2025 Scholarship Entry Requirements

Open to Downriver Residents Only

Qualifying applicants must be a 2025 graduating Downriver high school senior, an alumnus of a Downriver area high school, or a current resident of a Downriver community and actively attending college, university, or another school of higher education. Scholarship applicants must be pursuing a degree in one of the visual arts. These include but are not limited to Fine Arts (drawing, painting, ceramics, photography, printmaking, sculpture), Art Education, Architecture, Graphic Design, Video, Artistic Welding, Video, and other visual arts. Please contact us if you have a question regarding your curriculum choice.

Downriver communities include…

Allen Park, Belleville, Brownstown Township, Carleton, Dearborn, Detroit, Ecorse, Flat Rock, Gibraltar, Grosse Ile Township, Huron Township, Lincoln Park, Melvindale, New Boston, River Rouge, Riverview, Rockwood, Romulus, Southgate, Sumpter Township, Taylor, Trenton, Van Buren Township, Woodhaven, and Wyandotte.

Required Scholarship Entry Materials

1. Complete and sign a Visual Arts Scholarship Application Form 

Please be sure the completed Application form is hand-signed or e-signed (electronic signature). High School applicants must include the student and parent /legal guardian’s contact information and signatures. Please include your name as part of the file name that you send.

File name example: JSmith_Scholarship_App.pdf

By signing and submitting their application and required entry materials, applicants agree to allow CAS permission to use images of their artwork for promotional purposes.

You may download the Scholarship Application Form HERE.
You may also request an application form to be sent by email HERE.

 2. Write a personal statement

500 words or less. Provide information regarding your educational plans and career goals. Include motivating factors and experiences that have helped you determine visual arts as a career. Tell us why you want the scholarship or why you need the money. Please be aware, applications missing a personal statement will not be considered for a scholarship.

 3. Obtain and submit a professional letter of reference from the applicant’s Art/Design/Craft teacher.

The referee may be a teacher, professor, art instructor, employer, etc., who has worked with the applicant in some capacity, is at least 18 years of age, and is not a family member. Reference letters MUST include the scholarship applicant and the referee’s contact information.

 4. Obtain and submit a personal letter of reference from a responsible adult

The referee may be a friend, co-worker, counselor, mentor, etc., who knows the applicant, is at least 18 years of age, and is not a family member. Reference letters MUST include the scholarship applicant’s and referee’s contact information.

 5. Submit 3-5 sample images of the applicant's artwork 

You may email or upload your files using the Creative Art Society website. It is recommended that you try to keep each image file around 2 MB to ensure proper uploading. Compression of your image files may be required.

Image files should be titled as indicated below and saved in the following format:
Your Name_Art Title_Art Medium Used_Size (H x W in inches)
EXAMPLE: TerriMichaels_SunlitDream_Watercolor_16x20
Accepted format: .jpeg .jpg only
File Size: 2 MB

There are multiple ways for you to submit your artwork as well as all required application materials. The most common way we receive applications, entry materials and images is as attachments to an email. You may provide CAS with a link to your Google Drive account, or save your artwork sample images on a flash drive/thumb drive or CD if you wish to send your entry materials by US Postal Service. You may also drop off your artwork in person at our February or March member meetings. The meetings are held the 2nd Tues of each month.

All required materials should be submitted as PDF documents or .jpeg files. Reference letters may be sent to:

creativeartsociety.mi@gmail.com before the deadline date.

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6. Photographing Your Artwork

For free-hanging artwork
Hang your artwork on the wall. Light your work properly

• If you are shooting your work indoors, do so in a room with plenty of windows and natural light.

• Adjust your camera and settings. If your art piece is flat, try to photograph the entire art piece. Be sure no outside edges are exposed in the photograph.

• Edit your photos to perfection and save them as 2 MB jpeg files.

  
  For free-standing artwork
  A single light is often all you need, which makes photographing your work even easier.

• Set up your light stand and angle the light straight down.

• Position the light so it is directly above the subject. This will create a nice shadow under the bottom edge and will help ground the object.

• Edit and crop your photos to perfection and save them as 2 MB jpeg files.

  Reminder:

  All submitted artwork will NOT be judged, per se but regarded as an example of the intention of the applicant's future endeavors. The applicant agrees to grant Creative Art Society the permission to use your submitted artwork samples for promotional purposes without additional written consent from the applicant, nor monetary compensation received from, or to the scholarship applicant.

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7. Submitting your Scholarship Entry

There is no fee required to enter the scholarship competition. Please be sure to submit all required materials for admission. This includes the completed and signed application form, your personal statement (500 words or less), and two reference letters. The 3-5 artwork images. Please be sure your artwork images are saved as jpeg files and each image file is no larger than 2Mb.

Please note: Scholarship applicants agree to grant Creative Art Society permission to use the submitted artwork samples for promotional purposes without additional written consent from the applicant, nor monetary compensation received from or paid to the scholarship applicant.

Using Email, Cloud-based Storage System, Postal or In-person Drop Off Delivery

• To EMAIL your materials as attachments, click on the EMAIL Your Scholarship Entry Materials button below, type your email message, choose the INSERT button at the top of the email page. Finally, choose the FILE button to attach your files, then the send button.

• If you are interested in using another delivery method including supplying a Cloud-based Storage System link for Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Apple iCloud, in-person drop-off, or mailing your entry materials using the US Postal Service, please send an email for info to:

  Lyn Peraino, CAS Scholarship Coordinator at creativeartsociety.mi@gmail.com
  

  Please note: Lyn will respond to you within 2-3 business days to let you know CAS has received your scholarship entry materials or to address your questions. She may also contact you with questions or clarifications regarding your entry. You may be required to make adjustments as needed. If you have not heard from her within a week, please try contacting her again.

  Use one of the Scholarship Entry buttons below to:
  Submit your application, reference Letters, and artwork online
  OR to contact CAS directly.

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Thank you and good luck!

Previous CAS Visual Art Scholarship Entrants and Winners