Opportunities

Organizers

The School of Creative Arts (SoCA), under the umbrella of the College of Arts at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), Abbotsford BC, Canada.

Participants and Awards

All current UFV students are invited to design and submit original posters to the 7^th Biannual pARTicipate Poster Competition, this year’s theme is It’s Possible! Cash prizes will be awarded to the winning students, and selected entries will be posted as part of a digital exhibition on the S'eliyemetaxwtexw Art Gallery website.

Competition history

The pARTicipate Poster Competition project has been running bi-annually since 2009 with its aim to foster imagination, criticality, visual thinking, graphic design skills and to promote social awareness and activism.

The theme of the 7^th pARTicipate Poster Competition 2021-2022:

It’s Possible!

Background

The 7^th pARTicipate Poster Competition’s theme It’s Possible! is motivated by Canada’s National Career Month – celebrated each November – but extends this dialogue beyond the original month-long focus.

To promote and advance the agenda of achieving employment goals, we are seeking posters that represent an examination of the role of work in creating an accessible, equitable and hopeful world. Students may want to consider what is possible if work or career took into consideration factors that impact the future and well-being of society.

Issues to be considered when designing the poster:

• What does it mean to society to have meaningful work?
• What role do employers play in contributing and shaping how people work?
• Why and what might students or society want to think about when considering the future of career?
• What is possible with an education?
• What do Humanities and Social Sciences grads contribute towards making society more accessible and equitable – especially in terms of contributing through one’s work?
• What role does automation or robots play in how we think about the future of work?
• How do we prepare ourselves for the future of work?

The overarching theme of It’s Possible! should capture the essence of a positive future, but also one that will require intentional planning and commitment.

Communication Objective

The goal of the 7^th pARTicipate Poster Competition is to reaffirm and promote the opportunities offered especially by Humanities and Social Sciences in achieving successful and meaningful careers.

Design Objectives

1. Convey a strong message instantly. The composition must be easily read from a distance – concept, image and/or words are impactful.
2. Concise concept or idea – poster is self-explanatory.
3. Effective contrast, spatial depth and scale.
4. Clear typographic application that emphasizes the message.
5. Poster is well-conceived and properly executed.
6. Design is current, appropriate and relevant to the competition’s main theme.
7. Overall create a poster showcasing an issue or phenomenon that is important to you. Demonstrate what you believe brings a positive change and outcome taking into account learning, education, voluntarism, and employment prospects. We are looking forward to such ideas and creative works in this competition.

Eligibility

-  All current UFV students

Target Audience

Adhering to the concept “think locally – act globally” the target audience is Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack, Hope, the Fraser Valley community, British Columbia, Canada, and beyond.

Specifications of Submission

1. Dimensions: - maximum 900px x 1200px portrait (i.e. vertical) orientation.  - maximum 1200px x 900px landscape (i. e. horizontal) orientation
2. Format: Poster design must be submitted in 72 ppi, JPG or PNG file format.
3. All written text should appear in English.
4. All submissions must be original. Copyrighted characters©, copyrighted clip art or graphic art, or copyright-free clip or graphic art will not be accepted.
5. Each participant may submit up to two (2) poster entries.
6. For your participation to be valid, you will need to download, full-fill and submit along with your poster(s) the “Registration and Agreement” form – signed – with the written “Rationale” filled out (max. than100 words).

The form is available on the UFV SoCA website https://www.ufv.ca/creative- arts/student-resources/opportunities/

Important Dates

1. Announcement of the 7^th pARTicipate Poster Competition It’s Possible!: January 2022.

2. Deadline for Submitting Works:

All entries – JPG or PNG posters should be submitted with the “Registration and Agreement“ form and the written “Rationale.” These must be emailed to the Work Integrated Learning Project at artsworx@ufv.ca attention to Elise Goertz, no later than Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at noon.

The e-mail must include the following information:

-  Subject: it must include the title “7^th pARTicipate Poster Competition – It’s Possible”

- The Poster(s)

-  The full-filled “Registration and Agreement” form

-  The “Rationale” (max. 100 words)

3. The submitted posters will be available for viewing as part of a digital exhibition on the S'eliyemetaxwtexw Art Gallery website, posted live on March 15 – April 4, 2022 https://sag.ufvsoca.ca/sag/

4. The final announcement of winners:

Winners will be announced and notified during the week of March 28 – March 31, 2022.

Participants should not call or email the organizers to request results in advance.

Judging Criteria

1. Originality: Innovation and effectiveness.
2. Visual Hierarchy: Typography, image, colour and layout, relation between visual material and text.
3. Clarity: A clearly structured message or statement.
4. Overall impression: Artistic and interesting design that attracts attention.
5. Final Effect: Impactful and creates awareness.

Judges

A panel of selected judges (TBD) will review the entries and nominate the winners.

Winners and Prizes

1. All shortlisted artists and the winners will be acknowledged.
2. Selected posters will be featured as a digital exhibition on the S'eliyemetaxwtexw Art Gallery at UFV on March 15 – April 4, 2022.
3. Winning places and prizes to be awarded:

Grand Prize                $500

First Place                  $300

Second Place            $250

Third Place                 $200 Special Recognition $150

Honourable Mention UFV Bookstore gif-card $50 (four awards) The finalists of the competition will receive the relevant certificates.

Contributors of Prizes

College of Arts                                                                        – Grand Prize

College of Arts                                                                        – First Place

School of Creative Arts                                                          – Second Place

Graphic + Digital Design Department                                 – Third Place

Office of Research, Engagement and Graduate Studies – Special Recognition

Terms

1. The public display of the submitted works by the students is not allowed prior to the announcement of the winners.
2. Submissions whose content can be considered offensive or insulting or unrelated to the theme of the contest will not be considered valid.
3. The submitted projects should not contain personal information about the designers.
4. The contributors, creative contributors, and the members of the Jury cannot participate in the competition. This restriction does not apply to volunteers.