photo by: Chris Conde

The Watkins Museum, at 1047 Massachusetts St., is shown on Sept. 15, 2018.

An upcoming art competition at Lawrence’s Watkins Museum will help local students become more involved in the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The museum is inviting kindergarten through 12th grade students to participate in an art contest with the theme “The 15th Amendment at 150: The Art of Voting.” The 15th Amendment, ratified on Feb. 3, 1870, granted African American men the right to vote, and the Watkins Museum currently has an exhibit on its third floor dedicated to the anniversary.

The student art contest will provide pieces for an online exhibit that Watkins plans to launch, and it also will include some friendly competition — one grand prize winner will get $150. First- and second-place prizes of varying monetary amounts will be available for three age groups: kindergartners through fourth graders, fifth through eighth graders and ninth through 12th graders. This competition is open for all students, including homeschoolers.

Students’ artwork will be judged based on creativity, originality, artistic skill and how closely the pieces relate to the theme.

For more information about the contest, go to watkinsmuseum.org/15th-digital. Digital files of student artwork are due by Jan. 20 and must be sent to whickox@watkinsmuseum.org.