California 2050

Share Your Vision for California 2050!

Call for Art & Essays

The Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI), the Strategic Growth Council, Racial Equity Commission, Youth Empowerment Commission, and the California Arts Council invite all Californians to imagine our future in 2050, through essays, short fiction, visual and digital art, videos, music, poetry, and other creative works. Selected essays and art will be showcased on LCI’s website to inspire fellow citizens, planners, and policymakers. Participants will compete in youth and adult, essay and art categories for a chance to win cash prizes up to $5,000. Winning submissions will be promoted by LCI and sponsoring agency partners.

Goals

Call on everyday Californians to help shape the future of our state
Use creativity and art to inspire a better future
Bring more awareness to all the amazing work happening in communities across California

…there’s no single answer that will solve all of our future problems. There’s no magic bullet. Instead, there are thousands of answers–at least. You can be one of them if you choose to be.

Octavia Butler

The Prompt

The year is 2050, we are in California and it is the best possible future (the best future that is still possible if we take action today). It is a future that we would be proud to leave to the next generation and the generations that follow.

What does it look like? How does it feel? Describe this future in enough detail that readers can see and feel themselves living there.

How did we get there? Paint a picture of the people and pathways that led to this future.

How does what we are doing today lead us to this better future? If possible, ground your vision in the movements, activities, and research of today.

Ready to share your vision?

SUBMISSION FORM

What can I submit?

We welcome a range of creative submissions, including but not limited to:

For the essay category:

Essay
Short fiction
Essay with photos/visuals

For the art category:

Visual art, painting, drawing, mixed media
Videos
Music (submit lyrics if relevant)
Poetry (recorded or written)
Other creative works that respond to the prompt

If you have questions about what you can submit, please feel free to contact us.

Eligibility and Rules

This call for art and essays is open to California residents only.
A maximum of one entry per individual or group is permitted. If you submit as a group, you can submit one additional entry as an individual.

To participate in the youth essay or art categories, you must be 25 or younger as of Feb. 19, 2027. If submitting as a group, this applies to all group members.

Accepted file type:
- Essay submissions: PDF
- Art submission: PDF, JPEG, PNG, MP4, MP3, and MOV

Length requirements:
- Essays should be no longer than 5 pages, single-spaced, 12-point font. Page length requirements apply just to the text, not the photos/visuals.
- Movies and audio clips should be no longer than 5 minutes.

All files should be high-quality, at minimum:
- images: 300 PPI;
- audio: 24-bit / 96 kHz;
- movies: HD 1280 × 720 pixels (720p)

File name: your full name or group name without spaces (e.g. JaneDoe.jpg).

Employees and relatives of employees of the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, as well as those of contest sponsoring agencies are not eligible to apply.

Submissions made with Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not be considered. Derivative or copyrighted material is not permitted. All content must be 100% original. No use of copyrighted characters, worlds, or storylines is allowed. No recognizable brands or intellectual property may appear without explicit permission. Stock music and footage must be properly licensed. Submissions will be run through a plagiarism and AI detection software. Submissions found to be derivative, copyrighted, or generated with the assistance of AI tools will be disqualified.

All submissions are considered final and may not be modified, edited, or replaced.

All application materials must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. PST on Feb. 18, 2026. Applicants with technical limitations and general questions should please contact us at PolicyInnovation@lci.ca.gov.
In the case of a group winning, the prize funds will be distributed evenly among the stated contributors.

Cash prizes will be considered income and subject to California and federal taxes.

(See full Legal Terms below.)

Judging

The initial review of submissions will be conducted by staff from the contest sponsoring agencies: Racial Equity Commission, Youth Empowerment Commission, and the California Arts Council, the California Strategic Growth Council, and the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation.

The final winners of the adult art and essay categories will be chosen by members of the California Strategic Growth Council (SGC is a Cabinet level committee)
The final winners of the youth art and essay categories will be chosen by commissioners on the Youth Empowerment Commission.

Judging criteria for art submissions:

Legible: Well-executed, technically successful.
Responds to the prompt: How well the submission responds to the prompt.
Original: Originality and creative use of material/technique, visual design, innovative processes, and aesthetic appeal.
Inspirational: Portrays a compelling vision for the future.
Holistic: It depicts a holistic picture of daily life in 2050.

Judging criteria for essay submissions:

Legible: Well written, easy-to-read, technically successful.
Responds to the prompt: How well the submission responds to the prompt.
Original: Originality and creativity in the essay’s form and content.
Inspirational: Portrays a compelling vision for the future.
Holistic: It depicts a holistic picture of daily life in 2050.

Winners and Honorable Mentions

In addition to receiving cash prizes, winning essays and creative works will be featured on LCI’s website and promoted through LCI social media channels.

We also hope to highlight as many entries as possible on our website, as honorable mentions, so that we can see the full diversity of ideas the people of California have to offer!