Wagers and Whispers Contest Participants Art Gallery

Thank you for your interest in the Wagers and Whispers Youth and Young Adult Community Art Gallery!

After viewing the artwork at the GARI art gallery below, we invite you to participate in a 2-3-minute anonymous survey.

Instructions

  • You must be 16 years or older

  • Scan the QR code or click the button “Take me to the survey!” to the right.

Take me to the survey!

  • “I hope to get my voice out there in the world; to prove to not only myself, but to the people in need, that I stand with you and your voices and struggles will be noticed. I made this piece because I realized that leaves, even if they’re the same species, are all different. Some leaves come in different shades, different shapes, different rigids; and in a lot of ways, humans are the same. A large sum of people doubt themselves, lack confidence, and are easily shunned by another persons flare. To me this piece means that some people resort to gambling to get that high of being seen, to FEEL something, than to not feel at all.”

  • “Spread awareness that there is a way out Just a story about someone who is so absorbed that they don’t want help.”

  • “Personally I always look for an excuse to write more. That's what this was for me, an excuse to write more poems. I don't hope to gain anything more really, I just wanted to write something cool and have something guide me in my writing. I made this piece specifically for this competition and to give me an excuse to write more poems and not do summer work. Movies always glorify gambling, especially in current action movies with like mobs and stuff. People don't always have your best interest at heart and you always have to be aware of your surroundings. Look deeper into your situation before making actions. I don't know anybody who personally struggles with gambling but this poem means a lot to me simply because I wrote it myself.”

  • “My personal motivation for entering this contest is to spread awareness of the dangers that come with gambling. As a local, I think it was poor choice on the city Springfield to decide to place MGM Casino right in the middle of Springfield where the majority of low income residents reside. This creates an opportunity for our youth who are struggling to easily lose themselves to gambling in hopes to making it big. The story behind my piece revolves around a young man who’s on a gambling high. He enthralled with the thrill and truly believes this round of cards is his win. He is blinded by the possibility of hitting big and looses sight of what’s really important in life. This hits home for me because it’s an addiction and I’ve dealt with addicts all my life. To have the chance to spread awareness through my art is blessing.”

  • “For me its a shame that the best touristic spot we have in springfield is a casino So i was in school playing ping pong i i heard free pizza so i was like yum so i went took my opportunity and here i am since it was about gambling i was like casino what do they have there weal so i painted that.”

  • “My motivation to enter this contest is the inspiration of helping others see the truth, things are so covered up and lied about that it’s time to help people recognize what’s going on in the world. I entered to hopefully take part in this movement, I hope to gain more knowledge and spread more information and awareness. These flowers mean a lot to me because everyone loves how beautiful they look, just like how people are drawn to gambling for the chance to win. But winning is hard, and it takes a lot of effort to keep it going. This piece shows the pretty side, but gambling can also cause a lot of pain. I know people who have lost their homes and pushed away their families because of it. It reminds me that sometimes what looks nice on the outside hides a difficult reality.”

  • “It’s a guy who’s addicted to gambling, he gives up his money, and his mind to gambling. He’s sickened with addiction (his hospital gown) but he can’t seem to care. He’s too enamored by gambling away his life at the slot machine. I made this because it just popped in my head honestly, I personally have nobody around me as far as I know addicted to anything, but it’s a serious thing people do struggle with, so I feel for them.”

  • “Recently I've felt very motivated to make art based on societal issues or just things I see in my own life that I feel strongly about. I felt like this contest was the perfect prompt for me to express my feelings on what I've seen around me. Participating in the contest has further motivated me to continue using art as a form of activism in the future. In my life, the most prevalent form of gambling is playing the lottery. In the midst of all the litter in my neighborhood, you will almost always find a scratch ticket. Even within those who I am close to, gambling through lottery tickets is the most common way. Through my eyes, it seems like a trap due to all the small wins a ticket can give you. Winning your money back just drives you to keep going. It's a never ending cycle that disappoints you but keeps you hungry for more, so hungry that people disregard their addition to this type of gambling because they're "just having fun".”

  • I’m participating in this contest because I see it as a valuable opportunity to challenge myself and grow. I’m always looking for ways to step out of my comfort zone, and this contest gives me the chance to do that while sharpening my skills and learning something new. I'm also excited about the chance to connect with others who share similar interests. Whether I win or not, I believe the experience will help me become more confident and better prepared for future opportunities. I created Digital Dice as a peaceful reflection on the unpredictable nature of life and the choices we make—just like rolling a die, outcomes aren’t always in our control. I wanted to express how gambling, both literal and symbolic, can affect people silently and deeply. This piece is meaningful to me because it blends technology and emotion, inviting people to pause, reflect, and think about the risks we take in everyday life.

  • “I am joining the contest because I enjoy creative challenges and want to share my ideas. I hope to gain experience, improve my skills, and possibly win a reward. I made this piece to show the feeling of hope and wanting to try again. It means never giving up, even when the result is unsure.”

  • “My motivation for entering this contest is to push my ability in writing because I have always tried making good and clear essays, poems, etc but to me it is not the best; I want to try to see if I have a shot and this contest provides a opportunity for everyone. I hope to gain some experience if my writing is good in any way. I made this poem to show how much gambling can become an addiction. How it becomes a part of a person; so much so that sometimes they can not resist it. It does not connect to me personally but from observation.”

  • “I like art. i love angel numbers and that’s a win win.”

  • “To collaborate with this project to rise awareness among people that there is nothing truly positive about gambling more than passing entertainment that most of the time only leaves losses, sometimes not only financial but mental One of the consequences of gambling is how people can neglect their responsibilities due to their gambling addiction, and in this painting I seek to reflect how while they gamble they neglect their family and their home.”

  • “I’m entering this contest because I want to show how gambling can deeply affect young people, not just financially but also emotionally. My artwork reflects the pain and struggles that come with chasing luck and losing control. By joining, I hope to raise awareness, share my perspective, and grow as an artist by expressing important issues through my work. I made this piece to show how gambling can feel like wearing a mask of pain and false hope. The crying faces represent the emotional toll, while the sevens symbolize the illusion of winning that keeps people trapped. To me, it means exposing the hidden suffering that many young people go through when gambling takes over their lives.”

  • “My personal motivation is to have fun. I hope to gain good criticism that will help with my drawings. The story behind my contest submission is the good and the bad things that come out of gambling. This means different people have different perspectives of the things we view.”

  • “This would be my first time entering a piece of art I made into a contest, I believed it would be a good experience to just give it a try. Based off the MGM casino that I sometimes have to walk through to get to the movie theater, I noticed everything looked dull in a way. They would look dull due to the bright lights from the gambling machines, I decided to try and recreate that but make it just the screen that glows. Since the light from the gambling machines paired with the dull background would make one look to the light.”

  • “I was encouraged by my dance teacher to submit my own artwork for this contest, and was inspired to express myself creatively. I had so much fun working on this project, and I hope it moves people as much as it has moved me. This art piece is a deep, saddening, and urgent call to those hypnotized in the idea of instant gratification, as well as the large emotional investment and dignity lost while in the process of becoming addicted to gambling. The woman we see in the photo is balding from debt, as opposed to the small and more innocent version of herself in her lap with full hair. Her eyes are hypnotized by the “JACK POT!” Sounds, the empty promise of large fortune. Young adults and adolescents find that gambling, betting, and any other form of instant cash is somehow better or more attainable than working a real job or building a true and honest work ethic. While it’s been proven that one in a million can win the lottery or win the ‘Jack Pot’, it’s also been shown that the money usually never lasts long because of the same impulsiveness and greed the average gambling addict possesses. This particular art piece emotionally spoke to me to be cautious of the things that we choose to comfort us in times of dire need, because not everything in this life is helpful on our journey of development. So, in conclusion I now deeply understand after working hard on this project that little things in this life matters to make it enjoyable, so we must choose long-term rewards over instant gratification.”

  • “I think it’s very important to change the ways individuals money is being spent. Gambling is a very bad habit that lots of people undergo. There’s better ways to live life and spend money on the things that are a necessity to life. I made a poem because i like to spread awareness in words. Words have very powerful meanings and can often speak louder than images. I feel this issue needed to be addressed in the form of literature.”

