Happy to announce that the posters received for our first annual International Day of Yoga Poster Contest are now being displayed at the Raupp Museum (901 Dunham Lane) in Buffalo Grove. Please take a look at the beautiful exhibit until June 18. The museum is open M-Th 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. It is closed on Fri-Sat. Thank you to all the participants for your beautiful artwork on the theme of #YogaForWellness, to Raupp Museum for putting up the display, and to our esteemed judges (see bios and comments below) for judging the contest. The judging was done with the contestant names hidden from the judges at the time of judging. The results will be announced at our free community yoga and wellness walk event on June 24. You all are invited to join us for the event. Please see info and sign up at https://tinyurl.com/idy23.
International Day of Yoga Poster Contest #IDY2023
Icon Shakti is happy to announce the first annual poster making contest for kids and adults on the occasion of the 9th International Day of Yoga (#IDY23).
Contest Results:
Balance Group - 1) First Prize - Akshaya Rengasamy, Second Prize - Netra Jain, Third Prize - Shriya Shankar.
Breathe Group - 1) First Prize - Pujita Jain.
Bliss Group - 1) First Prize - Susan Levy, Second Prize - Aruna Jain, Third Prize - Nimisha Singh.
We are thankful to Raupp Museum of Buffalo Grove Park District for their help in conducting this contest.
We are thankful to our prize sponsors - Best Brains of Buffalo Grove (bestbrainsbuffalogrove.com), VYAYAM (vyayam.com), Amitha Fashions (amithafashions.com), & HUM-USA (hum-usa.org).
Please sign up here for the Free Poster Making Contest before submitting your poster at Raupp Museum : https://forms.gle/HrZz9suAt19aj6hQ6 .
Click to check out our Yoga for Wellness Speech Contest.
Click to sign up for the free Community Yoga and Wellness Walk.
Poster Contest Rules:
1) The contest will be held in three age groups - Balance group ages 8-12 years, Breathe group ages 13-18 years, and Bliss group 18+ years.
2) Topic : Yoga for Wellness
3) Prizes for EACH group - first prize - $50, second prize - $35, third prize - $25, if a minimum of 10 participants are in each group. Only two prizes will be awarded in case of 6 - 9 participants, one prize in case of 3 - 5 participants. In case of less than 3 participants, the participants may be merged with the other nearest age category. Ten selected posters in each age category will be displayed at Raupp Museum in Buffalo Grove June 1-21, and on June 24 during the Wellness Walk.
4) There is NO entry fee for entering this contest.
5) The contest is open to all participants (even out of town / state / country) of the ages specified.
6) Posters may be made in any media, such as, water color, pencil sketches, oil painting, etc. It must be hand-made / drawn / colored. It cannot be computer-generated or printed.
7) Drawing paper / canvas size should be of size 12" * 18".
8) Please add a slogan / phrase / caption to your poster.
9) After signing up for the poster making contest at the link given above, please submit your posters (in person / by mail) at Raupp museum, 901 Dunham Lane, Buffalo Grove, IL, 60089, on Sundays May 14 / 21, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Posters will be returned to contestants after displaying those in the Wellness Walk on Saturday, June 24.
10) Hate-inducing, violence-provoking, derogatory, vulgar, and off-the-topic posters will be disqualified from the contest. Organizers' decision will be final in this respect.
11) Poster will be made by a single person. It is not a group project.
12) Contestants may be required randomly to submit a proof of their birth date (birth certificate or school record).
13) A panel of judges will choose three winners in each category based on criteria such as creativity, content, neatness, uniqueness, aesthetics, and overall effect of the poster. Judges' decision will be final.
14) Winners will be announced on Saturday, June 24 at the 9th International Day of Yoga event at Peterson Pool Park (16652, N. Buffalo Grove Road, Prairie View, IL, 60069) at 10:15 a.m. All are invited to join us for the free community yoga practice and a wellness walk before and after the prize distribution. Please sign up for this free event here: https://forms.gle/AeCR6U29QhSJpfea9 (event is free, registration is mandatory).
15 ) For more information, please write to vidya@vyayam.com or call 1-847-537-4710 (landline).
Our Judges: Bio and Comments
Smt. Ruchi Saxena, Center Director of three Best Brains’ centers, born in India, has been a resident of the US for 20+ years now. She loves to dive deep in spiritually, while exploring the heights of science. Creativity is her passion. She strives for excellence in every area of life- be it her kitchen, her everyday household life, her kids or her profession. In short, she is a seeker a learner. Her professional career started as “Programmer Analyst” in summer of 1995 after completing her M.S. in Operations Research. She took a break from her full time Technical IT career of 13+ yrs. long, to be with her kids, and decided to run Best Brains centers after seeing positive results for her daughter. She believes that "The knowledge should spread widely and no one should have to miss out on an opportunity to learn. Every moment is learning, from life, from people around, from academics. A little focus, help and proper direction can lead our kids, to do things in right manner."
Comments: "Looking at these wonderful pieces of art gives me peace. Youn minds are surely doing something "Right". They will do awesome in their lives."
Smt. Shirani Nayar, is a quirky and unconventional soul on a quest for creative liberation. As an economics honors undergrad and MBA, she has a knack for understanding and solving problems, and her heart and head constantly yearn for something extraordinary. That's why she is currently diving headfirst into the unexplored realms of Digital Media Design and Social Media Marketing at CLC, where she is weaving her analytical prowess with a vibrant artistic flair. Her professional journey has been a wild ride— a business administrator in education, strategic communicator in the PR industry, an entrepreneur, consultant in social media marketing, She discovered her passion for photography along the way. Her mobile photo earned its rightful place in the prestigious Museo Camera Gallery after being selected for their photography challenge in 2022. She feels a thrilling freedom in being an amateur—a boundless world of daring possibilities. While professionals focus on incremental improvements, she strives for invention, defying the roles assigned to us by the world.
Comments: "It was wonderful to see the creative expression of each individual through their artwork. However, some contestants did not follow the guidelines for the posters, and as a result, they couldn't be considered for the prizes. This reminds us of the importance of being mindful and following the rules, just like in the practice of yoga. Nonetheless, The overall quality of the artwork was impressive. Judging criteria were creativity, content, neatness, aesthetics, and the overall impact. It was a tough decision to choose the winners, given the talent and effort put into the artwork."
Smt. Soumya Subash started her journey in arts at a very young age. Passion for art made her learning spirit strong day by day. She draws inspiration from the traditional Indian art forms like Kalamkari, Madhubani, Kerala mural, Warli art and many more. It is a continuous journey for her to try bring out the art forms across different mediums. Now through Art4hearts- where creativity awakens within you, Soumya is sharing her vision. Every piece, whether custom designed for the client or otherwise, is handmade personally by her using only the best materials locally available. Each custom piece is uniquely designed to bring out your personality based on your inputs. At Art4hearts you will come across Indian art inspired hand-painted necklaces, casual knits, Kashmiri embroidered polymer clay jewelries, home decor pieces and gift items for housewarming and special occasions among others. There is something for everyone and for every occasion. And now you too can learn this and many more art forms from her online and in person classes in her studio located in Arlington heights! Her Fb / Insta pages - www.facebook.com/Art4hearts.soumya www.instagram.com/art4hearts.soumya
Comments: "It was nice to see different age groups participating in this Yoga art poster contest. Every poster created by participants has its own creative touch and take on it. Seeing younger participants' perspectives on Yoga and its health benefits gave us a tough competition to judge this contest. It was a humble experience judging along with other two renowned judges 🙏"