A Community Art Contest With a Civic Purpose
The Keep The Colony Beautiful Board has opened entries for its annual Recycled Art Project contest, and this year’s theme gives participants plenty of creative latitude: “The Colony: Past, Present & Future.” Submissions are due by December 4, 2026, with a public art viewing scheduled for December 5 at The Colony City Hall Annex, 6804 Main St.
The contest is open to anyone who lives in The Colony — adults and children alike. There are no medium restrictions beyond one central requirement: the artwork must be made from recycled materials. Those materials can come from items collected during local cleanup initiatives or simply pulled from your household recycle bin. Cardboard, wire, glass, plastic containers, scrap metal, old newspapers — if it would otherwise head to the recycling stream, it qualifies.
What the Theme Is Asking For
“The Colony: Past, Present & Future” is a deliberately open prompt. It could mean a sculpture that references the city’s early development along Lewisville Lake, a collage reflecting today’s growth at Grandscape, or a forward-looking piece imagining what the community becomes over the next few decades. The KTCB board is not prescribing a single interpretation, which leaves room for work that is personal, historical, or purely conceptual — as long as the materials are recycled and the maker lives in The Colony.
For residents who want program details, full submission guidelines, and any entry forms, the Keep The Colony Beautiful resources page has the official information.
Why This Contest Matters Beyond the Artwork
KTCB programs in The Colony are part of the city’s broader effort to reduce waste and encourage environmental stewardship at the neighborhood level. Tying an art contest to that mission accomplishes something a standard cleanup drive cannot: it reframes leftover materials as a starting point rather than an endpoint. A flattened Amazon box becomes the backing for a cityscape. A tangle of copper wire becomes a skyline. The contest makes the recycling habit visible and, in a small but meaningful way, celebrated.
The public viewing on December 5 at City Hall Annex puts finished pieces in front of neighbors, city staff, and anyone who walks through that building. It is a low-barrier way to see local creativity without buying a ticket or traveling outside the city.
Practical Details for Entrants
Here is what residents need to keep in mind as they plan their submissions:
- Who can enter: Anyone currently living in The Colony.
- Theme: “The Colony: Past, Present & Future.”
- Materials: Any recycled medium — items from KTCB cleanup efforts or from your personal recycling bin both qualify.
- Submission deadline: December 4, 2026.
- Public viewing: December 5, 2026, at The Colony City Hall Annex, 6804 Main St., The Colony.
The December 4 deadline gives participants roughly two months from today to source materials, develop a concept, and finish the piece. That is a workable window for a school project, a family weekend activity, or a solo creative effort.
Getting Started
If you are not sure where to begin, KTCB cleanup events are a practical way to gather raw materials while contributing to the community. Items collected during those initiatives are explicitly listed as eligible, so showing up to a neighborhood cleanup serves double duty — you help the city and come home with potential art supplies.
For households that already sort recycling, a week’s worth of materials can yield a surprising range of textures and structures. Corrugated cardboard, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and glass jars each have distinct properties that experienced artists and first-time crafters can work with differently.
The City Hall Annex viewing on December 5 is the moment the project goes public. Getting a piece in before the December 4 cutoff is the only requirement to have your work displayed there.
Full contest rules and submission information are available at the KTCB Resources page on the city’s official website.
