For the last nine years, Elk Valley artists have been personalizing Fernie’s streets by offering up their very own works of art to be featured on the banners that line the downtown area and Highway 3. Now in its tenth year, The Arts Station is putting a call out to local artists to contribute to the annual Banner Project.
The Banner Project Committee is on the hunt for 36 works of art to be showcased on the 2013 City of Fernie banners. Lampposts along Victoria Avenue will don the creations in the form of banners and reflect the Elk Valley’s diverse and artistic community.
Everything from paintings, quilts, and stained glass, to sculpture, pottery, and photography are eligible.
Project Coordinator Donna Miller explained the adjudicators will be looking for artwork that sets itself apart from the rest. “Bold colours, striking imagery that stands out from a distance, variation in themes and artistic disciplines,” commented Miller. “It has to be eye-catching to the street-level observer.”
Artists will be required to submit up to two images as a jpeg file on a CD. As the artwork will be cropped to a one wide by two high ratio to fit the banners, the dimensions of the photographed works should be carefully considered. Along with the jpeg, artists are asked to include a 70 word bio and description as a file on the same CD.
The Fernie and District Arts Council and the City of Fernie both contribute to the project, but it’s the sponsorship of the individual banners that keep it going.
All banners will be available for sponsorship for $100. After being hung along Victoria Avenue and Fourth Street for a year, the banners will be relocated to the highway. Following two years on display, the sponsor will receive their banner.
All of the 2013 banners will be presented for sponsorship during the Banner Project Launch at The Arts Station on April 25.
For more information on the Banner Project, or for assistance creating a digital photograph of an artwork for submission, contact The Arts Station at 250-423-4842 or Donna Miller at miller_g@hotmail.com.