“You cannot create [art] in a vacuum.” At the center of the South Dakota State University campus, tucked into a quiet gallery charged with anticipation, students prepare their canvases, arrange their paintbrushes and comfortably disperse throughout five separate rooms. At precisely 12:45 p.m., the hum of a quiet chatter dies down as a judge scrawls a prompt across a whiteboard at the front of the room. This is Art Wars, and the 90 minutes start now.
Over the ensuing hour-and-a-half, the nearly 100 participants from four different schools will create an original piece in one of five categories: drawing, painting, clay, digital photography or digital art. Over two 90-minute rounds, each participant will complete two original works, each through a different medium. Within this allotted time, they will also be required to compose a writing section explaining their piece and outlining its connection to the prompt. Completed works are then assessed and scored by a group of judges. Sponsored by the South Dakota High School Activities Association in 2024, Art Wars offers South Dakota high school students the opportunity to both develop and showcase their artistic vision beyond a classroom.
“It’s such a unique thing because you’re actually in person making art,” said LHS junior Mulder. “You get to meet so many people, and you get to travel — in art, you usually don’t get to travel.”
Mulder has been participating in Art Wars since his freshman year, which was also the first year that LHS attended the competition. His consistent participation and dedication to his craft culminated last year, placing second in the clay category at the state Art Wars competition. This year, Mulder is one of two LHS students advancing to the state competition, placing second in the clay category at regionals. And, while he competes in both the drawing and clay categories, his focus lies more heavily with ceramics.
“When it comes to ceramics, it’s always up to the clay,” said Mulder. “I have an idea, but I never make a concrete plan. It’s always flowing, and that’s how you make a good piece—allow it to flow in the way that it naturally wants to.”
Under a time limit, the students must combine creativity and the artistic process with their problem-solving skills.
“Having that limited amount of time really makes them think and be resourceful,” said LHS Photography and Drawing teacher Sarah Winterscheidt. “What is their skill set? How are they going to apply that skill set? What do they know already? And then how can they also recreate what they already know?”
A junior art education major at SDSU, Karlee Wynia, participated in Art Wars as a judge this year. According to her, the judging takes a more holistic approach: technical skills are relevant, but by no means the sole determinant.
“Not everyone is at an equal level of skill, and you come here to learn as well. I take more into consideration how you interpret the prompt and what your goal was with the [art], versus just here’s someone who’s very technical and they can complete an objective,” said Wynia. “It’s a combination of skill level and the creativity it takes to come up with something that matches the prompt.”
One of four regional competitions, the Brookings region is made up of 45 different high schools. At the regional competition, two students from each school will be chosen to advance to state. From LHS, those students are Mulder and Kaitlyn Bjerke. State Art Wars will be on April 9-11, 2026, in Aberdeen.
“The level of dedication that they have —with the materials that they bring and the awareness that they have towards whatever they’re doing — it’s really impressive that you can see that they’re all here with a purpose, and they all enjoy what they’re doing,” said Wynia.
More than the judging, however, Art Wars offers students the unique opportunity to connect with other high school artists from across the state. During those 90 minutes, the rooms do not remain silent, with this lively chatter becoming the highlight of the competition for many students.
“I really enjoy the culture of Art Wars — seeing everyone laugh and meeting new people,” said Adyley Vanessen, a first-time competitor from Brandon Valley High School. “It’s important to do these events so we can all share our talents, tips and growth — to [show] that everyone can make things from nothing.”
Being in the presence of so many unique styles and creative minds is already motivating; however, it’s the conversations among the artists that set the foundation for unlikely friendships and profound insights that support collective improvement.
“[Networking] is such a powerful thing,” said LHS senior Aspen Trell. “I want to learn more about other people because I can improve myself. Hopefully, others can improve from the information they learn — that means that we’re all better as a team, even during competition.”
Witnessing the collaborative spirit at Art Wars every year, art teachers echo the sentiment of artistic growth being inherently social.
“You cannot create [art] in a vacuum,” said Winterscheidt. “Looking at what other people are doing and how they are problem-solving, it just gives you insight and you can’t help but become a better artist.”
In competitions that bring together so much passion, it seems natural for hesitant feelings to accompany taking a risk or putting oneself in a position to be challenged. Art Wars, however, breaks away from these assumptions, fostering an environment that prioritizes self-growth and inclusivity.
“Even though Art Wars is competitive, it’s not ‘this team won, and this team lost,’” said Mulder. “It’s an enjoyable experience, and that’s way more important.”
