Here are the best art contests to enter in 2023.

Artists Magazine Annual Art Competition

This contest seeks to encourage future artists. Kids under 16 are encouraged to submit two-dimensional artwork including paintings, drawings, computer-generated artwork, photographs, and more to their representatives for consideration, wherever they are. Entries are accepted online each spring. The fees are $20 for each entry. The winners will have their artwork publicly displayed at the Capitol for a year, and are also honored at an award.

The Chelsea Fine Arts Competition

For 30 years, this annual art contest has awarded worldwide visual artists. This contest is open to visual artists from around the world at any stage of their careers who are at least 18 years of age. The entry period is from March 3rd until June 3rd. There’s a fee for entering: $40 for two pieces of artwork. There’s an early bird period with a reduced fee for entries.

Doodle for Google Art Contest

This annual contest gives exposure and support to people around the globe who use technology to create artwork. Aside from the prizes, this contest also involves exhibitions and events to raise awareness. The entry fees are $50 for up to five images and $5 for each additional image. The deadline for entries and fees is in mid-March.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

The art contest is open to students who are at least 13 years old from September to December. No fee is charged for this contest. Winners are selected in the visual and literary arts on the basis of originality and technical skill and will receive prizes that include publication, exhibition, and educational scholarships worth up to $10,000.

In a modern society, the public can share many things, such as bicycles and cars. That is commonly referred to as a “sharing economy”. If “shared grannies” sounds new, that is because it is a new idea in Chinese society.

A team of elderly women who serve as “shared grannies”, in Shipingcun Community, Chongqing recently received praise online. They help working parents pick up their children from school, help children with their homework, and take children to different kinds of activities.

The team has nine women in their 60s or 70s, most of whom live alone. They volunteer to look after more than 20 students from Yangshilu Primary School.

The community, with 6,500 households, has more than 20000peopleof whom more than 5,000 are aged 60 or older. And there are many working parents unable to pick up their children from school, and many of those parents do not have anyone to pick up their children. So they are in badly need of help.

On the other hand, many elderly women in the community are not ready to settle into retired(退休的)life, and they are eager to continue to do something for their community. So the “shared grannies” program was set up in April.

Deng Lihong, 66, volunteered to be a “shared granny”. “Although we are old, we should still do something good for our country. Children are the future of our country. I feel young and pleasant with the children, and my retired life is meaningful,” she says.

Cui Jingqin, a self-employed laborer, has relied on the “shared grannies” since the program began. “My son loves these grannies, and I am glad that the ‘shared grannies’ can take care of our children after school,” she says.

Peng Mei, secretary of the Party Committee of Shipingcun Community, says that in addition to ‘shared grannies’ they also call on college students to serve as volunteers, buy more books and organize more activities for children.

One research suggests that as much as 25% of apples, 20% of onions and 13% of potatoes grown in the UK are destroyed because they don’t look right. This means that producers’ efforts to meet stringent specifications from buyers can lead to perfectly eatable produce being thrown away before it even leaves the farm simply because of how it looks.

In recent years there has been a growing trend of selling such “ugly” fruit and vegetables, both by major supermarket chains, as well as special retailers(零售商)that sell boxes of such produce. And research has shown that 87% of people say they would eat imperfect fruit and vegetables if they were available. But other research indicates consumers can still be picky and difficult to predict. One study showed consumers are likely to throw away an apple with a spot, but would eat a bent cucumber.

So how can producers and retailers boost the amount of non-standard fruit and help that not only reaches our shelves, but also our plates? Our recent research suggests a specific channel for selling ugly produce would increase profits for growers, lower prices for consumers and boost overall demand for produce. Our research also shows that selling the ugly produce in this way is likely to increase total demand for fruit and vegetables, while also decreasing on-farm loss.

However, the growing market for ugly fruit and vegetables could be an economic threat to traditional retailers. It encourages new businesses into the market and could also limit the availability of “regular” produce because growers could become less stringent about ensuring produce meets traditional outside standards.

But there is a way for traditional retailers to add ugly produce into their product offerings alongside other produce without affecting their profits. By building on existing consumer awareness of the environmental benefits of ugly food, they could also compete in this growing market. This would possibly lead to less food waste and shortages.

Someday, you may no longer need to brush your teeth by hand. Instead, billions of nanoparticles(纳米颗粒)could automatically do all that work for you. The nanoparticles are very tiny. Magnets(磁铁)can make them move. If you set up a magnet in just the right way, says Ed Steager, “You can arrange them into any shape you want.”

Steager is an engineer at the University of Pennsylvania. Together, he and his colleague Hyun Koo found a way to form the nanoparticles into long, skinny bristles(鬃毛), a lot like the ones on a toothbrush. But these bristles shape-shift to fit whatever surface they encounter. They can even squeeze between teeth.

The scientists tested the robotic bristles in the lab. But the device isn’t yet ready for people to use. The magnets and nanoparticles will need to fit comfortably and safely inside a person’s mouth. The researchers are working with a company to accomplish this safely and effectively. But if these inventors can perfect the device, a lot of people will benefit, especially the disabled.

The tooth-cleaning robot works thanks to two magnets. One goes on each side of the teeth. The nanoparticles sit in a water-based solution between the magnets. All of this may fit into something the size and shape of a mouthguard, though the researchers haven’t settled on a design for the device yet.

As a bonus, the nanoparticles also kill those harmful bacteria in the mouth. The water-based liquid that holds them contains a substance commonly added to toothpaste(牙膏)and mouthwash. It kills some bacteria on its own. But when these nanoparticles react with it, powerful germ-killing substances get created.

The new device is just a proof of a notion. The researchers still need to turn it into a product that people will want to use. It must fit comfortably and safely in people’s mouths. It can’t draw too much power or cost too much. “There’s a lot of engineering to get from here to there,” says Steager. But, as Melo says, “every good idea needs to have a start.”