About Long Island's Best
Long Island’s Best: Young Artists at The Heckscher Museum is the only juried exhibition on Long Island that offers high school students the opportunity to show their work in a museum.
Each year, students in grades 9 through 12 are invited to create a work of art inspired by artwork shown in the Museum during the school year and submit to this prestigious juried exhibition. Hundreds of works of art are submitted from schools across Nassau and Suffolk counties and approximately 80 are chosen for display in the exhibition.
Photo: Xaria Talavera, Hicksville High School, Grade 11, with her ceramic artwork Deep Beneath the Surface, which won the Second Place, Judith Sposato Memorial Prize in Long Island’s Best 2025.
Participate in 2026
2026 marks the 30th anniversary of this renowned arts-in-education initiative!
NEW!
All details for Long Island’s Best 2026 (including important dates, submission requirements, and Inspiration Artwork images) are on the user-friendly website ShowSubmit.
REGISTER YOUR SCHOOL
Deadline: Friday, October 24, 2025
Each school planning to have their students participate in Long Island’s Best 2026 must complete a School Registration Form and pay a non-refundable $85 registration fee. This entitles the school to 4 student entries, created and selected under the guidance of the art teacher(s). One form is required per school. Once this form is complete, participating teachers will be placed on the email list to receive updates about important dates and deadlines.
EARN MORE ENTRIES FOR YOUR SCHOOL
Register for Museum programs! Each group of 25 students that participates in a program for Grades 9-12 earns your school four additional entries.
30th Anniversary
Guess who’s turning 30?! 🎉
Calling all Long Island’s Best alumni and their high school art teachers!
Since 1996, Long Island’s Best: Young Artists at The Heckscher Museum has showcased the creativity of thousands of high school students from Nassau and Suffolk Counties. As we gear up to celebrate the exhibition’s 30th anniversary in 2026, we’re reconnecting with the artists, teachers, and supporters who have made it unforgettable!
🖌️ Alumni: We want to hear from you!
Fill out this quick survey and tell us how you’d like to be part of this milestone year—share an old artwork photo, memory or quote, or tell us what you are up to now. Connect with fellow alumni, get featured in our social media campaign, or join a virtual panel. https://www.heckscher.org/libest30
👩🏫 Teachers: Help us spread the word!
Please share this survey with your former students and colleagues whose students have participated in Long Island’s Best over the years.
Let’s make the 30th anniversary the BIGGEST and brightest Long Island’s Best yet! 🌟
