MLK Day Art Contest Winners and Submissions

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2025 MLK Day Art Contest! Below are the winners of each contest category.

Grades K-5 Category

Children circle around a black with pink lineart portrait of M.L.K., hearts sprinkle the background. In the corners is the text: "Freedom freedom, let it ring, let it ring, said Dr. King. Let us live in harmony, peace, and love fo you and me. Freedom, freedom, let it ring, let it ring, said Dr. King."

1st Place: "Holding Hands" by Mahati Guru

 

Raised fists of different skin colors appear behind 2 rows of people facing away from the viewer, locking hands together in unity. at the bottom of the image are two people's hands gripping one another firmly.

2nd Place: "Unity" by Nivedhya Santhosh

 

A pair of hand holds up an orb. inside the orb is an image of children playing outside together. Surrounding the top of the orb are people of diverse backgrounds and wearing cultural clothing holding hands together. The text says "One big happy family: The Farmington Hills Community" and "I love our united Farmington Hills"

3rd Place: "One Big Happy Family: The Farmington Hills Community" by Lirisha Ghule

 

Grades 6-8 Category

The title says in bold lettering "The American Dream." On the left is a pencil portrait of M.L.K. and the text "July 1961", "Syracuse University". M.L.K says "We must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools.", "Racism and colonialism must go: the clock of destiny is ticking."; on the right, the hands of activists hold up signs and a megaphone. M.L.K continues to say "The problem that we confront in the world and in our own nation is that of unity."; M.L.K has a thought bubble on the right side of the piece with an image of a white hand and a black hand gripping each other tightly with the word "Unity" above them.

1st Place: "A Dream of Unity" by Chaitrika Reddy Battu

 

3 pairs of hands with different skin tones are holding each other below the text "Unity makes strength and leads to victory!"; Diverse raised fists are beside a pencil portrait of M.L.K. and the words "Unity", and "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."

2nd Place: "Unity Makes Strength & Leads to Victory" by Sai Meghana Boddu

 

A pattern of various religious and cultural symbols along with the words "Happy together", "kind", and "love". A white hand and a black hand are holding each other. The white hand's sleeve has industrial imagery, while the black hand's sleeve has imagery of nature. In front of the shaking hands is the earth, with 6 people of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds hold it above their heads, thinking of the words "Peace" and "Unity", in the middle of the people is a pair of hands holding a heart.

3rd Place: "The United World" by Darsh Khandelwal

 

Adult Category

A quilted tapestry. The border of the tapestry is made with an american flag printed fabric. Stripes of fabric in skintone-like colors are layered behind quilted fabric pieces with illustrations of diverse children printed on them. The children are sticked onto the tapestry to form a ring in the center of the piece.

Winner: "Love Unites Us" by Nancy Wlasuk

Contest Art Submissions Photo Gallery

See all of the art submissions in the photo gallery below.

Nancy Wlasuk, Love Unites Us, Adult Category
Saanvissri Karnakanti, Unity In The Night Sky, Grades 6-8
Yazhini Vinoth, The Unity Of Our World, Grades 6-8
Jeremiah Coakley, World Unity, Grades 6-8
Adam Dukhan, A Dream Of Unity, Grades 6-8
Chaitrika Reddy Battu, A Dream Of Unity, Grades 6-8
Sai Meghana Boddu, Unity Makes Strength And Leads To Victory, Grades 6-8
Darsh Khandelwal, The United World, Grades 6-8
Sutton Drake, Together, Grades 6-8
Brant Wimbush Jr., Love Drives Out Hate, Grades K-5
Harshitha Suthakar, Unity Is Strength, Grades K-5
Aishani Vailaya, Unity Tree, Grades K-5
Henry Potter, MLK Dreams, Grades K-5
Elle Hargrove, Togetherness Is Love, Grades K-5
Hadley Rembisz, I Have A Dream, Grades K-5
Gabriella Michalski, We Are United, Grades K-5
Blake Appling, Equal Rights For All, Grades K-5
Denver Walls, Denver And Ellie, Grades K-5
Dedeepya Siremamilla, A Place For All, Grades K-5
Isabella Karshiha, MLK Chalkboard, Grades K-5
Janvi Abhilash, Martin's Dream For The World, Grades K-5
Jeremiah Perkins, Unity, Grades K-5
Laiya Menifee, MLK: A Self Portrait, Grades K-5
Isaak Allen, We Stand Together, Grades K-5
Lirisha Ghule, One Big Happy Family, Grades K-5
Mahati Guru, Holding Hands, Grades K-5
Kaleb Walker, Pop-Out MLK, Grades K-5
Medhansh Nagasai Karnakanti, A Tale Of Unity, Grades K-5
Mia Antopia, We All Belong, Grades K-5
Keagan Hamilton, The Dawn Of A Dream, Grades K-5
Nibish Suthakar, Unity In Diversity, Grades K-5
Muhammad Raqib, MLK Drawing, Grades K-5
Nivedhya Santhosh, Unity, Grades K-5
Reza Waseem, We Are United, Grades K-5
Savannah Daramola, Unity Is Beautiful, Grades K-5
Sia Karanth, Unity In Diversity, Grades K-5
Vivienne Bolden, Unity, Grades K-5
Zain Waseem, I Have A Dream, Grades K-5

2025 Contest Theme: UNITY 

This year’s theme is UNITY, inspired by the words of MLK in his July 1961 speech, The American Dream, delivered at Syracuse University: 

“We must learn to live together.” 

Judging Criteria 

Artwork was judged by community and civic leaders using the following criteria: 

  1. Theme Relevance 

    • How well does the artwork represent this year’s theme, UNITY? 

    • Does it reflect or connect to the values of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? 

  1. Creativity & Personal Expression 

    • How personal and imaginative is the concept? 

    • Does the artwork show a creative interpretation of the theme? 

  1. Artistic Skill 

    • Does the piece demonstrate technical skill in its chosen medium? 

    • How clear is the concept of the piece to the viewer? 

Theme relevance and personal expression are weighted more heavily, as they are the most central to this contest’s goals. 

Questions?

If you have any further questions about the competition, please reach out to Kristel Sexton, kristel.sexton@farmlib.org.

Acknowledgements

The annual MLK Day Art Contest was originally started in 2023 in partnership with the Community Equity Organization to inspire creativity and action by community members around the values of MLK.