New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU) invites high school students across Santa Clara County to submit an original artwork responding to the theme: What We Carry. We invite you to consider the many things you hold, from the mundane to the metaphorical.
The objects you keep tell a story about your history, circumstances, and aspirations. While some items serve functional roles in our daily lives, others hold symbolic or sentimental value, like heirlooms and keepsakes. How do these physical objects connect us to our history and to one another?
Oftentimes, the most significant things we carry are intangible. We carry our emotions, ideas, beliefs, experiences, and memories. We carry the work of being human. Whether physical or abstract, we have the choice to share or obscure what we carry. Our environment, experiences, and emotions can influence what we choose to make public or keep private. What compels us to decide what is visible or what is hidden?
As we grow, so does our relationship with what we hold on to. Things that once felt necessary might now feel like a burden or irrelevant. Something overlooked or discarded could now be something worth holding on to. What will you carry into adulthood and what will you let go of?
There may be things you never asked to carry, from personal obligations to societal obstacles. With thoughtful examination of what is carried personally and collectively, we can explore new depths of insight, empathy, and curiosity.
We encourage artists to reflect on all the ways in which they find themselves represented in what they carry. Artists are welcome to respond to some or all aspects of this theme. What do you carry, and what does it reveal about who you are?
About ArtNow
ArtNow is an award-winning annual juried Santa Clara County high school art exhibition and educational program, presented by New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU). ArtNow offers opportunities for high school student artists, from Palo Alto to Gilroy, to gain real-world experience by participating in a juried museum exhibition. Each year, a new theme is chosen for the exhibition and students are asked to submit works based on that theme.
Questions? Email artnow@numulosgatos.org
Important Dates*
November 1, 2026 Submissions open
October 2026 Toolkit published
January 1, 2027, 11:59 PM Teen Council Winter Cohort submissions close
January 31, 2027, 11:59 PM Submissions close
February 26, 2027 Exhibiting artists announced
March 19-21 & 26-27, 10 AM-4 PM Artwork dropoff
April 9, 2027 Exhibition opens
May 1, 2027 ArtNow Awards Ceremony
June 1, 2027, 11:59 PM Teen Council Summer Cohort submissions close
July 18, 2027 Last day to see the exhibition
August 2027 Artwork pickup
*Dates are best estimates & subject to change. Students do not need to apply to ArtNow to apply for the Teen Council and vice versa.
Support for ArtNow 2026 provided by…
Founding Support:
Major Support:
Significant support provided by:
E. Cardinale, The Flick Family, Ginger McDonald
Meaningful support provided by:
Florence & Al Cheung, Lizabeth Yee & Scott Lefaver
Additional support from:
The Linda Smythe Young Artists Fund, Shanthi & Kumar Velu, Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, Marty & Deborah Johnson, and Jane Hiatt.
In-kind support provided by:
BLICK Art Materials
Interested in becoming a sponsor? Email us!
