The Streets, Art, SAFE Competitions are in Full Swing!
SAFE is excited to announce that registration is open for the ninth annual Streets, Art, SAFE film competition and the inaugural poster competition—it’s double the fun, with the introduction of the poster competition to accompany the longstanding film competition.
Streets, Art, SAFE offers high school students an opportunity to advocate for street safety through the arts and use their creativity to make positive change in their communities through Public Service Announcements (PSAs) that highlight the importance of traffic safety.
“Since we started the event in 2015, sharing the stage with these incredible students for Streets, Art, SAFE is a highlight for me, each and every year,” says Damian Kevitt, SAFE Founder and Executive Director. “I’m continually impressed by the high quality of the filmmaking, the depth of the research, and the passion that each student brings to the competition. I’m looking forward to seeing what students create and helping them spread their life-saving message — that together we can bring traffic fatalities to zero — again this year.”
Students who compete in Streets, Art, SAFE receive support from coaches and mentors with years of industry experience, giving them an opportunity to grow as filmmakers and artists and pursue their passions.
This passion for filmmaking is often what drives students to get involved in the competition, according to Kylea-Rose Kevitt, who runs the event as SAFE’s volunteer program manager. But whatever perspective students begin the competition with, they leave with a deeper understanding of the crisis of traffic violence in the United States.
“Students often enter the process feeling like ‘here’s a project where I can work on my filmmaking skills,’ or ‘my teacher told me to do this,’ or ‘I could win a cash prize,’’ Kevitt says. “But they come away from it having learned a valuable life lesson that could save their lives or the life of a friend or family. The competition allows them to discover the dangers themselves, which is much more powerful and something they keep with them.”
Streets, Art, SAFE empowers young people to address the scourge of traffic violence directly because it affects teenagers most directly: traffic violence is the leading cause of death for United States teens. In Southern California, the crisis is worse: motor vehicle crashes account for more than 50% of accidental premature deaths in LA County, and in LA City alone, traffic collisions are the #1 cause of death for youth aged 5-14.
Spreading the Message Far and Wide
The inaugural poster competition provides another outlet for students to use their creativity and increase the reach of Streets, Art, SAFE across multiple media. Students can choose from a list of recommended PSA topics, including drunk/drugged driving, distracted driving, traffic laws, speeding, or safe driving.
Students who enter the poster competition have the chance to win in two Special Awards Categories, both with their own cash prizes: the Pedestrian Safety Special Award, sponsored by AAA, and the Encouragement Message Special Award, which comprises three subcategories: Cycling Encouragement, Walking Encouragement and Public Transportation Encouragement.
“The goal is to encourage people to experience life outside a car,” Kevitt says. “Students can pick the topic of the message and how they want to creatively express that, ultimately encouraging others to bike, walk and take transit by showing the benefits of different modes of transit. With the upcoming Olympics, popularizing these modes and their safe use is more vital than ever.”
New Partnership!
In addition to sponsoring the Pedestrian Safety Special Award this year, for the first time, AAA is a Presenting Sponsor of Streets, Art, SAFE. AAA joins returning sponsors Waymo, Davidson Bike Law, and Street Racing Kills, as well as supporters EditMentor and GSTV.
The partnership with AAA “expands our reach, allowing us to leverage their resources to really spread the word about traffic safety, active transportation and pedestrian safety,” Kevitt says.
Part of the partnership with AAA includes educational webinars, such as “Making the Best Traffic Safety Art: Getting the Message Across,” an Oct. 30 virtual event featuring SAFE Founder and Executive Director Damian Kevitt and AAA’s Director of Traffic Safety Advocacy & Research Jake Nelson. (Register for the event here.)
Please help us spread the word about another exciting year of Streets, Art, SAFE — we can’t wait to see what these inventive young artists create!
Visit our website if you’d like to learn more about the film competition or the poster competition. Registration for Streets, Art, SAFE is open from now until January 6, 2025.