NCAC Art Contest, Open To Residents, Kick-Off Event For 2012 Arts Festival

By Kendra Bobowick

Newtown Cultural Arts Commission (NCAC) has opened an arts contest focusing on a 2012 arts festival, to be conducted next September 15-16. Artwork Selection Committee members Jennifer Johnston and Donna Mangiafico are looking for “a painting, a photograph…no specific medium,” following a theme of “Life in Newtown.” The work must be original, they stressed. The winning submission will be used on posters, shorts, tote bags and other items to promote the 2012 Newtown Arts Festival.

“Now is the time to start thinking about the arts contest and submissions — it’s ready to go,” Ms Mangiafico said. The two-day event will be the first of its kind for NCAC, and “has a good reception so far” within town, said Ms Johnston, who will have a booth set up at the Labor Day Parade on Sudnay, October 9, with contest information and applications available.

Guidelines, available in detail at the commission’s website (www.NewtownArtsCommission.org), are summarized below:

*The contest is limited to Newtown residents.

*Submissions must be delivered to Koenig FrameWorks, 97 South Main Street in Newtown, between February 1 and February 29, 2012, during business hours (Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm).

*Artists are limited to two submissions. Entry forms, available from NCAC’s website as well as The Bee’s website (www.NewtownBee.com), must accompany submissions.

*Entries must be of a professional quality and must be original. (Copied pieces from magazines, other artists’ work, or photos not taken by the artists will not be considered original.)

*Submissions cannot be framed or under glass.

*Poster size is approximately 15.5 inches by 23 inches. The artwork should be generally 12 by 13 inches.

*The winning artist may work with the typesetter to create the final design.

*When a design is preliminarily selected as the winner, the artist may be asked to make some adjustments to better meet the needs of all the media to which the image is applied.

*Committee members ask that the winning artist be present at the Newtown Arts Festival for poster signing.

*The winning artist will receive $500 to be paid after May 1, 2012, and associated publicity.

*The Artwork Selection Committee may choose, with the permission of the artist, to retain a submission for one year for future consideration with a $100 payment to the artist for the option to use the artwork.

*The Artwork Selection Committee will award honorable mention ribbons in several age categories and these submissions will be displayed in the gallery at Koenig FrameWorks and in the exhibition tent at the festival.

On an information flyer, the committee explains: “While we do not want to discourage creativity in any way, we do want you to be aware that the Artwork Selection Committee may disqualify many absolutely outstanding works of art simply because they do not fit technical requirements.” The committee will consider how artwork will look on a poster, T-shirt, or other promotional materials and merchandise.

The committee suggests artists do not use crosshatching as shading, stay away from large geometric borders, avoid watercolors, do not use too much white, and dimensions of height and width should be roughly the same. Additional suggestions are also available online.

An organic farmers’ market in Maine first spurred the art contest idea.

“They use art to promote,” Ms Mangiafico said. “It’s huge! Posters are all over. They sell tons of T-shirts.” She hopes to take a similar approach in kicking off the 2012 Newtown Arts Festival.

Although the town had a similar event years ago, the festival was mostly music, and since her time working on the town’s Tercentennial in 2005, Ms Johnston she has sought a way to “highlight Newtown, our artists, and our businesses.”

The two-day festival will include music, entertainment, dance, poetry, food vendors, arts and crafts vendors, and more. Ms Johnston hopes to include local clubs, organizations, and entertainment.

The arts commission’s upcoming meetings will be October 12 and November 9 at 7:30 pm at My Place Restaurant.

Koenig’s is donating both time and attention to the contest, while the Newtown High School graphics department has agreed to work on the winning illustration. High school students will be involved in the process.

Ms Mangiafico can be contacted at 203-788-7474 or djmangiafico@aol.com.