Are you ready to show the world that not only are you a great scientist, you're a petri dish Picasso, too? The 2024 Agar Art Contest is your chance to do just that. The contest is now open! Submissions will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. ET, Oct. 27. This year's theme, "What Brings You Joy?" invites you to express your happiest moments through the medium of agar—let your art reflect the joy that lights up your world!

Keep reading for all you need to know about agar art or head over to our Contest Details page to learn about contest rules and everything else you need to know to submit your petri dish perfection for consideration. 

Questions? Contact communications@asmusa.org.

Have you ever seen art "painted" in a petri dish using living, growing microorganisms? That's agar art! Creators use either naturally colorful microbes—like the red bacteria Serratia marcescens—or genetically modified microbes—like the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae transformed with violacein genes—as "paint," while using various types, shapes and sizes of agar as a "canvas." In fact, the original agar artist was none other than Alexander Fleming himself!

How to Create Agar Art: Video Tutorial

Step inside the creative process with Agar Art 2015 winners Maria Peñil Cobo, mixed media artist, and Mehmet Berkmen, Ph.D., staff scientist at New England Biolabs. During their multi-year collaboration, Peñil Cobo and Berkmen have created astonishing works of art using living microbes. Find out how they meld science and art with this behind-the-scenes how-to video guide.

Need a little inspiration to get your Agar Art creative juices flowing? Read on!

• Top 5 Tips for Creating Agar Art.
• Inspiring High School Students' Creativity and Design Thinking with Agar Art.
• Creating Art and Education with Microbes.
• A Petri Dish is Worth 1,000 Words: The Lasting Impact of ASM’s Agar Art Contest.

In 2015, ASM launched the ASM Agar Art Contest to share the beautiful and diverse world of microbes with the public. Since then, the wide range of amazingly beautiful entries has gained worldwide attention.

• As part of "Agar Art on Display," a public event at ASM Microbe 2022 covered by National Public Radio's "Shortwave" podcast.
• 200+ media outlets, including this piece in National Geographic.
• The "Microbes Rule!" exhibit at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, N.J.
• At the AMR Challenge celebration in New York during the 2019 United Nations General Assembly.

Questions?

Contact us at communications@asmusa.org.

Trying to decide whether to submit to this year's Agar Art contest? Listen to what some of our past participants have to say about why they participated, then get started on your own entry!

Key Dates

Sept 16 | Contest Opens

Oct. 27 | Submission Deadline

Nov. 11-Nov. 22 | People's Choice voting

Week of Dec. 9 | Winners Announced

We are grateful to our contest sponsors, who help support the Agar Art Contest, partner workshops and other associated events throughout the year.

MilliporeSigma’s portfolio spans more than 300,000 products with 19,000 employees and 72 manufacturing sites worldwide. Their BioMonitoring portfolio offers a complete range of high-quality microbial testing solutions for industrial applications, while also providing regulatory expertise, comprehensive services and collaborative partnerships. Learn about MilliporeSigma products on their website. MilliporeSigma is the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.