  • My motivation for entering the contest with 'Glamour and Grit' is to expose gambling's alluring facade and hidden dangers, aiming to inspire reflection and earn recognition for impactful storytelling. The story behind my 'Glamour and Grit' submission stems from a prompt on gambling's deceptive allure, which inspired me to create a spoken word piece challenging glossy illusions and revealing their destructive underbelly; to me, it represents a personal commitment to fostering honest dialogue through creative truth telling.

  • “Well, I’d hope to gain recognition for my work, and challenge myself by working under a certain theme. I hope to at least get in the top 3 choices and be acknowledged for my craft at the very least, this competition is an outlet for that in the sense of me being able to compete in an art contest. The piece was inspired by the 1930’s cartoon styled video game known as Cuphead. In said game, the main protagonist Cuphead and his younger brother Mugman get themselves into a predicament of working for the Devil due to letting greed get the best of themselves in his casino. In the story, they roll a snake eyes and lose their souls that they betted for chance to win the casino and easy riches. My artwork depicts the scene where the Devil says “Snake Eyes! You Lose”, as you see Cuphead looking visibly conflicted and stressed, his cup-head cracking with sweat beads rolling down, a distressed look with “$” pupils in his eyes. I made this piece as it has everything to do with the effects of gambling especially at a young age. Cuphead and Mugman are literal children in the story, and were that blinded by gold that they betted their souls for it, just to lose. This shows the effects and negativity gambling can have on a person.”

  • “Raising awareness of addictions and I hope to change people's minds about my art so that they can realize the effects gambling has. The story behind my art was that she couldn't stop gambling, and she wanted to stop, but came back. This piece is to help the viewer realize the effects of gambling. This piece holds a special significance for me because I aim to change people's perceptions about gambling.”

  • “Recognition for my art. This is my highest detailed piece to date, and I feel it's at least worthy enough to be show publicly regardless if I win or lose this contest. I wanted this piece to be vague enough to not show any specific person or the reasons they have to gamble, as well as the things they sacrifice in order to continue gambling, but I also wanted to convey their blindness to their sacrifices that they're making by having their own "little world" shattering at the seams. It's supposed to convey a sense of dread or escapism that is being displayed through the high level of detail in the piece and those emotions seem insignificant to the gambler.”

  • “I was encouraged by my dance teacher to submit my own artwork for this contest, and was inspired to express myself creatively. I had so much fun working on this project, and I hope it moves people as much as it has moved me. his art piece is a deep, unique, and urgent call to those drowned in the idea of instant gratification, as well as the pure loss of one’s identity and dignity while in the process of becoming addicted to gambling. The presence we see in the photo is but a mere shadow of anyone and everyone, eyes hypnotized by the glittering plastic chips, money, and the empty promise of large fortune. Young adults and adolescents find that gambling, betting, and any other form of instant cash is somehow better or more attainable than working a real job or building a true and honest work ethic. While it’s been proven that one in a million can win the lottery or win the ‘Jack Pot’, it’s also been shown that the money usually never lasts long because of the same impulsiveness and greed the average gambling addict possesses. This particular art piece emotionally spoke to me to be cautious of the things that we choose to comfort us in times of dire need, because not everything in this life is helpful on our journey of development. So, in conclusion I now deeply understand after working hard on this project that little things in this life matters to make it enjoyable, so we must choose long-term rewards over instant gratification.”

  • “My personal motivation is just showing a dance I worked really hard on, and to hopefully captivate the people watching. My story behind my submission is once you start gambling you cant stop, you may win once or twice but in the end you'll be right back to where you started. No money and lonely.”

  • “I hope my poem tells a story to other people in the world helping them realize what they are losing. I feel like poems are the easiest way to express feelings or emotion or overall a story.”

  • “I made this poem to make people be in a good state of mind about gambling”

  • “My personal motivation by entering the contest is to be able get one of my art pieces to be viewed for public display. This is my very opportunity for me to be able to hang my artwork for everyone to see. The story behind my contest submission is that when I first heard of this contest that was being hosted, I decided to sign up for it to be able to share my artwork for the public to see. Plus, it would also help contribute to a goal to help spread awareness about gambling addiction, and meant that not only would my art be able to be recognized but by also helping make a positive impact on my community. And finally, it was nice to see that there are other artists out there in my community and would be great to see the works of others and people who are just like me.”

