The key to your door of opportunity
If you are planning to enroll at a graphic design school you already know that part of the hurdle is meeting educational expenses such as tuition, supplies, living expenses and other amenities.

The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) understands the role for economic assistance in education and states:

“Imagine you had everything you needed to share your vision with the world: talent, skill, dedication, desire.

“Everything, that is, except money.

“Worldstudio AIGA Scholarships allow young people from minority and economically disadvantaged backgrounds not only to realize their artistic dreams, but also to give back to their communities.”

Scholarship details
The individuals who are selected for the Worldstudio AIGA Scholarships are based upon their talent, ability, and need for financial assistance.

The recipients must also demonstrate their commitment to give back to their community through their work.

* Scholarships range from $2,000-$3,000
* Individuals may qualify for up to two more awards totaling up to ….$5,000
* Honorable mention prizes of $500 are also awarded
* The scholarship awards are paid directly to the recipient’s school ….for tuition costs

Application guidelines
There are several important points that all potential applicants need to know about:

* Eligibility requirements state that you must be a citizen of the U.S. or hold a green card ….(Permanent resident card/ Form I-551)
* Applicants must pursue an undergraduate or graduate degree in advertising (art direction only), ….fine arts, graphic design, illustration, interactive design/ motion graphics, or photography.

Entries will be screened by a jury of creative professionals. Winners will be notified in June 2011.

Scholarship links and other information
The deadline for all applications is April 1, 2011. See the complete guidelines and links below for crucial information about this scholarship program:

AIGA scholarship website
Complete application guidelines
About AIGA

Graphic design school and scholarships
Your wish to attend a graphic design college may be fulfilled with financial help through various grants and scholarships offered by these liberal arts schools.

There are also other scholarship opportunities or loans available through government agencies or graphic design organizations such as AIGA.

Find out more about these opportunities by speaking with your local graphic design school representative.

Do you need a LIFT?
In this case we’re not referring to an elevator or a ride in a car. LIFT stands for Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto, the sponsors of the International Visiting Artist Residency.

If you are a film maker, an aspiring film maker or a fan of the film arts, this residency program may be your key in opening doors for film editing equipment and cameras for your production.

How it works
According to the sponsors of this residency, the program is targeted at artists who need professional facilities to complete their works:

“LIFT’s residency program focuses on the production of film-based works with equipment and facilities to which the artist would not have access in their local region.

‘Artists are expected to be at an established point in their practice (although not necessarily working predominantly with film).

“Applicants must also consider what they would bring to the Toronto community in terms of community collaboration, teaching, artist talks and/or presentation activities - these engagements are a critical part of each residency offered by LIFT.”

The production studio supports a wide range of formats including, ‘…regular 8mm, Super 8mm, 16mm, Super 16mm, 35mm and HD; film and digital editing; optical printers; contact printers; animation stands; a darkroom and more.’

Residency value and length of program
This program is open to all non-Canadian residents. The maximum cash for individual projects is $3,000 CAD for travel, lodging and daily cash expenses.

Maximum paid equipment rental and facilities costs will be provided up to a maximum of $3,000 CAD. However the filmmaker is responsible for costs related to film stock, lab fees, chemicals and other associated production amenities.

How to apply
There are several crucial things you must provide when applying for this residency:

* A proposal on how your work will engage the local ….community and how LIFT is able to provide you with ….facilities and equipment not available in your area.
* A Curriculum vitae (CV)
* Estimated budget for your project
* Examples of past work (materials cannot be returned)
.
Send all your application materials to:

International Artist Residencies 2011/12 Application
c/o Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT)
1137 Dupont Street
Toronto, Ontario
M6H 2A3 CANADA

Additional information and contest links
All applications must be received by April 11, 2011. Only non-Canadian residents are eligible for this residency.

Any questions can be directed to submissions [at] lift.on.ca. (replace the [at] with @)

For important residency information follow these links:

Official website
Official rules (PDF doc)

Graphic design school and the film industry
The reality is that graphic design work is needed during the production of films. Animation, illustration, digital art, computer graphics and multimedia all play an important role in making movies.

If you are interested in these career fields, an education from a graphic design college is a good way to build your knowledge and skill base in order to qualify for jobs.

Speak with a graphic design school representative today and find out what available education opportunities are open to you.

