Calling all budding artists!

Is your art inspired by a pet or animal you know? Enter our contest today!

Winners will be chosen in three age categories (up to 9 years old, 10 to 13 years old, and 14 to 18 years old) and will have their work exhibited at a professionally curated exhibition in Washington, DC. Winners will also be invited to a private celebration (with dogs!) at CDCK headquarters. The contest will be judged by Hannele Lahti & David Labrozzi, and the exhibition will be curated by Gretchen Pingel. Please see bios below.

  1. Portraits must be original & feature an animal or animals.
  2. Artists must be aged 18 or under.
  3. Accepted media: drawings in pen/pencil or crayon, watercolor, acrylic or oil paintings, clay or metal sculptures, mixed media.
  4. A $15 donation per entry is requested, with funds going directly to help more CDCK dogs & cats. Please note, if you are facing financial hardship, you may skip this step.
  5. To enter, email a photograph of the artwork to the address shown below.
  6. Submissions must be received by midnight 12/1/24.
Click to Donate $15; choose “general Donation”

Email a photo of artwork submission to: Lisey@CityDogsRescueDC.org

Include artist’s name and age. Put “Portrait contest” in subject line.

Judge Hannele Lahti’s photographic work focuses on the natural environment & the wonderful work of canines. She loves capturing the chaos & companionship that dogs bring to our lives. She has exhibited her work internationally, partnering with clients such as National Geographic and the Smithsonian Institution & is a longtime supporter of CDCK.

Judge David Labrozzi is a multidisciplinary artist, graphic designer and adjunct professor in the Washington, DC region. He holds a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and MFA from the University of Hartford, both in Illustration. His work has been published, exhibited and commissioned by institutions and magazines nationwide.

Curator Gretchen Good Pingel is an art historian based in New York. A former specialist at Sotheby’s Fine Art in New York, she is a docent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and currently leads medieval art tours at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Cloisters Museum.