The Contest
The Center for Fine Art Photography is announcing an open call for all photographers to enter its photo contest. The theme of the competition is “Consumption.” According to the sponsor:

“Consumption is a multifaceted term. While it can signify the influence of advertising and marketing on our pervasive consumer culture, the word also speaks to profound human instincts. To be consumed by something-be it illness, emotions, or beliefs-is to oftentimes confront one’s realities.

“What, why, when, and how we consume determines the ramifications of the choices we make. Additionally, consumption can simply suggest a transformation. The Center is looking for images that visually depict Consumption and what it means to you.”"

Entrants who have their works selected for this contest may have the opportunity to have their photographs displayed at the ClampArt art gallery located in Chelsea, New York. These works will be seen by an international group of art consultants, collectors, and curators interested in fine art photography.

Submission Information
* An entry fee of $35 is required for submissions of up to three images. Members of the Center for Fine Art Photography will have an entry fee of $20 for up to three images. Additional images will be accepted at $10 per extra submission above three. Contestants may submit as many entries as they like.

* Entries are to be submitted online at the Center’s website at www.c4fap.org. You will need to create a free account in order to upload your entries. Entry fees are charged via credit card.

* Resolution of uploaded images should be 72 dpi and 1280 pixels on the longest side of the image. Images must be in RGB or grayscale. File format should be in JPG saved with a quality of 8 or medium. The image title is restricted to 40 characters or less. The file name cannot be more than 25 characters long and must not include special characters such as %, #, @ etc. All images must be “flattened” or in other words, multi-layers must be collapsed to one master layer.

Awards
* liveBooks Website Award: Valued at $399 each, two artists will receive a 1 year subscription for ..a.website from www.livebooks.com
* Juror’s Selection Award: $300 and a Blurb book award from www.Blurb.com
* Director’s Selection Award: $200 and a Blurb book award from www.Blurb.com
* Honorable Mention Award: $100
* All exhibitors are included in the Center’s online gallery

Other Details
Important Milestones:
Entries due: April 13, 2010
Notice of acceptance: April 23, 2010
Exhibition dates: July 2 - July 24, 2010
Artists’ and Public Reception: July 2, 2010

Entries that are submitted for exhibition must be framed or mounted professionally. For a complete list of guidelines for this contest, download the PDF document here. For any questions about this contest send your emails to exhibitions [at] c4fap.org.

The Theme of the Contest
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), is an agency of the United Nations whose mission is to advance “the defenses of peace in the minds of men.”

According to Design21 the theme of its poster contest is based upon UNESCO’s mission of embracing diversity and the appreciation of different cultures. The contest theme is about:

“…the vision and understanding of the “Rapprochement of Cultures” by designing posters that creatively emphasizes the importance of exchange and dialogue among and between cultures in ensuring social cohesion and harmonious coexistence.

For a full explanation of what the International Year of Rapprochement of Cultures is, go to the UNESCO website by clicking here.

The Contest Details
Design a poster that celebrates “2010 International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures.”

The poster design should be “international” in nature and not be specific to a country’s origin, culture, religion or region. The design may be created in more than one language but ideally be created with the language the graphic artist is most fluent in.

For a guide to the proper spelling of the included text for your poster and a placeholder graphic for positioning the official logos, click here.

The contest guidelines state:

* The final printed poster will be A1-sized (59.4 x 84.1 cm or 23.4 × 33.1 in). Although the online entry provisions do not allow for the full A1 dimensions, your entry must include at least one image showing the entire poster design scaled to A1 proportions.

* You must not include any logos on your design but instead use a placeholder. The final printed posters will include the UNESCO/UN logos + the official Logo of “2010, International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures”.

* The placeholder should be scaled to 9cm x 9cm relative to an A1 poster, and be positioned in the upper left hand corner of your poster.

For a full list of details regarding this contest, click here. For a full disclosure of the rules of this contest, click here.

The Awards
Thirty posters will be selected for printing and showcasing at UNESCO Headquarters during the International Festival of Cultural Diversity in May 2010.

An Overall Winner will receive a $2,000 cash prize plus an all expenses paid trip to attend the UNESCO poster exhibition in Paris.

