The New York State Education Department (NYSED) and Office of General Services (OGS) has opened the 2025 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Fine Arts and Essay Exhibition. Dr. King’s commitment to nonviolent advocacy served as the inspiration for 2,208 students from 67 public and private schools across the state to submit their creations. The submissions, which include several group projects, mark just the fourth time more than 1,000 pieces of student artwork will be on display at the Empire State Plaza in Albany and online for this exhibition.
Each year, NYSED invites schools to honor Dr. King’s memory by submitting original student artworks and essays that reflect Dr. King’s teaching. The student art and essays illustrate Dr. King’s Six Principles and Steps of Nonviolence and celebrate Dr. King’s birthday.
The entire exhibit is posted online at www.empirestateplaza.ny.gov/nyking.
To honor Dr. King’s legacy and celebrate Black History Month in February, several pieces of student art will also be exhibited by OGS on the Empire State Plaza in Albany starting January 3 and throughout Black History Month in February.
Among the highlights of this year’s exhibit:
- Kindergarteners and first graders from Evergreen Charter School in Hempstead had the most submissions by a single school, featuring 238 artworks, both two- and three-dimensional.
- Eighteen students in second through 11th grades from The Long Island Whole Child Academy in Melville created a group artwork inspired by Dr. King’s teachings.
The public is also invited to watch New York State’s annual commemoration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which will be presented as a statewide broadcast event, “We Press On: New York State Celebrates the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” airing on PBS stations throughout New York beginning January 18.
“The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Fine Arts and Essay Exhibition is an opportunity for students across New York State to express how Dr. King’s legacy inspires them to pursue a world where everyone’s rights are secured and protected,” said Office of General Services Commissioner Jeanette Moy. “This year’s national theme for the annual King Holiday Observance is ‘Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice, and Democracy in the Spirit of Nonviolence,’ and it resonates within the art and essays produced by the talented students who participated in this year’s exhibition.”
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