2015 North Charleston Arts Festival Design Competition Winner – "Jubilee" by KTC

2016 North Charleston Arts Festival design competition underway

The City of North Charleston is calling upon South Carolina visual artists to participate in the 2016 North Charleston Arts Festival Design Competition.  The winning piece will become the official art design of the 2016 North Charleston Arts Festival, taking place April 29-May 7, and will be featured on all promotional materials and merchandise, including billboards, print and digital advertisements, television commercials, program booklets, posters, apparel, online, and more.  The winning artist will receive a $500 purchase award and be given the opportunity to exhibit other original works at the North Charleston City Gallery during the festival. In addition, the winning piece will become part of the City of North Charleston’s Public Art Collection, which is displayed throughout City Hall. The deadline to submit works for the competition is Saturday, December 5, 2015.

There is NO entry fee to participate in the North Charleston Arts Festival Design Competition. The competition is open to South Carolina residents ages 18 and older.  Categories of work accepted are: acrylic, oil, drawing/pastel, watercolor, and 2-D mixed media. Entries must be submitted online at www.NorthCharlestonCulturalArtsDepartment.Slideroom.com by the December 5 deadline.  Artists may enter a maximum of three pieces into the competition.

The North Charleston Arts Festival is organized and presented by the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department.  The annual nine-day celebration of arts and culture highlights national, regional and local artists and performers in the areas of Dance, Music, Theatre, Visual Arts, Crafts, Photography, Media Arts, and Literature. For over 3o years the festival has made quality arts programming affordable and accessible to the widest spectrum of the public, attracting more than 30,000 residents and visitors from throughout the Southeast and beyond to experience 100+ free and modestly priced performances, workshops, exhibitions, and activities in a variety of venues, including libraries, community centers, schools, civic auditoriums, and parks. Named a Top 20 Event by the Southeast Tourism Society, the event has matured into one of the most comprehensive arts festivals in the state of South Carolina. Previous Arts Festival Design Competition winners include Karole Turner Campbell (KTC) of North Charleston, SC (2015); Amiri Gueka Farris of Bluffton, SC (2014); Linda Elksnin of Mt. Pleasant, SC (2013); Elena Barna of North Charleston, SC (2012); and Pedro Rodriguez of Hanahan, SC (2011).

Past participants in the North Charleston Arts Festival Design Competition may notice that the entry timeline for 2016 has been changed from previous years. The deadline has been moved up more than one month to allow for use of the design in earlier promotional materials. For more information about the 2016 North Charleston Arts Festival and other participation opportunities visit NorthCharlestonArtsFest.com, or contact the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department office at (843)740-5854 or culturalarts@northcharleston.org. Artists in need of assistance with the submission process may contact the Cultural Arts Department to schedule a meeting, which can be conducted over the phone or in person.