On April 11, 2026, Code/Art hosted its 11th annual Code/Art Fest, bringing together students, educators, artists, technologists, families, and community partners for a day dedicated to creativity, innovation, and STEM learning. As South Florida’s biggest celebration of female creative technologists, Code/Art Fest continues to inspire young creators to explore computer science in engaging and meaningful ways through hands-on experiences, workshops, competitions, and community connection.
Code/Art Fest 2026 at a Glance:
- Over 900 attendees, making this our largest festival to date
- 520+ in-person attendees
- 391 virtual attendees joined the closing livestream
- 784 students participated in coding and innovation competitions
- 25 activations featured throughout the STEAM Expo from partner organizations and artists
- 2 hackathon challenges focused on robotics and artificial intelligence
- 1 team pitch competition and 4 coding competitions
- 38 day-of volunteers and 28 volunteer competition judges
- 15 speakers and workshop leads
- Over 900 attendees, making this our largest festival to date
This year’s main stage featured flash talks from Emma Yang and Amaranta Martinez, who shared insights into their careers and experiences working at the intersection of technology and innovation. Attendees also heard from Anya Freeman, CEO of Kind Designs, during a fireside chat with Code/Art instructor Keren Reyes, where they discussed how sustainable technology can be used to design scalable solutions for rising sea levels in coastal cities.
One attendee shared:
“I thoroughly enjoyed how accessible and humble all of the speakers were and how proud and excited everyone was while explaining things to people. Their humility and kindness was unmatched, even when presented with redundant questions. I really admired how inclusive the event was and how many immersive activities there were to keep all types of audiences engaged and curious. I attended this event alone and truly never felt awkward or out of place in any way.”
The innovation continued during the Changemaker session, where three finalist teams pitched their projects to a panel of judges for the opportunity to win a $1,000 scholarship for each team member. After thoughtful deliberation from our judges, Team Make It Count from School for Advanced Studies – Wolfson won this year’s challenge. Their project helps users better understand how food impacts blood sugar while encouraging healthier habits with wellness tools.
Another attendee shared:
“The Changemaker competition was very special. I was impressed with the girls and the level of the solutions they were proposing!”
We wrapped up the event with the announcement of our 2026 Code/Art Competition winners and finalists across four categories: CodeYourSelf, Animated Art, Game Design, and Changemaker!
2026 Competition Highlights:
- 780+ entries across all competitions
- 122 participating schools nationwide
- 65 educators involved across 21 U.S. states
- International entries from Scotland, Turkey, Canada, Japan, Germany, India, and Romania
Click here to check out our 2026 winners and finalists for all our coding competitions.
A heartfelt thank you to our incredible sponsors for supporting the next generation of female technologists and helping make Code/Art Fest 2026 possible: Amazon, Miami Dade College, Chase, City Furniture, Florida Power & Light, TD Bank, Akamai Foundation, Superblue, and MAD Arts.
We are incredibly grateful to every student, educator, volunteer, speaker, sponsor, artist, and family member who helped make this year’s festival such a memorable experience!