  • N/A

  • “I strive to get better with my are and get more art tools I like the anime a lot and I think I’ve been getting better with my art.”

  • “Ever since i was young ive loved making art. I always liked seeing the thought that got put into many famous works. This contest gives me a chance to flex my art skills and try to put my art out there. I made this piece in order to express my idea of the struggles that many people go through with gambling. It also allowed me to try and improve my skills as an artist and see what im capable of.”

  • “My personal motivation was to do it for Class, but I hope for people to see how harmful gambling/randomized game setups can be for people. I made this piece as a reference to modern Gacha games such as Genshin. Cha games have complicated systems that make you ay for more rolls just to get a character you want. To me, this submission means a lot, because many of my friends play these types of games and don't stop playing for a while. Ive played games like this myself, however I've never gone as far to put money into it.”

  • “Besides the incentive of gaining a gift card for an entry and possibly winning a prize, what also motivated me to enter the contest was the opportunity to put my artistic discipline to help the greater good; in this case, to help my community by using videography to advocate against gambling addiction. I made this piece because I wanted to connect to the community at large by incorporating symbolism with the digital era we're in to something that is often seen in the area correlated to addiction. Understanding how gambling can deviously camouflage itself as just a game, it allows the negative effects of gambling to fester without direct correlation to the problem - the urge to keep playing - so I strived to highlight how chasing the feeling/rush of spinning again correlates to other forms of addiction that others may view has more serious and deadly, in order to emphasize that addiction is addiction regardless of its form.”

  • “I hope to gain some attention towards my poetry! I love helping people too and this is a perfect opportunity to do so I’ve been writing poems for a few months, and I love it. I found beauty in poetry during a hard time in my life, and it has saved me in ways nothing has. I love to help people, and if I’m able to do so with poetry, I will. This is an opportunity for me to get recognized for my art and for me to help others which is all I want to do.”

  • “My father struggled with gambling addiction for a while. It was always hard seeing him struggle but watching him try to do better was motivation, while my poem might be sad i hope its viewed as realistic and hopeful to kept people away. I hope to spread a message and help people learn the dangers of gambling. I wrote Maybe This Time to capture and show the feeling of chasing after something that always seems out of reach like luck, hope, or even happiness. I wanted to show how easy it is to get caught up in the cycle of “maybe next time,” even when disappointment follows.”

  • “To make a difference and influence to stop gambling and addiction of it. An image of a plant and a personification of gambling stating it will be the root to one’s problems.”

  • “I hope to find other opportunities in colleges or universities as in like designing or just art I made this piece because I do have a lot of experience of family members that are gambling addicts. For example, I had a grandmother who loved scratch tickets and always went to bingo games to gamble her money to win. She never really won half of the time, but it was quite funny to see her wallet be full of money when she came back at a bingo game.. it never really affected me since I never lived with her, but it did affect her mentally so she did quit her gambling addiction before she died rest in peace.”

  • “I have people in my family that lost their homes through money problems of gambling. With this creation I hope to spark people to avoid the Gambling cycle. I have people in my family that lost their homes through money problems of gambling. With this creation I hope to spark people to avoid the Gambling cycle. The Cycle is so addictive that it ruins people lives. People will put everything down thinking that they are close to winning, not knowing that the house always wins.”

  • “It means a lot to me because represent all those who are fighting with the addiction together for a proposed and better life.”

  • “I felt called to participate in this call for art because I have people close to me that love to make a bet out of any thing and have took big losses because of it. Another reason I chose to participate is I see how art can be used to communicate and impact the community. Even if we speak different languages images and artistic creations can go a long way. I made this piece because I wanted to be able to captivate an audience while also connecting it to real life. I wanted the audience to know that their real life is current and better than any game. In hopes to motivate and encourage appreciation in viewers.”

  • “Spread awareness about gambling in roblox Spread awareness about gambling in roblox since kids only play these games and then these games make money off the kids just spending and spinning and rolling.”