Activist Artist Scholarship

Scholarship Value: $5,000

Awards Available: 4

Award Deadline: Feb 28, 2025


Our Activist Artist initiative recognizes the powerful connection between human rights and artists around the world. Human rights activists come from many different backgrounds, but one of the most powerful, yet often overlooked, forces in the human rights movement are the artists.

Artists can challenge, inform, inspire, and ultimately move communities toward understanding, acceptance and change.  Through diverse media, such as film, writing, theater, dance, music, painting, poetry, and drawing, artists express the raw emotions that can often provoke needed attention and action on human rights crises around the world.

As part of our Global Citizenship work, the Lantos Foundation is committed to supporting, encouraging, and recognizing the work of Artist Activists who tell human rights stories in ways that are unique, inspiring and significant.

The Activist Artist Scholarship was launched in 2020 with a grant from Bank of New Hampshire as an annual competition dedicated to the work of Activist Artists all over the world. Students are challenged to examine the influence of an Activist Artist’s work on a particular human rights issue or create and submit their own Activist Art

Since 2020, New Hampshire students from more than 47 schools have taken advantage of this scholarship opportunity and fourteen scholarships totaling $50,000 have been awarded.

Category #1

We encourage applicants to examine the influence of a particular Activist Artist and write a 600-1,000 word essay that shows how that artist used his/her medium to influence, inform, and inspire action on human rights during their lifetime or beyond. We have provided an example of an essay submission.

Category #2

This category provides students with the opportunity to show the same influence and inspiration by submitting an original piece of art, music, dance, or written form of original work focused on a human rights issue. Rather than an essay, they will be required to submit a 250-500 word “museum plaque” explanation of their work. Here is an example of original Activist Art and a museum plaque to guide you in your submission:

We encourage students to seek inspiration from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the seminal document enshrining the rights and freedoms of all human beings. We also hope students will look outside of the United States to consider issues that arise in countries where democracy does not prevail and where authoritarianism and lack of press freedom often mean that human rights violations happen without any consequences for the abusers. Here are some examples of human rights issues students may wish to consider, but this is far from an exhaustive list:

  • Disintegration of Rule of Law in Hong Kong, Russia, etc.
  • Prisoners of conscience/wrongfully detained prisoners
  • Women’s Rights in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc.
  • Restrictions on freedom of religion, conscience, and belief
  • Persecution of ethnic minorities/vulnerable groups
  • Genocide/threat of genocide
  • Limitations on internet freedom
How to Apply:

Be Bold Scholarship

Deadline: Dec 01, 2024
$25,000
The "Be Bold" Scholarship is a no-essay scholarship that will be awarded to the applicant with the boldest profile. It takes less than 2 minutes to apply.To us, boldest does not mean "best", or "most accomplished". Being bold means being:EarnestDeterminedMovingThe scholarship will be awarded to the student whose profile is most bold, according to these characteristics.Furthermore, the scholarship will be...

Niche $50,000 Scholarship

Deadline: Dec 31, 2024
$50,000
Covering the cost of college expenses for four years without writing a single essay? Sounds too good to be true.It isn't with Niche. We are giving one student $50,000 (our biggest scholarship yet) to help pay for tuition, living expenses, books, and other educational expenses.Who Can ApplyAll high school and college students, as well as anyone looking to attend college...

ScholarshipOwl No Essay Scholarship

Deadline: Nov 29, 2024
$1,000
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$3,500
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Sallie Mae "No Essay" Scholarship

Deadline: Nov 30, 2024
$2,000
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Future Leaders Scholarship

Deadline: Nov 30, 2024
$1,500
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The Future is Now Scholarship

Deadline: Nov 30, 2024
$1,001
The Lenny Scholarship offers $1,001 US to support young individuals aged 16 and above, enrolled in college and residing in the US or India. Automatic disqualification may occur for multiple applications.EligibilityYou must be a resident of the US or IndiaYou must be 16 years of age or olderYou must be enrolled in a college

$10,000
The Scholarships360 $10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship is open to all students who want some extra help paying for their education. Whether you are a high school student who hopes to go to college, a graduate student who’s in a master’s program, or an adult learner who wants to return to school, you are eligible for our no essay scholarship.This scholarship...

Appily Easy Money Scholarship

Deadline: Nov 30, 2024
$1,000
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Common App Scholarship

Deadline: Nov 30, 2024
$2,000
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