Riverside middle and high school students have until Dec. 19 to submit artwork for the chance to have their design featured on the official T-shirt for the city's 2026 Greatest American Cleanup event.
Keep Riverside Clean & Beautiful is accepting submissions for its Clean Campus Competition Art Contest through 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19. The contest is open to students in grades 7-12 who attend school within the City of Riverside.
Keep Riverside Clean & Beautiful is a community volunteer program sponsored by the City of Riverside and the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce. The organization works to instill community pride by creating partnerships focused on city beautification through litter prevention, community pride and environmental stewardship.
Students must submit original artwork that connects to KRCB's mission along with a written artist statement explaining their creative intent. Judges will evaluate entries based on theme interpretation, creativity, connection to KRCB's mission, artist statement quality and design transferability for printing.
The winning design will be featured on T-shirts for the Greatest American Cleanup event scheduled for April 25, 2026. The event coincides with America's 250th birthday celebration.
The winner will receive a $100 gift certificate, recognition on KRCB's social media channels and will be honored at the Greatest American Cleanup reception. Both the contest winner and honorable mention recipients will be recognized during the cleanup event. The contest launched Aug. 15 and runs through the December deadline.
"The contest fosters creativity and environmental pride while encouraging students to take ownership of their schools and community," said Andrew Nguyen, KRCB project coordinator.
Artwork must be suitable for T-shirt printing, meaning designs should be simple, high-contrast and scalable. Students need to demonstrate understanding of environmental themes and community stewardship in both their visual work and written statements.
The judging rubric uses a 100-point scoring system with five categories worth 20 points each. Professional standards apply, with emphasis on originality and print-ready design quality.
The competition connects student creativity with civic engagement, encouraging young artists to consider how their work can promote community values and environmental responsibility. Winners will see their art worn throughout Riverside during the citywide cleanup effort.
More information: Contest guidelines, flyers, the complete judging rubric and submission requirements are available at linktr.ee/krcb.
