'Taos Is Art' 2019 Town of Taos Banner Competition

CALL FOR ENTRIES: RULES + ENTRY INFORMATION

Contest Description

In order to highlight Taos as an arts destination, celebrate and support the abundant creativity of our artists, give visibility to those who may not normally receive representation, and delineate and beautify the historic district – the Town of Taos, the Taos Arts Council and the Taos Gallery Association are seeking Taos County artists' art work for a lamppost banner campaign that will be on view from April 1 – October 31, 2020, within the Town of Taos. It is our goal to feature a diverse set of artists currently living and working within Taos County, while welcoming visitors to Taos and the Downtown Historic District. We welcome an array of images related to any of the arts for the banners – visual, music, performance, writing / poetry and similar.

Additionally, the Taos Arts Council Business Consortium has adopted the theme 'Taos Vision 2020, Return to the Land, Water and Sky' as the overall marketing theme for the coming year. Images which reflect this marketing theme may be favored during the judging, but this is not a requirement and there are multiple other factors (color, content, visibility, uniqueness, etc.) which also affect the choosing of the winning images.

Medium

We are accepting entries of all media which can be photographed and displayed visually on a banner. Examples include, but are not limited to: painting, pottery, sculpture, printmaking, photography, projection, glass, jewelry, metal work, fiber art, installation and mixed or non-traditional media.

Requirements

Entrants must be artists at least 18 years of age, currently living and working within Taos County. Work must have been produced within the last 5 years. Current work is encouraged! Each individual or artist representative may enter a total of one (1) piece, with one (1) image. A group may enter one (1) piece that they've worked on collectively, under one (1) individual or collective name (non-business).

Entry Info

The Call For Entry will open November 29, 2019 and close January 26, 2020 - Extended Deadline.

Selection of winning images will take place via a blind jury within 7-10 days after closing and winners will be notified shortly afterwards (5-7 days).

All entries must be submitted though the CaFE website (https://www.callforentry.org).

Log on to https://www.callforentry.org to enter the Banner Competition.  Applicants will first need to create an account / artist profile which is free. Once a profile is completed artists can enter the Banner Competition. There is a $10 application fee for the submission, payable by either credit or check (payable to the Taos Arts Council). 

As part of the entry process, the artist or artist's representative will be asked to submit the following information: Full Name, a Short Bio, Contact Information, Artwork Information and one (1) image of Art. Additional information may be required.

Images

Applicants will need to submit (1) image to enter the competition. Selected (winning) applicants will need to submit a (2) second 'high resolution' image for printing. The first lower resolution image will be submitted to the CaFE website to enter the competition. The second higher resolution image must be submitted to the Taos Arts Council (info@taosartscouncil.org) for printing. Both images must be supplied digitally.

1) The image needed for the Call For Entry website must be a JPG (or JPEG) format only (all images must be the same format - not png, gif, tiff, psd or any other) and under 5mb in size.

2) The image needed for Printing must be a PSD, TIFF, JPG or PNG format only and will vary in size. The print image will need to be at least 200 dpi at 15” wide x 30” height (as per banner ratio). 

PHOTO QUALITY COUNTS! Your entry will NOT be considered if the submitted art work /photograph is not of reasonable reproduction (print) quality. Tips: Choose an art work / photograph which is bold, bright and legible, with good sharpness and contrast. Avoid busy images or those that would not come across from a distance and from below. 

For more information regarding image considerations, preparation and submission, please contact either the Taos Arts Council (info@taosartscouncil.org) or David Mapes at the Taos Gallery Association (dmapes@davidmapes.com or 575-770-5733). 

To have artwork professionally captured for print submission, please contact either Barry Norris Studios (https://barrynorrisstudio.com), Fine Art New Mexico (https://www.fineartnewmexico.com) or Taos Prints (https://www.taosprint.com). Each of these businesses can answer any questions regarding methods of digital capture, resolution considerations, costs, and any other related questions.

Judging Considerations

Submissions will be judged by a blind jury. Considerations will include aesthetic impact, diversity of medium and artist background, suitability for the medium, appropriateness for public display, and legibility for drive–by viewers and pedestrians. We seek artwork that reflects the vitality of all the arts in Taos including but not limited to: visual arts, performance arts, music, writing or poetry, and all other mediums of artistic expression – in short depictions of all that Taos offers.

Only entries submitted through CaFE (https://www.callforentry.org) will be accepted for judging.

There should be no text or overlays on the submitted image unless it is part of the art. If your artwork is chosen, you will be asked for your full name / spelling as you would like it to appear on the banner (max of 22 characters with spaces), the Date work was completed, the Title, Medium and a short Description of work.

Successful entries will also be required to submit a print quality image file upon notification from the Taos Arts Council. If a print quality file is not provided within the posted timeframe after the winning notification, the entry will be disqualified and a replacement entry will be chosen for print.

Winning Entries

Selected artists will be featured on ONE of forty-one (41) 30”x 60” lampost banners (printed front and back), in a location of the Town's choosing along Paseo del Pueblo Sur and Norte, or will be featured on ONE of twenty-five (25) lampost banners (printed front and back) in a location of the Town's choosing along Kit Carson Road, Bent Street and within the historic district. There are a total of 66 banners to be displayed around the Town of Taos.

The banner layout will include your name as you've requested it to appear, and will be on view from April 1 through October 31, 2020. A list of individual banner artists will be posted by Taos Arts Council by February 1, 2020. Winners of lamppost banners will each receive their banners to keep once the campaign ends and will be available for pick-up from Town of Taos Visitor Center (dates to be determined).

Posters at Town Hall Art Show

Reduced size poster reproductions of the winning banners (66) will be installed as part of the Taos Arts Council's 'Art in Public Spaces' initiative from April 2 – July 31, 2020 at Taos Town Hall, M-F 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. A public reception honoring the selected artists is scheduled for Thursday, April 2, 2020, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm. Work will be available for purchase.

Promotion

To be determined by The Waite Company PR firm and Karina Armijo, Town of Taos Marketing and Tourism Director and the Taos Arts Council. Various promotions will be ongoing throughout the campaign (Dec 2019 - Oct 2020). PR may include the following or more: a page or pages on Taos.org, e-news email blasts, social media posts on Visit Taos social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube), the Taos News, digital banner ads online, print ads and similar display venues. Promotions may include featured artists/bios, photos of artwork and finished/hung banners.

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria