The Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (BID) recently launched an interactive self-guided tour showcasing museum-quality public art along some of the most iconic streets of DC’s downtown. Launching just in time to announce the 12th annual Golden Haiku competition winners, the tour celebrates poetry as art while inviting everyone to explore a high-quality and distinct collection of outdoor artworks.
Anyone can download the easy STQRY Guide app for the self-guided narrative tour and handy map that points out not only haiku winners, but also remarkable sculptures, murals, and functional art dotting the Golden Triangle, ranging from wavy wooden structures to colorful bike racks.
“This is a whole new way of experiencing haiku as a creative expression of art and part of a larger, impressive public art collection,” said Leona Agouridis, President and CEO of the Golden Triangle BID. “You’d expect to find poetry in books and our other artworks in museums—instead, they’re here on our streets, where everyone can discover them and take in the beauty, creativity, and culture of the Golden Triangle.”
Once again, the number of haiku submissions continues to exceed prior years, suggesting a strong appetite for the celebrity of getting your winning haiku turned into street art and an interest in winning up to $500 in prize money, handed out in multiple categories. This year, the BID received 4,750+ haiku from more than 2,600 submitters, representing every state in the US and DC, as well as 65 other countries around the globe.
The 2025 Golden Haiku first place winner is Michelle Schaefer from Washington state:
a poof of powder
from the donut bag
spring petals
The 2025 theme of “Bridges of Belonging” inspired haiku submissions from around the world during the winter. The BID’s panel of haiku experts read and considered every entry before selecting more than a hundred haiku to be printed for 200+ tree box garden signs around the Golden Triangle.
All haiku are anonymized before being judged, with haiku from the DC region and student writers also considered as separate categories. This year, an eighth-grader and a tenth-grader from Washington, DC, won the competition for the regional youth categories. The complete list of this year’s Golden Haiku winners is online at goldentriangledc.com/haiku.
