Poster Competition and Exhibition

Click here to register! The Arts League of Michigan and The Detroit Jazz Fest are Calling Visual Artists to enter a Art Competition and Exhibition Celebrating Detroit Jazz Festival's 30th Annual Anniversary The Winning artwork will be made into the "official poster" for The Detroit Jazz Fest's 30th Annual Anniversary 2009 Theme: "A Great Day in Detroit"
The Winner: A $300 honorarium 2 VIP passes for the entire Festival weekend (Sept. 4-7) National and International exposure as the official artist for the 30th Anniversary Commemorative poster Opportunity to autograph posters onsite Official recognition/introduction to the community at the official press conference in April Visibility on both the website and official Festival Program
Second and Third place winners: 2 VIP passes for the entire Festival Artwork will be displayed as second and third placed winners in an exhibition of selected entries that will be in The Arts League of Michigan's Gallery Tent at the Detroit Jazz Festival and will tour public places May - August 2009
Selected outstanding submissions: Will be displayed in an exhibition that will tour May - August 2009. The tour will end at The Detroit Jazz Fest 2009 in the Arts League of Michigan's Gallery Tent. All of the exhibited poster artworks will be for sale. The deadline for entries is February 2, 2009.
Timeline:
Now through 2/2/2009	Fill out registration form (Click the link at the bottom of the page to register)
2/2/2009	Images are due (but will be accepted prior to 2/2/2009)
2/9/2009	Judging
2/12/2009	Notification to artists of selected artworks
3/9/2009	Original artworks delivered to The Arts League of Michigan's office
4/29/2009	Announce the winning art at DJF Press Conference
5/2009 - 8/2009	Exhibit selected artworks in public spaces
8/2009 - 9/2009	Exhibit at The Detroit Jazz Fest 2009
Entry Procedure Click the link at the bottom of the page to register. When your registration is received you will be contacted by email with a registration number. Reply to this email with your images attached or you can mail in a CD (If submitting by email the file size of the images should be no more than 2mb each and the total size of the attachments should be less than 5mb. If sending a CD see below for mailing instructions.) No more than two works per artist are to be entered; however, 1 additional detail shot for each will be accepted. The entries should correspond to the work as listed on the entry form. All entries (registration form and images) must be received at The Arts League of Michigan by February 2, 2009. The final entry must be original artwork. (Computer generated artwork will not be accepted)
Eligibility Opened to all artists 18 years of age and older. The final entries must be original works. After the winning artwork for the poster is selected, the original work will be transferred to a poster at DJF's expense. Works submitted must not have been previously exhibited by The Arts League of Michigan. Artwork must have the width shorter than the length.
Judging The Arts League of Michigan and The Detroit Jazz Fest will judge all entries.
Presentation of the work All selected artwork for the exhibition must be framed or gallery wrapped and wired for hanging.
Entry Forms and CDs CD's should be clearly marked with the name of the artists and contact information. Mail CD's to: The Arts League of Michigan Detroit Jazz Fest Poster Contest 2009 7700 Second Avenue, 6th Floor Detroit, MI 48202 Images can be sent by email to Faye Carrothers (faye@artsleague.com)
If you have any questions, please email Faye Carrothers (faye@artsleague.com) or call 313-870-1680.
Inspiration for work to be created Detroit's Guardian building, located downtown Detroit at 500 Griswold Avenue, NE corner of Griswold and Larned, N of Jefferson, W of Woodward, Detroit, MI 48226-3700. (See below (A Great Day... A great Year) about Detroit Jazz Fest 30th Anniversary and Jazz and the Guardian Building.) We don't expect you to pain or draw the Guardian Building, but to use it as inspiration for you creation. Read "A Great Day in Detroit".
Detroit Jazz Fest 30th Anniversary: In this banner year, the festival will explore and honor Detroit's significant jazz legacy. Even a cursory review of jazz greats - from Hank, Elvin and Thad Jones to Milt Jackson, Barry Harris, Tommy Flanagan, Gerald Wilson, and Curtis Fuller - reveals that Detroit was an exceptionally fertile environment for this music, dating back to the 1920s. Sub-titled Keepin' Up With the Jones's, the 2009 festival will center on the family dynasty of Thad, Elvin and Hank Jones through performances by brothers and families who not only stay connected to "the tradition", but to each other. Precious few brother teams capture the essence of the Jones's as well as John and Jeff Clayton, and because of this, they have been appointed artists in residence. Jazz and the Guardian Building: It is clear that when the Jones Brothers were growing up in the Detroit area in the late 1920s, it was a tremendously exciting time. Detroit was was the third largest city in the country, boasting a working force of 330,000 people. There was a burgeoning Black middle class and music in the schools. The automotive industry was in full swing, an magnificent buildings were being erected as symbols of prosperity - so much so that Detroit was nicknamed "Paris of the Midwest". When it was built in 1928, the Guardian Building, dubbed "the Cathedral of Finance", was beyond category in design. Designed by architect Wirt C. Rowland, it merges Aztec, exotic modern, American Indian, jazz-age elegance, Dutch, French, and American arts & crafts in a luscious, unique harmony - much like a jazz composition. A steel-framed, 40-story building, it is sheathed in tangerine-colored "Guardian" brick, with bright bands of Pewabic tiles. The vaulted lobby is blanketed with vivid, diamond-patterned Rookwood tiles, Pewabic-glazed tiles, and stained glass windows. A metal tablet engraved with the names of the 40 tradesmen who worked on the building serves as both a tribute to their craftsmanship and recognition of individual contributions to a larger cause. The Union Trust Company, who built and initially inhabited the building, was one of the first major banks in the country to offer the average worker opportunities to purchase homes, making Detroit a leader in home ownership. The Guardian Building - where it is, how it looks and what it represents - parallels the jazz spirit, melding varied colors and cultures, as well as the skills and self-expression of individuals who contribute to the creation of the greater whole. Both the Guardian Building and jazz not only survived, but flourished during the Great Depression that occurred one year after the building was completed. It is around this concept that bassist, composer, and bandleader John Clayton will write a full-scale jazz composition in the style of Thad Jones to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the festival.
Click here to register!