activist artist scholarship

Our Activist Artist initiative recognizes the powerful connection between human rights and artists around the world. Human rights activists come from many different backgrounds, but one of the most powerful, yet often overlooked, forces in the human rights movement are the artists.

Artists can challenge, inform, inspire, and ultimately move communities toward understanding, acceptance and change.  Through diverse media, such as film, writing, theater, dance, music, painting, poetry, and drawing, artists express the raw emotions that can often provoke needed attention and action on human rights crises around the world.

As part of our Global Citizenship work, the Lantos Foundation is committed to supporting, encouraging, and recognizing the work of Artist Activists who tell human rights stories in ways that are unique, inspiring and significant.

The Activist Artist Scholarship was launched in 2020 with a grant from Bank of New Hampshire as an annual competition dedicated to the work of Activist Artists all over the world. Students are challenged to examine the influence of an Activist Artist’s work on a particular human rights issue or create and submit their own Activist Art

Since 2020, New Hampshire students from more than 47 schools have taken advantage of this scholarship opportunity and fourteen scholarships totaling $50,000 have been awarded.

In 2021, Michelle Eweka of Bow High School was awarded a $2,500 scholarship for her stirring original poem “The Ceiling.” Michelle traveled to DC to read this moving work at the 2020 Lantos Human Rights Prize ceremony, which honored Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson. Photo by Babette Rittmeyer.

In 2024, Oliver Andrews of Kearsarge Regional High School won first place in the Activist Artist scholarship competition for his original violin piece "Against Despair," dedicated to all those who suffer under the Putin regime. The piece was featured at the 2024 Lantos Human Rights Prize ceremony in Washington, DC.

 
 

Category #1

We encourage applicants to examine the influence of a particular Activist Artist and write a 600-1,000 word essay that shows how that artist used his/her medium to influence, inform, and inspire action on human rights during their lifetime or beyond. We have provided an example of an essay submission.


Category #2

This category provides students with the opportunity to show the same influence and inspiration by submitting an original piece of art, music, dance, or written form of original work focused on a human rights issue. Rather than an essay, they will be required to submit a 250-500 word “museum plaque” explanation of their work. Here is an example of original Activist Art and a museum plaque to guide you in your submission:

We encourage students to seek inspiration from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the seminal document enshrining the rights and freedoms of all human beings. We also hope students will look outside of the United States to consider issues that arise in countries where democracy does not prevail and where authoritarianism and lack of press freedom often mean that human rights violations happen without any consequences for the abusers. Here are some examples of human rights issues students may wish to consider, but this is far from an exhaustive list:

  • Disintegration of Rule of Law in Hong Kong, Russia, etc.

  • Prisoners of conscience/wrongfully detained prisoners

  • Women’s Rights in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc.

  • Restrictions on freedom of religion, conscience, and belief

  • Persecution of ethnic minorities/vulnerable groups

  • Genocide/threat of genocide

  • Limitations on internet freedom

2024-2025 Activist Artist Scholarship

Deadline for applications - February 28, 2025