Alaska Artistic License Plate Design Competition

Alaska's "Artistic License" plate is a juried competition that occurs every four years. The competition encourages creativity and invites Alaskans to celebrate aspects of their unique Alaskan identity while highlighting the importance of the arts in daily life. The Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA) administers this competition. A portion of the sales of the "Artistic License" plate goes to ASCA to support creators, designers, makers, educators, administrators, producers, presenters and distributors in the areas of Visual Art, Music, Literature, Fashion, Poetry, Performing Arts, Cultural Practices and Traditions, Culinary Arts, Language Preservation, Graphic Design, Architecture, Public Spaces, Film and Media.

All Alaskans are eligible to apply. Applicants must be Alaska residents. Applications are limited to one design per applicant, except Alaska teachers may submit designs as a batch up to 30 entries with 1 entry per student. Designs must be original and not a reproduction or copyright violation. A license plate template can be obtained at http://alaskaartisticlicense.org. The plate is 11-9/16" wide by 5-7/16" tall. The top 1¼" banner is reserved for the word "ALASKA" and validation tabs. The left-hand 2 1/6" below the top banner is available for a logo or design. The bottom 1" banner may contain a tag line or message as determined by ASCA. All designs must comply with DMV requirements that law enforcement agencies be able to easily read the plate number. The plate must accommodate a 6 character plate number for passenger vehicles and a 5 character plate number for motorcycles. Background color and plate numbers must contrast for easy reading.

Designs will be reviewed by a Celebrity Jury based on quality of design submission, readability for law enforcement, and imagery suitable for the public. Short-listed designs (up to 10) will receive an honorarium of $250 each. The selected artist will receive an honorarium of $1,000. Semi-finalists will be notified by May 12, 2017. Short-listed designs will be posted on http://alaskaartisticlicense.org for public voting. Finalists will be notified by June 30, 2017. The winning design may undergo further refinement by a professional graphic designer to meet DMV guidelines. Artists whose work is selected for license plate production will be required to sign an agreement with ASCA regarding derivative expressions and artist rights. For questions, contact Alaska State Council on the Arts, 161 Klevin Street #102, Anchorage, AK 99508, [email protected], 907-269-6610, or 1-888-278-7424 toll free.