Continuing the ACS Portfolio-Wide Diversity & Inclusion Cover Art Series in 2023

Since its first publication in Analytical Chemistry in February 2021, the Diversity & Inclusion Cover Art Series has sought to amplify marginalized voices and recognize historically excluded or underrecognized populations of chemists. In 2022, this initiative was expanded to the entire ACS Publications portfolio, and we were thrilled to see so many new stories told both through visual representation and accompanying editorials.

We are excited to share an online gallery to showcase the beautiful front covers in the 2022 series and highlight the extraordinary chemists behind them.

We are pleased to also announce that we will be continuing this series in 2023! We invite and encourage you to submit your own cover to the ACS journal of your choosing, helping to amplify the visibility of underrecognized chemists in our communities.

Submission Details

ACS journals are soliciting authors who are historically underrecognized in the chemistry community—including but not limited to those who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQ+, first generation, and those with disabilities—to submit their cover art.

Each participating journal issue front cover will feature the artist’s artwork, as well as an editorial written by the artist describing their artwork and story. Artists need not be chemists, but the work and editorial should have a connection to the field of chemistry. We hope that this initiative serves as just one way to foster an inclusive environment in which underrepresented cohorts in the chemistry community can strengthen their voice through their artwork and written word.

If selected, artists will be compensated $1000 USD.*

If you are interested in contributing to this initiative, please submit the following:

• An initial sketch of your artwork; the sketch should clearly communicate the diversity and inclusion in chemistry theme.
• A paragraph describing the cover art idea and its meaning to you.
• Top 3-5 preferred journal(s) in which you would like your artwork and editorial to appear. We will do our best to accommodate your preferences. Please check the 2022 gallery for journals already participating in the program. We will prioritize journals that have not had a cover yet.

If your initial sketch is selected for this program, we will ask you to provide:

• Completed artwork that can be digitized to 8.19 x 10.0 inches with a resolution of 300 dpi or higher, preferably in the .jpg or .tif format. The cover art must include 2 inches of space to accommodate the journal.
• A short editorial describing your story and your artwork (roughly 400­-800 words).

ACS Publications will consider artwork submissions on a rolling basis until September 30, 2023.

If you have any questions, please email DEIRCoverArt@acs.org.

Inclusivity Considerations

• ACS encourages inclusivity and opposes discrimination in scientific learning and practice based on—but not limited to—race, religious self-expression, country or ethnic origin, country of residence, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, age, and economic status.
• We ask that those interested in contributing to the Cover Art Series use their own experience and perspective to motivate their illustration and editorial, rather than attempting to speak on behalf of groups with which they may not directly personally identify.
• We encourage the use of the ACS Inclusivity Guide to ensure editorials are communicated in ways that recognize and respect diversity in all its forms.

*Please note cover art under this program will not be tied to a research article. It is the responsibility of the individual to ensure they can accept outside forms of payment from ACS.

Browse the Diversity & Inclusion Cover Art Series

Click on each caption below or visit the gallery here to learn more about the artists and read the accompanying editorials.