Tom Tom Hosts Art Competition for Downtown Lamppost Banners
Competition commissions 18 artists for original pieces. Crowd favorite wins $1,000 cash prize.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (January 30, 2015) – Tom Tom Founders Festival invites artists from across Virginia to fill Charlottesville’s Historic Downtown Mall with art. The Festival is seeking eighteen artists to design original pieces that will hang for a month on the pedestrian thoroughfare’s iconic lamppost banners. Each artist selected will receive $100 in commission, and one crowd-chosen winner will receive $1,000 at the conclusion of the Festival, April 19th. The deadline for submissions is February 25th.
The Downtown Banner Competition is presented in partnership with the Downtown Business Association of Charlottesville and U.Va.’s Office of the Provost and Vice Provost for the Arts. All fine artists, graphic designers, illustrators, photographers, and other visual artists are invited to apply. Submissions should draw on the theme of “Found Yourself,” a directive to explore the self by establishing organizations, movements, and works that impact others.
During Tom Tom Founders Festival (April 13-19), visitors to Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall will have the opportunity to vote online. The crowd favorite will receive a $1,000 cash prize. The top student will receive $300. Both prizes will be presented on the final day of the Festival at the Belmont Block Party.
More details and submission information may be found at: tomtomfest.com/art.
ABOUT TOM TOM FOUNDERS FESTIVAL
Tom Tom Founders Festival is a 501c3 nonprofit that hosts dozens of free events every year in Charlottesville, VA. Its mission is to celebrate and empower founders, the people who build creative, civic, and entrepreneurial ventures from scratch. In 2014, Tom Tom had attendance of over 22,600, showcasing 381 community organizations and creating an economic impact of $843,000 on the community of Charlottesville.
ABOUT THE DOWNTOWN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION OF CHARLOTTESVILLE
The Downtown Business Association of Charlottesville (DBAC) is an association created, managed, and funded by a group of Downtown’s merchants, restaurants, and other interested businesses. The DBAC is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and promoting commerce Downtown. Our goal is to raise recognition to the wide variety the area has to offer. Overall, we aim to market and support the Mall by shaping the Downtown Mall into one cohesive network.
ABOUT U.VA. ARTS
U.Va. Arts is supported by the office of the Provost and the Vice Provost for the Arts. The Vice Provost of the Arts serves as chief advisor to the Provost on the Arts and works to catalyze artistic creativity and to enhance University Arts programs which provide a rich tapestry of curricular programs, student-run initiatives, and professional organizations. Our mission is to provide support in the areas of communications, development, cross discipline collaboration, community outreach and engagement, grants and programming for the Arts.