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Growing Up Asian in America provides a unique forum for youth to explore their ideas and to celebrate being both Asian and American. This program also serves as an important community resource, helping people of all backgrounds better understand the experiences of young Asian Americans and learn more about life in a place as diverse as the San Francisco Bay Area.

Growing Up Asian in America is a program of the Asian Pacific Fund. Every year, around 1,200 Bay Area students in grades kindergarten through 12 submit artwork, essays and poems on a specific theme, and compete for $27,000 in prizes. Winners receive savings bond awards worth $1,000 to $2,000, and are honored at an awards ceremony at the Asian Art Museum. The winning artwork and essays are reproduced in a commemorative book sent to all area schools and public libraries for circulation. Special exhibits displaying the winning art work and essays go on tour during Asian Pacific Heritage Month, and they are hosted throughout the year by more than 50 public libraries all over the Bay Area. All winning entries are also archived online at the Asian Pacific Fund web site.

The contest theme for the 2010 Growing Up Asian in America art and essay contest is Expectations: To be and do what you feel in your heart. For  more information on contest guidelines and the entry form, download the official guidelines below.