Are you a visionary?
What will cars look like in the future? How will our dwelling places look like? What sorts of home appliances and electronics will be available to the families of the future?

If you have thought about these questions you have the opportunity to show your ideas of the future by entering the RTT Funky Visualization Contest 2011.

The contest details
Send in your best renderings in 2D or 3D to Realtime Technology.

The sponsor states:

“Show your creative visualizations for product innovations in the year 2020. What comforts and luxuries you envision for future consumer goods like cars, home appliances or any other objects. Make these modifications tangible, through the use of 2D or 3D stills and animations.

“RTT is asking the next generation of computer scientists, creative design, architectural and illustrative visionaries to step up and submit their visions for innovative product interface designs in the future.”

Submission guidelines

* You may submit your images in digital format or an URL link to your ….artwork
* You must send in a project description of your work
* Your project description should show the proposed solution and reason
* The project description should be submitted in PDF format (in English)

Send your entries to: contest [at] rtt.ag (replace [at] with “@”)

Prizes
Winners will be invited to the RTT Excite 2011 event in Munich, Germany (May 19-20) to present their projects. There will also be two Intuos4 M Tablet PCs given to the two winning teams.

Contest links and information
Send your questions about this contest to: contest [at] rtt.ag. The contest deadline for entries is April 15, 2011. The contest is free to enter.

Follow this link to the contest website:

RTT Funky Visualization Contest 2011

Graphic design school and your future
If you are thinking about entering the RTT Funky Visualization Contest your active imagination for designing products may be strengthened through classes at a graphic design college.

You will learn about the principles of design, layout, and related courses that will help you to improve and hone your design talents in package design, industrial design and other related disciplines.

Speak with a graphic design school representative and find out what sort of classes and educational opportunities are available to you.

“Raindrops keep falling on my head…”
That was the title song to the popular 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The film is ranked #151 in the Top 250 movie list of IMDB.com by its members.

But raindrops are more than just lyrics in a song; raindrops are also crucial to the process of rainwater harvesting.

The IRHA (International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance) organization exists to educate and help the public to be aware of the benefits of harvesting rainwater by treating it as a sustainable resource.

In the words of the contest sponsor:

“The aim of this competition is to make the public, too often insufficiently informed, aware of the various advantages that rainwater harvesting offers by providing sustainable access to water.

“It is in this context that the IRHA invites photographers, professional and amateur, to present their vision on the benefits that this celestial resource can have for both humans and nature.”

Contest theme
The full title of this competition is “The Best Photographs on the advantages of the use of rainwater, Raindrops Geneva Award 2011.”

According to the contest rules your photograph may include the following ideas:

* Water is life, the essential element that supports human, animal and ….plant life
* Rain
* Sacred or ritualized use of water or the celebration of rain in spiritual ….ceremonies
* Thirst, scarcity and drought
* Water distribution, including the politics of water distribution, water as ….a commodity.
* The role of harvested rainwater for satisfying needs where ….water cannot be piped.
* Rainwater harvesting, the best tool for adaptation to the climate changes (storms, floods, ….drought)
* Rainwater collection, simple technologies at work, water purification

General submission guidelines

* Winners of the contest must provide a minimum 2000 pixel image in ….300dpi.
* Files must be submitted in either JPG or TIF (unsharpened)
* Photographs may be submitted in portrait or landscape mode
* Entries may be in black and white or color
* Photoshop or image touch-ups are limited to standard darkroom techniques
* Over processing or use of digital effects on images will be grounds for ….disqualification
* No images shot in a studio will be eligible for this contest

Upload your submissions to raindropsaward [at] irha-h2o.org (replace [at] with @)

Prizes

* First Place: 1000 Swiss Francs ($1,034)
* Second Place: 600 Swiss Francs ($620)
* Third Place: 400 Swiss Francs ($413)

Links and other contest information
All submissions must be accompanied by a fact sheet. See the official rules for more details.
This contest has no entry fees. The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2011. Follow these links for more contest information:

Official contest site
Contest rules and guidelines
.
.
Graphic design school and you
If you are thinking about entering the Raindrops Geneva Award contest you probably have a good eye for images and composition.

But you can always improve your talents by taking classes at a graphic design school to learn more about photographic techniques, lighting methodology, and digital equipment.

Speak with a graphic design college representative and find out what sort of classes and educational opportunities are available to you.

