The figurative phase “out of the mouth of babes” describes the insight or wisdom a child expresses that seems far beyond the youngster’s years.
One might as readily substitute “from the hands of babes” for the creative works that youngsters produce for the League of Women Voters of Pullman Annual Visual Arts Competition.
From stunning to solemn, sublime to simple, and fancy to frenzied, the young people’s artwork inspires and informs and reflects both talent and thoughtfulness.
But creating art isn’t the only reason for the event. Each year’s competition features a theme about civics, based on a subject discussed in the LWVWA’s award-winning civics education textbook, “The State We’re In.”
“I think the biggest part of our program is education,” Pullman League member and event committee chair Carolyn Joswig-Jones told the local newspaper, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, in 2022, the second year of the event.
“It’s an opportunity for families to sit down with their children and talk about civics,” Joswig-Jones added.
Youngsters ages 8 to 18 who attend public or private school—or who are homeschooled—in Whitman County are eligible to participate.
Multiple winners in each age group are awarded prizes of $50 and a copy of the civics textbook.
Last year’s theme was about honoring the relationships between Native America and the USA while highlighting Native resilience, sovereignty, and modern identity.
“Why Does Voting Matter?” was the previous year’s theme. The second year, it was “Earth Art: Civics and the Natural World are Connected” and the first year, “What Does Democracy Look Like to You?”
This year’s theme will be announced Feb. 16, Presidents’ Day, as it has been the practice each year.
“Art is away to for students to actually be creative from the material they’ve learned,” Joswig-Jones added.
“The State We’re In” is made available to teachers and classrooms across the state in two editions, one for seventh to 12th graders and for grades three to five.
It covers how government works and why people should care about it. It is more inclusive than other texts as it details historic and current Tribal government as an integral part of civics education.
Both are available as free PDFs as well. More than 23,000 copies of the books have been distributed statewide.
More information about the competition is available here from the Pullman League.
