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"What Brings You Joy?" is the theme of the 2024 Agar Art Contest, the world-famous phenomenon that celebrates the beauty of microbes. For this year's competition, scientist-artists were challenged to express their happiest moments through the medium of agar, to let their art reflect the joy that lights up their world.

The deadline for submission was Oct. 27, so entries for the 2024 contest are no longer being accepted. For reference, full contest details are shown below.

"Lord Krishna and Radha on Peacock Feather" by Basanti Dalai and Rahul Kumar Banerjee, Balco Medical Center, Raipur in Chhattishgarh, India.
 

Traditional Category

Make sure you pay attention to the different submissions options within the "Traditional" category. The "Professional" choice is for those who have regular access to, and created their work in, a formal laboratory setting like a university or industrial lab. The "Creator" choice is for those who created their work in an informal setting, something like a community lab or maker space, or who are K-12 or undergraduate students who created their work as part of a classroom assignment.

1. Submissions should be high-quality photos (at least 8" x 10" at 300 ppi) of pieces of art that consist, at their core, of 1 or more microorganisms growing on agar.
2. You may use any organism(s), with any type(s) of agar, on any size or shape petri dish.
3. No digital or artificial enhancements or manipulations (e.g., false coloring through lighting or Photoshop) are permitted. Non-microbial props within the piece are also not allowed.
4. Pieces should be new and original, not seen/posted on the internet before or previously published or displayed elsewhere.
5. Pieces must be accompanied by a description that captures key features of the piece in language appropriate for a general audience. Note that the description is judged as well as the piece!
6. Pieces must be created safely in the appropriate Bio Safety Level environment for the organism(s) used. For more information, please consult ASM's Guidelines for Biosafety in Teaching Laboratories.

Kids Category

Participants aged 12 and under are eligible to submit to this category. Submission rules apply as above.

Overall

1. Each submission may have up to 5 credited artists. If the submitter contributed to the creation of a piece, they must list themselves as a credited artist with up to 4 additional credited artists. If the submitter did not contribute to the creation of a piece (for example, they are submitting on behalf of a child or workshop participant) they should not list themselves as credited artists.
2. Each credited artist may be listed on a maximum of 2 pieces.
3. Submitters must be at least 18 years old. Minors must have an adult who is, or has permission from, the appropriate legal guardian submit on their behalf. ASM is not responsible for obtaining the permission of legal guardians or verifying that it has been obtained.
4. Submitters must choose the appropriate contest category based on the age of the credited artists and type of submission. Pieces determined by ASM staff to have been submitted to the wrong category may be disqualified without prior notice to the submitter or to credited artists.
5. Only entries submitted to the contest theme, "What Brings You Joy?" will be eligible to win contest prizes.