Computers Are Such a “Waste”
And for that matter so are cell phones, computer monitors, digital camera, printers and every electronic device that is thrown away.

The problem is how to dispose of this e-waste and find ways to recycle all of the material.

If you have ideas on this, the Second International e-Waste Design Video Competition is for you.

The contest sponsor states:

“The goals of this competition are to learn about ways to reuse e-waste for new and productive means…

“…You’re invited to create a broad range of design concepts and innovations for technology products that demonstrate fresh approaches and responsible solutions for green computing technologies.”

The Contest
There are two categories that you may enter:

* E-Waste Prevention - Entries for this will demonstrate how to reduce the amount of e-waste generated by the production of various consumer electronics. This category centers on new products or services.

* E-Waste Reuse - Demonstrate how e-waste can be used to produce useful new electronic or non-electronic products.

Submit Your Video
This is a video contest. Your submissions should be an original video commercial that spotlights the design, the function, the features, and design concepts of your idea.

The video must not be a plain narrative description of the project.

Prizes
One winner will be selected from each contest category. The awards are:

Platinum Award: $5,000 USD
Gold Award: $3,000 USD
Silver Award: $1,000 USD
Honorable Mention: TBA

Other Information and Contest Links
The contest is open to anyone 18 years or older. You must be currently enrolled in college or have graduated from college since May 2007.

Only one entry per team or person is allowed. If you are entering as part of a team, you may not have more than five members participating in your group.

The deadline for entries is April 1, 2011. There is no entry fee for this competition.

All entrants must fill out the official contest submission form and list the e-waste and/or new components used for your project. A 500 word (or less) description must also accompany your entry.

Proof of attendance or graduation from your college may be submitted via:

* A copy of an official transcript from your college or university. ….(The copy should be in pdf format.)
* A letter of enrollment at a college or educational institution. (PDF format.)
* A letter from your department adviser in PDF format.

Follow these links for more contest information:

Official Contest Site
Contest Rules and Guidelines
Video Submission Details and Guidelines
Videos from Last Year’s Winners (Lower right of page)

Do You Know a Young Aspiring Artist?
While most design contests are geared towards working professionals or those in college, the Shaping Your Community for a Greener Future Competition is for those between the ages of 13-18.

Perhaps someone in your family or a friend’s family has an up and coming artist in their house. If so, this contest is just for them.

What the Contest Is About
Sister Cities International has served as a showcase for young artists and designers for over 20 years.

This year’s theme, Shaping Your Community for a Greener Future, seeks entries that illustrate how individuals, communities and sister cities can help improve the environment.

The sponsor states:

“Your artwork may highlight a problem, issue, or solution important to you, your community, or the world at-large.”

What to Submit
There are specific rules and guidelines concerning submitted entries. According to the contest site some of them are:

“Only two-dimensional artwork, no larger than 24″ x 30″ (60cm x 75cm), including matting is accepted. Watercolor, oils, pastels, pen and ink, charcoal, photography, two-dimensional mixed media, as well as computer generated art, are all acceptable media.

* Entries that use copyrighted or trademarked images will not be accepted.
* Entries must not be plagiarized, stolen, or copied from any other source.
* Entries from previous years will not be accepted.
* Entries must not defame or invade the rights of any person, living or ….dead.
* Entries not adhering to these guidelines will not be considered.
* Entries originating from a “sister cities” are eligible for this contest.
* Only artists from the ages of 13-18 are eligible for this contest

Prizes
Ten finalists will be selected from all entries. These final entries will be displayed at the 2011 Youth Conference in Eugene and/or continue on a traveling exposition to other sister city locales.

One national winner and one international winner will be selected from the finalists. Each winner will receive:

“…a complimentary registration for the 2011 Youth Leadership Conference in Eugene, OR, along with $1,000 toward airfare to the conference or as a cash prize.”

Other Information and Contest Links
If you wish to have your entry returned to you, there is a $20 processing and shipping fee, however, there are no entry fees for this competition. This contest will end on April 29, 2011.

To find out if your city is part of the sister city program, contact Laura Giroux, Membership Manager at lgiroux [at] sister-cities.org for further details.

Follow these links for further contest details:

Official Contest Site
Complete Contest Rules and Guidelines (downloadable pdf file)
Official Entry Form (downloadable pdf file)