Two Judge’s Pick winners will receive $500 each.

Judges will be basing their selections for winners according to the designer’s “…ability to graphically and visually communicate the message of Rapprochement of Cultures in a compelling and easy-to-understand way.”

Other Details
The deadline for this contest is March 9, 2010. The results will be announced on April 5, 2010. To enter this contest a free account must be opened at Design21. Click here to open your account.

Design a Book Cover
An often overlooked source of art is found on the humble book cover. The book cover art must not only be visually interesting it must also somehow covey a message of the contents of the book–no small matter.

If you are a graphic designer, illustrator or someone who is attuned to the fine art of creating and designing images, you may be interested in the Icon Book Cover Art Competition.

The Contest
This competition is open to everyone 18 years or older. The contest is sponsored by the author of the book, “The Unfastened Heart“.

The re-publication of the novel needs new cover art and the author is announcing an open call to all designers to enter this contest.

Paintings, photographs, graphic art, collage or other visual media are eligible in this competition and may be submitted in a digital representation through a JPEG file to this email address: theiconprize [at] gmail.com.

All entries must be original in nature and must not be defamatory or offensive. Submitted material must be totally original and created by the artist.

If you do not win the contest you may have the option of making your artwork available for sale. The sponsor states:

“This competition is being organized to support and nurture the work and careers of other artists who gather together around a common literary work.

“If your submission does not win the competition but you nevertheless wish to make your original work available for sale, the author may choose to assist you by creating gallery showings of your work, either online or otherwise, at a price you select, with the profit to be realized solely by you.

“If you wish, the author and publisher may also elect, in their sole discretion, to include your submission in a “gallery” of submissions interior to the pages of the book, allowing the book’s readers to see your work, read a brief biography about you, and link to websites displaying more of your work.”

The Awards
The winner of this contest will receive:

* The 2010 Icon Prize
* $1500 in Cash

In addition selected finalist’s artwork may be displayed in the book.

Other Details
There is no limit to the number of submissions you may enter. The deadline for this contest is December 31, 2010. The winner will be announced via email between June 2010 and December 2010. For the complete details about this contest, click here.

Beauty and the Building
Are you an architecture student, a graphic designer that revels in the beauty of architecture, or someone who loves the melding of art and architecture?

If so the Art in Architecture 2010 Competition is seeking submissions from individuals or collaborative work that demonstrate the connection between the relationship of art and the exhibition place.

According to the sponsors of the contest:

“Art in Architecture” [contest theme] intends to generate ideas about the relationship and interaction between the two.

“The thematic goal is to seek images about architecture as a repository for art, revealing how art is expressed in architecture and how art and architecture affect and are affected by each other.

“In focusing on the capacity of art and architecture to be transcendent, this competition’s resulting exhibit will add special voice to the current debate between the “container” and the “contents” that has been taking place across the global art scene.”

Competition Details
Submissions must be original. All 2D art is accepted. The entry must be mounted on a 40″ x 40″ rigid foam board (3/16″ thick). Identification through a signature or other means on the face of the artwork is prohibited.

There must be two manila envelopes attached to the back of the entry. One envelope must be labeled “Statement” and include an 8 ½” x 11″ sheet of paper that describes the project in 200 words or less.

The other envelope, labeled “Identification”, should include a complete registration form and a CD/DVD with a file representing the full image. This image must be in PDF or JPG. The image dimension must be 12″ x 18″ and have a resolution of 300 dpi.

All individuals and groups are eligible for this contest but only one submission is allowed per individual/group. Members of teams may not submit work as individual entries.

A non-refundable entry fee of $75 is required.

Judging and Awards
The winning entry will be selected by a jury of professionals in art and architecture. The prizes are:

First Place: $3,000
Second Place: $2,000
Third Place: $1,000

Other Details
For a full description of contest guidelines click here. For the official registration form, click here. For the identification form for your submission, click here. The deadline for registration is April 1, 2010.

