs and/or tools) 

Artwork containing explicit, violent, or any discriminatory elements

Apply:

Please submit your artwork to this application form, or click the “Submit” at the top or bottom of this page.

Contact: info@japandaynyc.org