Texas Shores Art Contest

Overview

Texas Shores is Texas Sea Grant’s annual magazine highlighting the education, outreach and research supported by the organization. The cover serves as the magazine’s first impression – much like choosing the right bait, it must be eye-catching, audience-focused and reflective of the stories inside.

Past covers have featured photographs tied to key stories or milestones, such as the 50th anniversary photo collage or the 2025 shrimp boat cover, reflective of milestones made within that community.

In addition, Texas Sea Grant has also offered cover art contests, which help showcase the creativity of coastal community members and amplify the perspectives of those we serve.

Participating in the contest offers artists meaningful visibility across Texas’ coastal communities. Texas Shores is distributed to more than 6,000 subscribers, shared widely at Texas Sea Grant events, and placed on desks, information counters, and public spaces along the coast.

Featured artwork will be seen by educators, researchers, coastal professionals, community leaders and readers who care deeply about Texas’ land, water, and people – providing artists a unique platform to share their creative voice and connection to the coast.

Awards will be given across age groups and artistic approaches. One submission will be selected for the Texas Shores 2026 cover, with additional awards recognizing outstanding youth, teen, and adult artists, as well as photography and fine art submissions.

Art Style

Texas Sea Grant’s work supports Texas’ natural resources, economy, and communities—from the coast to inland waterways. To reflect the breadth of our impact, our programs and partnerships are organized into four focus areas. Each icon represents a core pathway through which we serve Texans, connect science to solutions, and build a more resilient future.

These icons appear throughout this issue of Texas Shores and across our communications and educational materials. While one icon may lead, many projects overlap across multiple focus areas.

Artists should create original work inspired by one of the four focus areas and include a short summary (250 words) explaining how their artwork connects to that area and what inspired the piece.

Focus Areas

Healthy Coastal Ecosystems

Supports science and community partnerships that protect, restore, and enhance the resilience of Texas’ coastal habitats and wildlife.

Imagery Examples: Wetlands, dunes, oyster reefs, coastal birds

Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture

Supports thriving fisheries and responsible aquaculture through research, innovation, and collaboration with producers and coastal communities.

Imagery Examples: Fish, oysters, shrimp, aquaculture farms, fishing boats

Resilient Communities and Economies

Supports the development of innovative policies, management strategies, and community-based solutions that strengthen resilience and increase preparedness in the face of coastal hazards.

Imagery examples: Fishing boats, waterfront towns, community gatherings

Environmental Literacy and Workforce Development

Invests in education, training, and hands-on opportunities that empower Texans of all ages to become informed coastal stewards and future leaders.

Imagery examples: Inspiration pulled from classroom activities, citizen science

Eligibility

The Texas Shores Art Contest is open to all ages, including ISD level (middle/high school), college students, and community members. Participants must be a Texas resident and are limited to one submission per person.

Submission Requirements

Any visual are medium is welcome, including oil or acrylic painting, watercolor, illustration, digital art, photography, mixed media, fish printing (gyotaku), textile or fiber art, collage, and traditional or Native art forms – if it can be captured in a high-quality digital format, it may be submitted.

• Submissions must be made in either a PNG or PDF format that is high-resolution and a minimum of 300 DPI.
• Since this contest is for the magazine cover measuring at 8.5 x 11 inches, submissions are required to be as a vertical portrait.
• Each submission should be accompanied by the artist name, age, contact information, and a short summary of the work (250 words).
• All submitted artwork must be original and not infringe on any copyrights.

Artistic Integrity & Use of Artificial Intelligence

Texas Sea Grant values original creative work that reflects authentic experiences, places, and communities along the Texas coast. To maintain the integrity of the Texas Shores cover art contest, submissions must be the original work of the artist and may not be generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

Limited digital editing or enhancement of original artwork or photography (such as color correction, cropping, or minor retouching) is permitted; however, AI-generated imagery or substantial AI-assisted creation is not eligible. All submitters must be able to confirm authorship of their work. Texas Sea Grant reserves the right to request additional information about the creation of submitted artwork if needed.