The time-line for this competition is as follows:

February 1, 2010 - Registration opens.
April 1, 2010 - Registration closes.
February 1 - April 1 - Questions regarding the competition may be submitted to
information [at] somersetart.org.
April 15, 2010 - Answers to questions will be posted at information [at] somersetart.org.
June 1, 2010 - Submissions are due.
July 2010 - Notification by mail of award winners and entries to be exhibited.
September 10, 2010 - Opening reception, announcement, and presentation of awards.
September 10 to October 31, 2010 - Exhibition of selected entries.

Design a Shipping Box Graphic
Colissimo, a leader of shipping and packaging in France, is launching a contest for new designs for its “Collisimo” shipping box.

The winning design will be sold throughout France in its post offices during the 2010 holidays.

The Contest Details
According to the sponsors:
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“Create the new design/ packaging, which will be sold in all postal offices and used by the whole French population in 2010 for every holiday! It’s up to you to bring your «festive, celebration, present, holiday » spirit to this design!

“Be imaginative, trendy, sober, off beat… Make sure we want to send and receive your package and that it reflects the desire to make people happy. Create the exterior design, but also don’t hesitate to imagine its interior (see guidelines)!

“Beware do not focus your creative proposition solely on the Christmas theme, but create on original design, that can be used for all gift occasions during the year!”

The winner of the contest will have his/her design and name printed on the tens of thousands of packages sold throughout the post offices of France.

For the complete rules and guidelines for this contest, download them by clicking here. A complete description of the contest can be downloaded by clicking here.

What to Submit
In order to participate and enter this contest you must first open a free account on the eYeka website. Click here to register.

Create your graphic design for the shipping box by downloading the official template by clicking here.

Make sure that your submission for a holiday design isn’t exclusive just for the Christmas season. Ideally, your design should encompass any gift occasions during the entire year.

The exact dimensions for the package designs are described in the official rules. The design should be in a hi-resolution PSD, AI, or CMJN colors. The design you submit must be entire original and created by you.

Entries should be submitted to either http://en.eyeka.com/login or http://www.imagine-colissimo.fr/.  To see contest entries of others click here.

Judging and Prizes
A panel of judges will critique all entries for creativity, uniqueness, and overall design. There will be two prizes in this contest:

* First Prize: 3,000 € (approximately 4,120.29 USD) and a five year exclusive rights contract for the printed      design.

* Voters Choice: 10 prizes of 300 € (approximately 412.00 USD)

Other Information
Do not submit “simple” designs such as logos or icons. Do not submit the same design multiple times with different color motifs.

The deadline for this contest is March 29, 2010.

Are you someone who is interested in fashion design? Then the Marie Claire Fashion Contest IED is a competition that may help you to get additional career training in this exciting design field.

The Contest
Illustrators are encouraged to render a fashion design creation that has the theme of “Ethnic Trends for Spring and Summer 2010″. The submitted design may be for women, men or unisex.

What to Submit
Each entry should have a project title and an accompanying description of what the project is about in 80-100 words.

Format for all submissions should be in JPG, 300 dpi resolution, and no more than 3MB in size. Acceptable media in generating the illustration can be in watercolor, acrylic, felt-tip pen or pencil (or a combination of the two). No collage, Photoshop images, or any computer generated artwork will be accepted.

Awards
According to the contest sponsors the awards will consist of various free courses held at the Barcelona, Spain workshop locations. In addition to the free courses, the first place winner will also receive free accommodations for the duration of the sessions. Those who do not take up their prizes will forfeit all rights.

1st place
100% grant for 2010 summer course on Illustration - Idea, Concept and Image* or Introduction to Fashion Design* (this grant also includes accommodation).

2nd place
100% grant for course on Illustration - Idea, Concept and Image* or Introduction to Fashion Design* (course only).

3rd place
50% grant for course on Illustration - Idea, Concept and Image* or Introduction to Fashion Design*

Dates for summer courses: from 5 July 2010 to 30 July 2010
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*The choice of course will depend on the places available, and Istituto Europeo di Design management reserves the right to change or substitute the course if the minimum number of students is not reached. The course may not be exchanged for money; if winners do not attend the course, they lose the right to the prize.

*Illustration - Idea, Concept and Image: this course is given in English

Other Information
To send in your entry click here. The contest deadline is May 1, 2010. If you have further questions about the contest send an email to concursomarieclaire (at) bcn.ied.es