03/19/2026
We're super excited to announce the 2026 Earth Week Community Cleanup, kicking off the 3rd Annual Trash to Treasure Art Challenge in Utica, NY!
♻ Join us on Saturday April 25 at 1pm to clean up litter for Earth Week and get started finding objects to use in your project.
♻ We will supply trash bags, gloves, and have a limited number of trash pickers and buckets for use during the cleanup.
The Trash to Treasure Art Challenge is all about being creative, problem-solving, and making the world a more beautiful place by creating art while also caring for our planet and community!
What materials or objects that are often thrown away could be used to make art? How close to zero-waste can we get in the process of making artwork? How does art inspire us and contribute to changes in how we take care of our environment? Check our stories for examples of creative reuse artists that try to answer those questions and get inspired yourself!
Create a work of art incorporating objects you find during a trash cleanup in order to participate in the challenge. Over the next 3 months we will be offering free found-object art classes to help you complete a work of found-object art from start to finish.
Selected submitted works will be shown in the Trash to Treasure group exhibition, on view July 2026.
Deadline to Submit Artwork: June 20, 2026
Sign up to volunteer for the community cleanup, register for a free event, or learn more about how to participate in the Trash to Treasure Art Challenge at uticacreativereuse.org/events!
