2023 National Veterans Day Poster Contest Open for submissions

Whether you’re a seasoned photographer or a budding painter, here’s your opportunity to show off your talent and use your artwork to honor Veterans. VA and the Veterans Day National Committee are now accepting submissions for the 2023 Veterans Day Poster Contest. Submissions are due by 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on April 1, 2023.

This contest is open to all. Your art should reflect this year’s theme of “Service.” Veterans have shaped the American character, giving us an extraordinary legacy of patriotism and honor. Their service represents the highest form of citizenship.

Briana Cummings, creator of the winning 2022 design, entered the contest because “I believe in the VA mission, not only as a VHA employee but as an indebted citizen of our nation. The sacrifices our service members and their loved ones endure to secure our freedoms astound me. As a designer, I entered the contest to express my utmost gratitude for our Veterans and to help honor them on Veterans Day.”

The winning poster will be distributed to VA facilities, military installations worldwide and across cities and towns in our nation. It will also serve as the cover of the official program for the Veterans Day observance at Arlington National Cemetery, scheduled for Nov. 11, 2023.

Although creativity has no rules, there are a few submission guidelines:

• Artwork must be 18” x 24” at 300 dots per inch, with scaled down submissions to 9”x12.”
• The design will be used for a 1” x 1.5” lapel pin. Simple designs look best scaled down to lapel pins. If you’d like to submit a modified design for the lapel pin based on the original poster design, you may do so.
• Submissions are not restricted to “human-centric” images, such as a joint color guard. Images of American icons, monuments or scenery can qualify.
• Submissions must be representative of all Veterans who served. The Committee may select a particular submission but ask the artist to modify the original design. Additional changes may be required prior to printing.
• Each design must include the words “Veterans Day,” “November 11, 2023,” and “Honoring all who served.”
• All submissions must include sufficient information to demonstrate that the image is the artist’s work and is not copyrighted material (i.e., photos and concepts).

Successful designs are very simple, with minimal imagery and verbiage. To view examples of past winning submissions, visit The Veterans Day Poster Gallery.

Submit electronic versions as jpg images or PDF files by email to vetsday@va.gov.