The Central Bank of The Bahamas is pleased to invite the Bahamian creative community to participate in the 43rd Annual Open Call Art Competition. As in previous years, creatives are encouraged to submit works in any medium, size, or theme.

Eligibility

The competition is open to all Bahamian citizens and residents aged 18 and older.

Key Requirements

• The submitted work must have been created within the past year.
• Non-digital entries (paintings, sculptures, drawings, objects, etc.) must be photographed from multiple angles in high resolution (300 dpi).
• Poetry entries must be presented in a visual format.
• Each participant is required to submit a short video clip (maximum 90 seconds) introducing themselves and describing the work being submitted.
• Only one submission is permitted per participant. However, additional images or text may be included to provide further context for the submitted work.

Submission Process

Both non-digital (paintings, sculptures, drawings, objects, etc.) and digital artworks (photographs, film, new media, etc.), as well as audio files, may be uploaded directly via the Submittable platform.

Prizes

A panel of judges will select the winning entries, with more than $20,000 in cash prizes to be distributed across the various categories.

Deadline

The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, December 1, 2026. All works must be uploaded as digital files (JPG, PNG, MP3, or MP4) to the Submittable platform by this date.

Questions?

For inquiries, please contact the Assistant Curator at ikgaitor@centralbankbahamas.com.

The Central Bank of The Bahamas is pleased to invite Junior and Senior High School students nationwide to participate in the 43rd Annual High School Art Competition.

Guidelines

This year’s competition is open to all media, sizes, and themes. However, please note the following requirements:

• The submitted work must have been created within the past year.
• Non-digital entries (paintings, sculptures, drawings, objects, etc.) must be photographed from multiple angles in high resolution (300 dpi).
• Each participant is required to submit a short video clip (maximum 90 seconds) introducing themselves and describing the work being submitted.
• Only one submission is permitted per participant. However, additional images or text may be included to provide further context for the submitted work.

Submission Process

Both non-digital (paintings, sculptures, drawings, objects, etc.) and digital artworks (photographs, film, new media, etc.), as well as audio files, may be uploaded directly via the Submittable platform.

Prizes

A panel of judges will select the winning entries, with more than $10,000 in cash prizes to be distributed across the various categories.

Deadline

The deadline for all submissions is Tuesday, December 1, 2026. All works must be uploaded as digital files (JPG, PNG, MP3, or MP4) via the Submittable platform.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please reach out to a parent, guardian, teacher, or contact the Assistant Curator at ikgaitor@centralbankbahamas.com.

Financial Literacy Video-Essay Competition Guidelines 

The video essay competition aims to encourage independent research on selected financial topics. Students are challenged to relate the themes to real-life contexts, drawing on personal or national experiences. Their ability to condense and organise larger volumes of information into coherent, persuasive presentations will also be displayed.

The topic for 2026 encourages students to examine the current banking and foreign exchange access environments within the country, including limits on Bahamians’ access to foreign currency credit and deposit facilities. Students should choose a position on whether allowing all Bahamians to borrow and save in U.S. dollars, without restrictions, will benefit the Bahamian economy; defend their opinion for changing the current policies or having them remain the same. According, students are invited to submit a 3 to 5 minutes video essay responding to the following statement:

“The Bahamian economy would thrive more if customers had full access to the foreign currency credit and deposit facilities offered by banks.”

Submissions should explain and defend the student’s views on the topic. They should feel free to draw upon practical examples from inside The Bahamas or relevant experiences from other countries.

Video essays must be produced individually. 

The deadline for submission of videos is Saturday, 31 October 2026. These should conform to the submission guidelines below.

Prizes will be awarded in four categories: primary school, junior high, senior high school, and college undergraduates. Winning entries will be featured on the Central Bank’s website and social media platforms, and used as educational tools for on-going financial literacy campaigns.      

Contest Eligibility and Guidelines: 

Local student(s) currently enrolled in primary, junior or senior high-school, as well as university or college undergraduates. 

• Primary School: Grades 4-6
• Junior High School: Grades 7-9
• Senior High School: Grades 10 – 12
• University: locally enrolled up to Bachelor’s Degree 

 Submission Guidelines:

• The videos must be no shorter than 3 minutes and no longer than 5 minutes, not including introductory information or ending credits.
• The essays should be creatively presented on camera by the contestants.
• School-aged students are encouraged to wear their uniforms for the video recording.
• The videos should display introductory information to identify in writing the names of the contestant, school or college attended, and grade level or study major.
• The videos should conclude with credits that list all sources cited or used in the presentation.
• Videos must not contain any age-inappropriate content: images, offensive language, attire or political messaging.
• Videos must not contain copyrighted music, including background music that will prevent the video from being displayed in its entirety on social media due to copyright infringements.
• Entries must be uploaded to the competition website. Uploads should be in MP4 or MOV format, filmed in landscaped mode, with a high definition (HD) resolution of 720p or 1080p.
• The submission link is: https://centralbankbahamas.submittable.com/submit. The first time that a contestant connects to the website, they will be asked to create username and password. Former contestants may be able to recover their old usernames and passwords.

Judging Criteria: 

For judging criteria and prize information, please see the full list of contest rules at www.getmoneysmartbahamas.com 

Contest Deadline: Saturday, 31 October 2026, 11:59 pm. 

Questions on the competition rules and guidelines can be sent to:   

LITERACY@centralbankbahamas.com 

Important Message Please read carefully.

Thank you for participating in the Financial Literacy Video Essay Competition sponsored by the Central Bank of The Bahamas and Get Money Smart Bahamas.  To be eligible, if you are 17 years or younger, you must have obtained a parent or guardian consent to share your video. If your video is shortlisted for a prize you may be asked to provide proof of identity, with a government or school issued ID.  If you win a prize, you must also authorise the Central Bank to publish portions or all of your video essay in our financial literacy campaigns. Prizes will be issued via SandDollar. For more information on obtaining a SandDollar-enabled wallet, please visit https://www.sanddollar.bs/getinvolved.  Please note that if your parent or guardian is a Central Bank employee you will only be eligible to compete in a separate prize category for honourable mention.