Agar Art Contest Update for 2020

Agar Art is one of our favorite activities here at the ASM. In past years, we’ve watched as participants have unleashed all of their creativity and expertise to design breathtaking works of art. And we want to continue to encourage and support these efforts. But this year, Agar Art (like everything else) will be different.

Recognizing the safety issues presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the current difficulty of accessing supplies, resources and especially laboratories, we’ve decided to open things up a bit for the contest. We will now allow participants to utilize a broad range of media to create their artwork. Check out the “Open” category to learn more about this new twist to the contest. That being said, if you’re able to safely access laboratory equipment and resources, you can still enter the contest by submitting your entry under the “Traditional” category.

As always, our goal with the Agar Art contest is to showcase the creativity of our members and to engage the public with the microbial sciences on social media. We think that keeping the contest going this year will help maintain a sense of normalcy, while also providing a small diversion from the heavy daily burden of COVID-19. We hope that you will consider submitting.