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IRYYRM
"I Reflect You, You Reflect Me"
2026 Theme
“Characters from Old Stories”
“Characters from Old Stories”
2026 Competition Schedule
2026 Competition Schedule
🖌️Online Artwork
Submission
Upload a photograph of the artwork and submit the completed application form through the official website.
Deadline: October 10, 2026
🎖️International
Judging
An international panel of judges from the participating countries will review the submitted works online and select the artworks for international exhibitions and awards.
By October 15, 2026
🖼️Submission of Selected and
Award-Winning Original Artworks
Participants whose works are selected through the online international judging process must submit the original artwork to the designated institution by post or international courier.
Deadline: November 5, 2026
🌐International Traveling
Exhibition
India → Japan → Mongolia → Indonesia → Vietnam → Poland → Korea → Other Countries
The international touring exhibition schedule for selected works is subject to change.
Eligibility
Eligibility
Children and young people aged 5 to 18 from all countries are eligible to participate.
Artwork Size
Artwork Size
Each artwork must measure between 25 cm and 45 cm in both width and height.
Both portrait and landscape formats are accepted. Neither the width nor the height may be less than 25 cm or exceed 45cm.
How to Submit an Artwork
How to Submit an Artwork
Participants must complete the designated application form and submit one photograph of their artwork based on the 2026 theme, “Characters from Old Stories.”
For the initial online judging process, participants should submit the artwork photograph and completed application form, not the original artwork.
Important: Do not send your original artwork when submitting your online application.
After the international judging process, only selected participants will be asked to submit their original artwork. Selected participants will receive detailed submission instructions, including the deadline, packaging and shipping requirements, and the designated mailing address for their country or region.
International Traveling Exhibition
International Traveling Exhibition
The selected artworks will be presented not only in one location but also as part of an International Children’s & Youth Art Traveling Exhibition in cooperation with partner institutions in several countries.
The exhibition is planned to begin in India and continue to Japan, Mongolia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Poland, the Republic of Korea, and other countries.
A child’s artwork can cross borders, meet people from different cultures, and share with the world the stories of the family, village, and community in which that child lives.
A single artwork can become a story that begins a new conversation.
An exhibition can become a place where people from different backgrounds meet.
And an old story can begin traveling again through a new generation.
Special Programs for Selected Children
Special Programs for Selected Children
Selected and award-winning children and young people will receive an official certificate and the opportunity to participate in the international traveling exhibition.
They may also be invited to international art and cultural workshops for children and young people organized by participating countries and international partner institutions.
Through these international programs, children will have the opportunity not only to exhibit their work but also to meet one another, create art together, experience different cultures, and form new friendships across borders.
About the Competition
About the Competition
The 3rd International Children’s & Youth Art Competition, IRYYRM (I Reflect You, You Reflect Me), is an international cultural and artistic project designed to help children and young people around the world rediscover the old stories and traditional cultures passed down through their families, communities, and regions, while developing a deeper understanding of one another’s cultures through art.
The project is organized by Odi Art Centre in India and the Culture Research Institute of Asian Folk & Tradition (CRIAFT) in the Republic of Korea. The National Art Gallery of Mongolia and Mataya Arts & Heritage in Indonesia participate as co-organizing institutions.
This competition is more than an art contest that simply selects winners. It is an international cultural exchange project that brings together different countries and generations through the artworks of children and young people, while helping preserve local stories and traditional cultures that may otherwise disappear.
Odi Art Centre
India
National Art Gallery of Mongolia
Mongolia
Mataya Arts & Heritage
Indonesia
CRIAFT
Republic of Korea
This project is carried out in cooperation with cultural and artistic institutions and international partners in participating countries.
The Philosophy of IRYYRM
The Philosophy of IRYYRM
IRYYRM is inspired by the ancient Indian philosophical concept of Indra’s Net (Indra Jal).
In Indra’s Net, countless jewels are interconnected, and each jewel reflects the image of all the others.
In the same way, we believe that every child, every story, and every culture has its own unique value while also being connected to the wider world.
By looking at others, we discover ourselves.
By understanding ourselves, we learn to understand others.
This is the meaning of the project:
“I Reflect You, You Reflect Me.”
Through art, children can encounter and understand cultures different from their own while also discovering the value of their families, communities, and cultural heritage.
Competition Theme
Competition Theme
“Characters from Old Stories”
Every country, region, village, and family has stories that have been passed down from generation to generation over many years.
These may be myths, legends, folktales, oral traditions, or stories remembered and shared by grandparents, parents, and elders in the community.
In 2026, children and young people are invited to discover an old story and reinterpret one of its characters through their own artwork.
The main character may be a person, animal, hero, spirit, mythical being, or any other figure appearing in the traditional stories of their region.
What matters is not how perfectly the picture is drawn.
What matters is how the young artist listens to an old story and reimagines and expresses it through their own thoughts, feelings, and imagination.
Purpose of the Competition
Purpose of the Competition
Today, many stories and traditional cultures that have been passed down for generations in different parts of the world are gradually disappearing.
Through this project, we hope children will ask their parents, grandparents, family members, and community elders:
“What stories have been passed down in our family and our village?”
Listen carefully to those stories.
Imagine them in your own way.
Then bring a character from that story to life through your artwork.
Your artwork will carry that story as it travels to different countries around the world.
Art connects our stories, our cultures, and our world.
I reflect you, and you reflect me.
Contact and Online Submission
Contact and Online Submission
India
Odi Art Museum
Society for Development of Rural Literature
(Website) www.odiartcentre.in
(E-mail) odiartchilika@gmail.com
(contact) Swarna
(WhatsApp) +91 8018104370
(Address) L-40, Baramunda Housing Board Colony Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India(751003)
Contact and Online Submission
Contact and Online Submission
Korea & Other Countries
CRIAFT
Culture Research Institute of Asian Folk & Tradition
(Website) www.criaft.com
(E-mail) art@criaft.com
(contact) Park Yeonock
(WhatsApp) +82 1063511884
(Address) 43 Cheonggyesan-ro 7-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea, Seocho Foresta 504-dong 204-ho(06798)
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