The 23rd Annual PDN (Photo District News)/Nikon Self-Promotion Awards Call for Entries asks for actual self-promotion pieces. Categories include: Best Ongoing Campaign Established Talent, New Talent, Rep Firm/Stock Agency Promotions, Direct Mail, etc. All Winners in first, second and third will be featured in PDN’s October 2007 issue, on PDNonline and at te Awards Ceremony during PDN’s PhotoPlus Expo International on 18-20 October 2007. The Grand Prize Winner will receive a Nikon Digital SLR Camera and a portfolio on PhotoServe.com. First Place winners will receive a Nikon camera and a portfolio on PhotoServe.com.

Entry deadline: 24 May. Late? Pay $10 to extend your deadline to 7 June. Visit the site for details.

The Toronto Society of Architects (TSA) in association with the Design Industry Advisory Committee (DIAC) invites submissions in a design competition to celebrate “Design Matters” throughout 2007.

The purpose is to generate an image that celebrates architecture and design in Toronto, by engaging any, and all of, the design disciplines, including: architects, graphic designers, landscape architects, fashion designers, interior designers, industrial designers, artists, etc. While the submission is in the format of a poster, the design concept should be adaptable to a variety of media: T-shirts, bags, buttons, a website, anything. The TSA will work with the winning designer to adapt the design to different uses, as opportunities emerge.

Everybody is welcome to submit. The registration form must be received no later than Monday, 7 May 2007, at 5:00pm. For details on where to mail the entry and for more information, visit the site.

For the first time, Xerox will hold one worldwide contest rather than separate European and North and South American programmes, allowing entrants from around the world to compete for a global title. Xerox will begin accepting entries on 23 April, following AIIM/On Demand, a major conference and exhibition for the document imaging industry which opened on Monday of this week.

Xerox is looking for the printing industry’s most creative books, manuals, direct marketing and brochures for its sixth annual Printing Innovation with Xerox Imaging (PIXI) Awards. The multinational competition was created to recognise the most innovative and effective revenue-generating work customers are printing with Xerox digital presses. Entries will be accepted until midnight on 22 June, 2007. The entries must be produced using Xerox digital printing presses, and submission is free. Visit www.xerox.com/pixi for details and entry form.

I haven’t cooked for three months, so the dogs decided to take it upon themselves to do something about it.

Other than this riveting news, I have nothing else to report. It’s just been a sad week filled with a lot of death.

Also sad to hear that Brant Parker, who for decades illustrated “The Wizard of Id” comic strip, died yesterday, just days after the passing of his collaborator on the comic. He was 86. The collaborator, if you didn’t know, was cartoonist Johnny Hart, who died of a stroke at his storyboard just eight days ago. He was 76.

Stay healthy, well, and wise. Please. But you can still enjoy your weekend. Chow!

At right: Nieves Lavi’s Mod poppy dress.

blaec is excited to announce Collection 1.0, a contest for emerging fashion designers. Collection 1.0 gives talented new fashion designers a career jumpstart by featuring their first collections on blaec.com.

Submit samples of four original pieces for a spring ‘08 collection by 1 August 2007. blaec will select eight finalists on 1 September 2007 and will feature their pieces on blaec.com throughout September 2007. During this time, customers and other visitors to blaec.com will comment on and pick their favorite collections. blaec will tally the results and announce three winners on blaec.com on 10 October 2007. blaec will then carry the top three collections on blaec.com during spring 2008.

Collection 1.0 is open to fashion designers from the US and abroad. A group of designers who put together a collection as a team is also eligible. There is no submission fee! Visit the site for details.

Custom Builder Magazine has announced a call for entries for its first annual Custom Builder Design Challenge. The contest is open to builders, architects, design professionals, and students.

Entrants must design an in-city, infill custom home to suit a hypothetical family that includes a often-in-residence grandmother. Entries must be received by 15 June 2007, and the home design cannot have been built yet. The winner will be featured in a future issue and will be given free registration to the 2007 Professional Builder Benchmark Conference. Visit the site for details.

Via: Building Online

At right: Cumberland River Tributary by Barry Sulkin.

This year, for its 16th annual photo contest, Scenic Tennessee is focusing on historic preservation. Joining the group as cosponsor is the Tennessee Preservation Trust, a longtime ally of Scenic Tennessee. Together the groups are hoping to celebrate the scenic character of Tennessee’s historic places while possibly discovering still-unknown historic resources deserving of public attention.

Suggested subjects include historic buildings such as the Friends Church in Maryville or the Ryman in Nashville; neighborhoods or districts such as Annesdale-Snowden in Memphis or Cades Cove in the Smokies; historic towns such as Jonesborough or Rugby; historic commercial or industrial sites such as the Shelbyville Railroad Station or the Harms Mill hydroelectric station in Fayetteville; and archeological sites such as the Pinson Indian Mounds in Henderson County or the Red Clay Cherokee Indian settlement near Cleveland.

Entries must be postmarked by 15 May. Visit the site for details.

Via: Chattanoogan.com

The collective expo will take place in Bucharest/Romania and will feature works from numerous international artists along with Romania’s finest.It first started at Inoperable Gallery in Wien, now Bucharest is the next stop. For submissions, please send an e-mail to skateboardart |AT| gmail |DOT| com, including some personal works. The deck can be in any condition (old, new or broken) and can be customized using any technique; deadline - 10th May. They are sorry but they can not support deck and shipment charges. If not returned to the artists, the decks will afterwards move to the next venue; who knows where that might be.

Via: If It’s Hip It’s Here

The UnScene is a mobile gallery tour created by photography company Wall Kandy to find emerging artists around the globe. While the tour aims to give emerging artists a chance to be “seen,” the photography is curated to showcase “un-scene” images of life whether it’s architecture, cityscapes, stills or moments in time.

Each UnScene city stop culminates into a gallery night to showcase and sell the artist’s work. In some venues, the artwork has a life of its own as extended art exhibits. Wall Kandy thanks the W Hotel chain for supporting the UnScene and offering the UnScene in partnership with its White Space W Happenings events.

The next UnScene event is scheduled for San Diego on 23 May with submissions due by 4 May. Photos can be black and white or color and be submitted to Wall Kandy by email. Visit the site for details.

A1 Team Netherlands is hosting a special design contest to give the Dutch A1GP car a new livery for season three. Everyone can enter, the only obligation being the use of the colour orange in the design.

On the website www.A1teamned.com everyone can download two line drawings (side – and topview) and start designing straight away. This way the organisation is hoping to get creative ideas for the car’s 2007/2008 livery. “If the quality of the winning design is good enough and if the feasibility is of a level that it fits the National team, we will use this livery on the car and thus the design can be admired worldwide, on the circuits and in the 135 countries where A1GP is being broadcasted,” said Robert Hoevers, A1 Team Netherlands General Manager.
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