Terms of Service

Please read these Terms of Service ("Terms," "Agreement") carefully before using the Art for Awareness website (artforawareness.art) and participating in our competitions. By accessing or using our Platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Platform.

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User," "Participant," "you") and Art for Awareness ("we," "us," "our," or the "Platform").

1. Eligibility & Participation

• Grade Requirement: The school categories are open to students in LKG through Grade 12, who enter the class they are in on the day they submit. Home-schooled children and children not in school enter the class matching their age. No participant may enter a higher category than their own. The college, corporate, teacher, principal, adult and senior-citizen categories are open only to participants aged 18 or older, who confirm this when they enter. The Others (Autism) category is open to autistic participants of any age; no certificate or proof is required.
• Age Requirement: Participation is open from LKG (approximately 3 years of age) upward. There is no upper age limit.
• Geographic Scope: Participation is open to eligible participants in India and in other countries, unless restricted by the laws of the participant's country. Participants outside India are judged on the same basis as participants in India and are eligible for the Certificate of Participation and, if declared winners, the Winner Certificate. Physical winner gifts are delivered only to addresses in India (see section 6, Delivery). Where the entry form does not accept a participant's mobile number, the participant may contact us and we will assist with the entry.
• Parental Consent: All participants under the age of 18 must obtain verifiable consent from a parent or legal guardian before registering or submitting artwork. The parent/guardian contact information collected during registration is used solely for consent verification and competition-related communication.
• Accurate Information: You agree to provide truthful, accurate, and complete registration information. Providing false information may result in disqualification.

2. Account Registration & Security

• You may register using email and password or via Google OAuth. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials.
• You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorised use of your account or any other breach of security.
• We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or engage in fraudulent activity.

3. Monthly Competition Rules

3.1 The Official Worksheet

Every competition comes with an official Art for Awareness worksheet, available to download from our website. Participants should use the current month's worksheet. A participant who cannot print the worksheet may instead use plain white A4 paper on which a large circle has been drawn by hand, with the artwork made inside that circle.

• Download the official worksheet for the current month's competition from our website before you begin.
• The worksheet may be printed on A4 or A3 paper, in colour or black and white, on any home or commercial printer.
• Complete your artwork within the designated drawing area (the circle) on the worksheet. Colours may touch the edge of the circle; the main drawing must be inside it. Do not crop, trim, or alter the worksheet format.
• The worksheet design changes each month to match the theme. Only the current month's worksheet is valid for that month's competition.
• The artwork must be newly created for the current month's theme. Artwork made earlier, or submitted to any other competition, is not eligible.
• Take a clear, well-lit photograph of the completed worksheet (or plain paper) and upload it as your submission. All four corners must be visible in the photograph.

3.2 Originality & Content

All submitted artwork must be entirely original and created solely by the registered participant. By submitting artwork, you represent and warrant that:

• The artwork is your own original creation and does not infringe upon any third-party copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights.
• The artwork has not been copied, traced, or substantially derived from another artist's work, photograph, or digital asset without authorisation.
• You have not used AI-generated imagery as the primary or substantial component of your submission unless explicitly permitted for a specific competition theme.
• Submissions must not contain violent, offensive, sexual, or harmful content. We reserve the right to reject or remove any submission at any time.
• The artwork must be made by hand on paper, using pencil, colour pencils, crayons, sketch pens, markers, watercolour, poster colour, oil pastels, ink or similar hand media. Digital drawings, AI-generated images, printed pictures, stickers, photographs, glued objects and loose glitter are not permitted.
• An adult may guide and encourage a child participant, but the child must do the drawing and colouring. Participants in LKG and UKG may receive help to start.
• Each artwork must be made by one person. Group artworks are not accepted.
• Words or a slogan, in any language, are optional. The participant's name, school, phone number or any other personal detail must not be written on the front of the artwork, so that judging stays anonymous.

3.2.1 Upload rules and takedown

• Upload only your own original work. Do not upload anything that infringes copyright, trademark or privacy rights, shows other people without their permission, or is unlawful.
• We may remove or hide any artwork at any time, with or without notice, if it breaks these rules or if we receive a valid complaint. Participants who repeatedly upload infringing content are removed.
• To report artwork, use the Report Artwork / Takedown page. We acknowledge reports within 24 hours and resolve them within 15 days.

3.3 Submission Guidelines

• Each participant may submit only one artwork per monthly competition. If more than one entry is received from the same participant, only the first entry received is kept and later entries are not judged.
• One email address and phone number (for example, a parent's) may be used for the entries of several participants, such as siblings, provided each participant submits their own artwork through their own form.
• A photograph of the participant's face is optional. If provided, it is used only on the participant's certificate and is never published.
• Accepted formats: JPEG or PNG.
• Maximum file size: 10 MB.
• Minimum image resolution: 1,200 x 900 pixels.
• The photograph must be clear, in focus, and well-lit. Blurry or dark images may be rejected.
• Entries must be submitted before the closing date and time stated for each competition on our website and on the worksheet. All dates and times are Indian Standard Time (IST). Late entries will not be accepted.
• Submissions must align with the stated theme of the competition month.

4. Intellectual Property & License

4.1 Ownership

By submitting an artwork to Art for Awareness, you confirm the work is your own original creation. You keep the copyright in your artwork. You give us only the licence described in section 4.2, which lets us display and use the artwork on our website, social channels, contest materials, and promotional collateral, with credit to you as the artist. You warrant that the work does not infringe any third party's rights.

4.2 License Grant to Platform

By submitting artwork to the Platform, you grant Art for Awareness a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license to use, reproduce, display, distribute, and create derivative works of your submitted artwork solely for the following purposes:

• Displaying in the online gallery and competition results pages.
• Promotional and marketing materials related to the competition and the Platform's mission.
• Social media features, press releases, and sponsor reports (with appropriate attribution).
• Educational and awareness-building content aligned with our cause-based mission.

This license survives termination of your account to the extent necessary for us to maintain historical competition records and continue displaying archived gallery content. You may request removal of your artwork from active promotional channels by contacting us.

4.3 Attribution

Wherever your artwork is displayed by the Platform, we will make reasonable efforts to attribute the work to the participant's name (as given at entry) and grade category. You may ask us to use only a first name or to remove the attribution by writing to us.

5. Judging Criteria & Process

All submissions are evaluated anonymously by a jury, within each judging category, on four criteria of equal weight:

• Concept: the idea and how it interprets the theme.
• Execution: how well the artwork is drawn.
• Theme Fit: how well the artwork addresses the monthly theme.
• Impact: the clarity and strength of the message.

Judges do not see the participant's name, school or photograph. Individual scores are not shared.

Judging decisions are final and binding. We do not entertain appeals regarding subjective artistic evaluation. However, technical errors in scoring or eligibility verification may be raised with us within 7 days of result announcement.

6. Gifts & Rewards

• Gift Distribution: Winners in each judging category receive winner gifts. The number of winners awarded in a category is determined by our evaluation criteria and the entries received, and may vary from category to category. Judging categories are organised across 9 audience groups — Kindergarten (LKG/UKG), School (one category per grade, Grade 1 through Grade 12), College (UG, PG, Research Scholar), Corporate (by work experience), Teachers (school and college), Principals (school and college), Artists, and Others (under 59 years, above 60 years, and Autism), making 28 judging categories. Each school grade is judged separately so a Grade 3 student does not compete against a Grade 12 student. Contest gift details are announced with the winner list on the website.
• Participation Rewards: Every verified participant receives a digital Certificate of Participation.
• Non-Transferable: Gifts are non-transferable, non-exchangeable, and cannot be exchanged for money.
• Winner Response: Winners will be contacted via the email address provided at submission. Winners must complete the gift-claim form within 14 days of our first message about their win. Failure to respond within this window will result in forfeiture of the gift, which will then be awarded to the next eligible entry.
• Delivery: Physical gifts are shipped only to delivery addresses in India, as provided by the winner. A winner who lives outside India may give any address in India (for example, that of a family member or friend). A winner who does not provide a delivery address in India receives the Winner Certificate but is not eligible for the physical gift, and no substitute is offered. We are not responsible for non-delivery due to incorrect addresses or delays caused by incorrect contact details.

7. Disqualification & Account Termination

We reserve the right to disqualify any participant and/or terminate any account without prior notice for:

• Submitting plagiarised, AI-generated (where prohibited), or non-original artwork.
• Providing false, misleading, or fraudulent registration information.
• Attempting to manipulate voting, judging, or competition results.
• Engaging in harassment, abuse, or harmful conduct toward other participants, judges, or staff.
• Violating any applicable law or regulation.
• Creating multiple accounts to gain unfair advantage.

Disqualified participants forfeit any gifts, certificates, or rewards associated with the relevant competition event.

8. School Partners

• School partner accounts must be used only for educational participation in Art for Awareness competitions.
• Schools are responsible for obtaining parental consent for all student participants.
• Schools must not resell or sublicense access to the platform.
• Annual partner fees are non-refundable after 30 days from the invoice date. Within those 30 days, a refund can be requested in writing at contact@artforawareness.art.
• There is no entry fee for participants, so there is nothing for a participant to refund.
• Additional terms specific to each school partnership are set out in the separately signed School Partner Agreement.

9. Sponsors

• Sponsorship terms are governed by the Sponsor Agreement signed separately.
• Sponsors have no right to influence, direct, or override competition results or jury decisions.
• Monthly Impact Reports are shared with sponsors within 10 business days of the competition month closing.
• Sponsorship fees must be paid before a campaign begins.
• We may decline any sponsorship that conflicts with our values.

10. Code of Conduct

All users of the Platform must adhere to the following code of conduct:

• Treat all participants, judges, moderators, and staff with respect and courtesy.
• Do not post or share content that is defamatory, obscene, threatening, or discriminatory.
• Do not spam, phish, or distribute malware through the Platform.
• Do not attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Platform or other users' accounts.
• Respect intellectual property rights at all times.
• Do not use bots, scrapers or other automated tools to collect or bulk-download artwork, names or other content from the Platform, or to copy the Platform, without our written permission.

Violations may result in content removal, account suspension, or permanent banning, at our sole discretion.

11. Platform Availability & Modifications

• We strive to maintain continuous availability of the Platform but do not guarantee uninterrupted access. Scheduled maintenance and unforeseen technical issues may cause temporary downtime.
• We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any feature, competition, or service at any time with reasonable notice.
• Competition themes, rules, dates, and gift structures may be updated per event. Registered participants will be notified of material changes via email.

12. Limitation of Liability

Art for Awareness provides the platform on an "as available" basis. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law:

• Art for Awareness and its directors, volunteers, judges, and partners shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of or related to your use of the Platform.
• We are not liable for technical issues, submission loss, or delays outside our reasonable control.
• Our total liability to any user will not exceed the amount, if any, paid by that user to us in the 12 months before the claim.
• We are not responsible for lost, corrupted, or misdirected submissions due to technical failures beyond our reasonable control.
• We do not guarantee that participation in our competitions will lead to any specific outcome, recognition, or career benefit.

13. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. We do not warrant that the Platform will be error-free, virus-free, or meet your specific requirements.

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Art for Awareness, its affiliates, volunteers, and partners from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in connection with your violation of these Terms, your artwork submissions, or your misuse of the Platform.

15. Dispute Resolution & Governing Law

• Governing Law: These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of India.
• Jurisdiction: Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
• Contact Us First: Contact us at contact@artforawareness.art — we will try to resolve any issue informally before any formal process.
• Good-Faith Negotiation: Before initiating any legal proceedings, the parties agree to attempt to resolve disputes amicably through good-faith negotiation for a period of 30 days.
• Arbitration (Optional): At our discretion, we may elect to resolve disputes through binding arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, with the seat in Chennai and language English.

16. Third-Party Links & Services

The Platform may contain links to third-party websites or services (e.g., Google OAuth, Instagram, sponsor sites). We are not responsible for the content, privacy practices, or terms of any third-party sites. Your use of third-party services is governed by their respective terms.

17. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

18. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Art for Awareness regarding your use of the Platform.

19. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify registered users by email at least 14 days before significant changes take effect. Continued use of the Platform after that date means you accept the updated Terms.

20. Contact Us