‘Taos Is Art’ 2021 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 and the Taos Arts Council are seeking Taos County artists’ art work for a lamppost banner campaign that will be on view from approximately April 1 – October 31, 2021, 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 historic district. We welcome an array of images related to any of the arts for the banners – visual art, music, writing, dance, theatre and similar.

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 and installation, glass, jewelry, metal work, fiber art and 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) collective name.

Entry Info

The Call For Entry will open January 11, 2021 and close January 31, 2021.

Selection of winning images will take place via a blind jury selection process within 3-5 days after closing and winners will be notified shortly afterwards (1-3 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 $22 application fee for the submission. The fee includes a $20 fee to offset expenses for the banner project, and a $2 addition to fund any replacement banners due to loss, damage or similar. 

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 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 file size. The print image will need to be at least 200 dpi at 18”w x 30”h (as per banner ratio). 

PHOTO QUALITY COUNTS! Your entry will NOT be considered if the submitted photograph is not of reasonable reproduction (print) quality. Tips: Choose a 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). 

Judging Considerations

Submissions will be judged by a blind jury selection process.

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 art, dance, theatre, music, writing, other performing arts and more – 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 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” lamp post 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) 18” x 30” lamp post 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 will be 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, 2021.  A list of individual banner artists will be posted by Taos Arts Council by February 15, 2021. Winners of lamppost banners will each receive their banners to keep once the campaign ends and will be available for pick-up from Town Hall (dates to be determined).

Promotion

Various promotions will be ongoing throughout the campaign (Jan 2021 - Oct 2021). PR may include the following: a page or pages on Taos.org and/or TaosArtsCouncil.org, e-news email blasts, social media posts on Visit Taos and Taos Arts Council social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube), the Taos News, digital banner ads and online and print ads and materials. Promotions may include featured artists / bios, photos of artwork and finished hung banners.

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria