Town of Taos Banner Competition 2020

The Town of Taos, Taos Arts Council, and Taos Gallery Association are seeking artwork from Taos County artists for a lamppost banner campaign to highlight Taos as an arts destination and beautify the historic district. The campaign will feature 66 banners (41 banners at 30"x60" and 25 banners at various sizes) displayed on Paseo del Pueblo Sur and Norte, Kit Carson Road, Bent Street, and within the historic district from April 1 – October 31, 2020. Images reflecting the theme 'Taos Vision 2020, Return to the Land, Water and Sky' may be favored during judging, but this is not required. The competition welcomes artwork related to any of the arts including visual, music, performance, writing, poetry, and similar expressions.

Eligibility: Entrants must be at least 18 years old and currently living and working within Taos County. Work must have been produced within the last 5 years. Each artist may enter one piece with one image. Groups may enter one collectively created piece under one individual or collective name (non-business). All media that can be photographed and displayed visually on a banner are accepted, including painting, pottery, sculpture, printmaking, photography, projection, glass, jewelry, metalwork, fiber art, installation, and mixed or non-traditional media.

Submission Requirements: Entries must be submitted through the CaFE website (https://www.callforentry.org) with a $10 application fee (payable by credit or check to the Taos Arts Council). Applicants must submit one lower-resolution JPG/JPEG image under 5mb for the competition. Selected winners will need to submit a second high-resolution image (PSD, TIFF, JPG, or PNG format) at least 200 dpi at 15"x30" height for printing. Images must be bold, bright, legible, with good sharpness and contrast; avoid busy images or those that would not be legible from a distance or from below. No text or overlays should appear on the submitted image unless part of the artwork.

Judging and Awards: Submissions will be judged by a blind jury considering aesthetic impact, diversity of medium and artist background, suitability for the medium, appropriateness for public display, and legibility for drive-by viewers and pedestrians. Winners will be notified 5-7 days after the blind jury selection (within 7-10 days of the deadline). Selected artists will be featured on one banner and receive their banner to keep after the campaign ends. Reduced-size poster reproductions of all 66 winning banners will be displayed at Taos Town Hall from April 2 – July 31, 2020. A public reception honoring selected artists is scheduled for Thursday, April 2, 2020, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm, where work will be available for purchase. A list of individual banner artists will be posted by February 1, 2020.