Community Feature – The Art of Violence Prevention

In the Summer of 2008, PCVPC held a Photo/Drawing Contest in its target communities of West/Southwest Philadelphia. Community members were asked to submit photographs or drawings promoting violence prevention, conflict resolution, or good decision making skills. PCVPC worked closely with one of our community outreach workers to promote the contest in community centers and to engage a larger number of youth contestants. The majority of entries were submitted by youth ages 9 to 16.

The final entries were reviewed by a panel of PCVPC members, and winning drawings were selected based on their creativity, artistic appeal, and ability to promote violence prevention. Five drawings (including one Grand Prize winner from each of three age categories: 12 and under, 13 to 16, and 17 and over) were selected to receive prizes donated by corporate and individual sponsors. The contest proved an excellent opportunity to engage youth in positive, artistic activities, as well as to encourage them to actively identify the resources and activities that can be used to avoid and prevent violence in their own communities.