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In May 2024, ODP selected 10 young artists from across the country to receive cash prizes for their original art showing what people or communities can do to prevent disease and injury, support well-being, and promote more equitable health outcomes for everyone (learn more about ODP’s art challenge below ). ODP awarded prizes based on the artwork’s creativity, quality, and thoughtfulness about how prevention can help advance health equity.
The winning artwork provides insight into some of the pressing health and equity issues young people are thinking about in their lives. Topics range from the importance of social support and community connections, vaccinations, and heart-healthy habits, to the benefits of community gardens and multilingual, inclusive health care.
Click/tap the link in the captions below to see a larger version of the artwork in a new tab.
Gallery of Winning Artwork
1st Place Teen: Community is Health (see full size)
Artist: Aurora Kroenke (California)
Caption: The piece, “Community is Health,” depicts a community potluck, which shows the importance of a wholesome diet, social interaction, and the celebration of culture, for health and quality of life.
2nd Place Teen: Hero (see full size)
Artist: Sophia Grossman (Washington, D.C.)
Caption: My painting relies on the theme of heroism to convey the importance of preventative health care. It teaches that we can all be heroes by getting vaccinated, which protects both ourselves and vulnerable people in our community. The boy is emphasizing that, despite his age, he is a hero by getting vaccinated. The boy’s band-aid has a Batman symbol—a superhero the boy seeks to emulate. Also, the boy is posing like Rosie the Riveter, a symbol of encouraging people to take action and be heroes.
3rd Place Teen: To Light Up a Life (see full size)
Artist: Carina Leong (Oregon)
Caption: Sometimes the support of a friend, family member, or significant other can be the difference between falling into a depressive spiral, or opening up and gaining the courage to seek help from people that care about you, finding someone that can light up and bring enjoyment back into your life.
1st Place Young Adult: Charging Up Against Heart Disease (see full size)
Artist: Xinyi Christine Zhang (New Jersey)
Caption: Heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S., disproportionately affects African Americans and people with disabilities, among other groups. In my piece, one's initial health, shown as the red bars, reflects genetic, environmental, and social heart disease risk factors. The heart's vitality is "charged up" by the yellow fluid through preventative measures such as regular check-ups, exercise, nutritious diets, and avoiding smoking–unifying diverse individuals to improve their health as much as possible.
2nd Place Young Adult: The Power of Parenting (see full size)
Artist: Claire Robinette (Tennessee)
Caption: The scene depicts a mother taking her child to have a check-up at the pediatrician. Regular doctor visits are a form of prevention that can create a healthy lifesyle and prevent serious illnesses. The scene also depicts the mother reading a book about "germs" to her child. Health education, especially at a young age, is also a form of prevention. These healthy habits exhibited by the mother can be passed down to her child and even to her grandchildren and further, perpetuating healthy habits.
[Translation: The poster on the far left that says “Habla Español? Tenemos un traductor” is translated, “Do you speak Spanish? We have a translator.” The poster on the left that says, “vacunarse hoy!” in green letters is translated as “Get vaccinated today!”]
3rd Place Young Adult: Preventing Loneliness Through Social Support (see full size)
Artist: Remi Adeniji (New York)
Caption: This comic explores loneliness amid academic pressures by a New York City (NYC) student. NYC.gov reports half of New Yorkers feel lonely. Drawing on NYC government and University of Reading, the comic shows how hobbies and social support combat loneliness and depression, symbolized by the microphone/singing and friendship. These avenues of support may be via local support groups, skill development, or hobbies which can enhance the brain's reward system, create passions, and lead to camaraderie.
Honorable Mention: A Translation Can Mean Everything (see full size)
Artist: Chantal Rodriguez (Illinois)
Caption: Language barriers have been one of the largest issues that prevent many non-English speakers from receiving the COVID vaccine. The lack of translated material has led many immigrant communities to have misinformation about the vaccine and virus, discouraging them from getting vaccinated. With information in various languages, we can begin vaccinating more people and preventing viruses like COVID, growing an educated and safer community rather than being lost in a web of an unknown language.
Honorable Mention: Cutting Weighted Ties: Running to a Better Future (see full size)
Artist: Alexis Gumapas (Maryland)
Caption: In the painting, a girl is being out free from ties with drugs. The scissors in the painting symbolize prevention. They free the girl from being weighed down by drugs, allowing her to run towards safer, healthier choices. Prevention can stop people from getting sick or using harmful substances. It can cut off ties to negative and dangerous decisions before they are considered. Prevention also gives hope for a better future which is conveyed by the bright colors the girl is running toward.
Honorable Mention: Dome of Health (see full size)
Artist: Danielle Wang (Minnesota)
Caption: Surrounded by infectious diseases, drugs, and polluted environments, lower socioeconomic groups are most vulnerable to poor health. Nevertheless, they represent the most diverse and authentic communities they symbolize the spirit of America. When everyone engages in healthy lifestyle choices, like through exercise and healthy eating, it creates a protective shield against ailments. This artwork is a visual celebration of the power of preventative health in under-resourced communities.
Honorable Mention: Filling Food Deserts with Community Gardens (see full size)
Artist: Sofia Birkmeier (Washington, D.C.)
Caption: My art piece shows how people can come together to make a positive impact in their community through gardening. Food deserts are communities that have limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Community gardens provide not just improved access to fresh food but an opportunity for people to build meaningful connections for the health and wellness of all.
In Their Own Words
The winning artists share insights on the thought process behind their topics and how they created their artwork.
About the Art Challenge
In 2023, ODP encouraged teens (13 to 17 years of age) and young adults (18 to 22 years of age) to share their ideas—through art—about how prevention can help improve the health of people in the United States, no matter who they are or where they live.
One way to help people have better health is through prevention. Prevention means to take actions to keep people from getting sick or injured instead of trying to treat them after these problems happen.
Prevention can include:
- People changing what they do, like quitting smoking, getting a flu shot, eating healthy foods, getting exercise, and wearing a bike helmet
- People changing the environment, like making roads and streets safer, building parks and walking paths, and reducing air pollution
There are some groups of people who often have worse health than the general population. Prevention is especially important to improve the health of people from these groups:
- People from certain racial or ethnic groups (Black Americans or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders)
- People who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, or asexual (LGBTQIA)
- People who have lower incomes
- People who live in rural areas
- People who have disabilities
Artwork should show how prevention can help people from one or more of these groups from getting sick or injured. Here are some examples of health issues that can be prevented, but you can choose any health issue that is meaningful to you:
- Smoking or vaping
- Drinking alcohol or using drugs
- Unhealthy diet or eating habits
- Not being physically active or not getting enough exercise
- Infections (for example, COVID-19, flu, HIV)
- Depression or loneliness
- Bullying
- Dating violence
- Gun violence
- Accidents (for example, car accidents, getting hurt at work)
- Sports injuries