BFK’s Public Bike Art Competition 2020

Bike Friendly Kalamazoo opened our Public Bike Art Competition on July 14, 2021, made possible by a generous grant from The Vicksburg Foundation.  Until the 2021 winning entries are announced and ready for display, we are delighted to present a gallery of the winning contestants from 2020 HEREWe hope you enjoy these wonderful pieces as much as we do!

The deadline for all submissions in BFK’s Public Bike Art Competition 2021 is September 3, 2021 at 11:59ET.

Between now and then, communication between the artists until the judges have made their final decisions is not encouraged unless they reach out to you. Thank you to all the wonderful artists for participating in this joyous — national –virtual competition!

The final vote tabulation for 2021 will be made public during a Bike Art Competition Ceremony held on Saturday, September 18.

General Overview
Bike Friendly Kalamazoo (BFK), together with patrons of the arts and organizations throughout greater Kalamazoo, is hosting a public art competition to select art intended for public display on a variety of media and into the future as part of our campaign to celebrate and encourage bicycling.  Award of the prize(s) will be one of the featured event on Saturday during BFK’s Fall Bike Celebration Weekend, September 17-19, 2021. The digital format for entries makes this an ideal competition for desktop artists or artists in any medium who can render their work digitally per the specifications that follow.

There is no fee to enter. All entrants are to submit their bicycle-themed street banners digitally, all of which will be posted online. The Juried awards shall be decided by a Jury Committee composed of art representatives, municipal representatives who are members of BFK’s Bike Art Competition Committee. First, Second and Third place cash prize winners will be selected by the Jury Committee.  Jury-awarded cash prizes are:  First Place: $1,000, Second Place:  $500, and Third Place: $250. 

A major goal of BFK’s Bike Art Competition is to increase the display of art works, specifically bike-related pieces that BFK believes will increase support for bicycling.  Funds raised through the sale of art submitted in this competition will support causes such as improved bicycling safety, education & awareness-building and increased ridership. We believe the art has the power to enhance the sheer joy of bicycling, in and of itself!

CRITERIA

  • Typical sizing for street banners is 30” x 94” and 18” x 36” – submit your artwork in both these specific size proportions.
  • Artwork must be high resolution (at least 300ppi) – resolution; guidance may be provided if requested.
  • The street banner must be bicycle themed.
  • The background colors can be any color, including white.
  • A 6” top and 6” bottom to the banner is to contain color, but no design.
  • The designs can bleed onto the sides – a visual frame is not necessary.
  • Entrants will retain copyright in contest entries; via their submission entrants grant Bike Friendly Kalamazoo unlimited rights to use and sell the artwork submitted to advance BFK’s charitable purposes.
  • The juried component of this Public Bike Art Prize event is described below.
  • Artwork submitted shall be the entrant’s original work, which the entrant attests in writing to, by virtue of submitting the entry.
  • Designs containing unoriginal emblems, logos or including/promoting an organization or service will not be considered.
  • Entrants may enter the competition once, using the same idea for both sizes.

ENTRY REGISTRATION, VOTING AND PRIZES

To register for BFK’s Public Bike Art Competition, entrants must submit their artwork using the Official Entry Form. Due to various limitations, entrants must print out, complete and sign the Form, and convert it into electronic format to submit, together with a total of four digital artwork files: one for each of the two banner sizes, each in two required file formats: PDF and JPEG. Email the five files to the email address listed at the bottom of the form.  IMPORTANT: Include the Title of your piece in the Subject line.  You may use use a separate email for each file submitted if you need to, say, due to file size restrictions.  Attach your Official Entry Form to every email which contains attached artwork.  Do not submit your entries in the form of a link to another web site.  Artwork received will be shared with the Jury for review and voting. 

Entrants must:

  1. reside within the United States of America (USA) and be a US Citizen 18 years of age or older;
  2. use an email service with a domain registered within the USA.

Note to artists: Please make sure all entry materials you have submitted are complete. Out of respect for the artists, the Chair of the Jury Committee asks us to moderate or close off comments on specific pieces if they appear on our own Facebook page.

Juried Award cash prizes are:
1st Place               $1,000
2nd Place              $500
3rd Place               $250

All cash prizes, honorable mentions and honoraria, etc., will be finalized and awarded through a Jury Committee who will review the work based on criteria per the following broad guidelines.  In September, these guidelines may further be clarified by the Jury Committee as they deem best, and are subject to change without notice.  

  1. Bicycle theme – use of “bicycle art” is part of the creative design; one or more bicycles (or portions thereof) must be evident.
  2. Use of color – colors selected and the background must be engaging and complementary from typical viewing distances when displayed on lampposts and similar mountings.
  3. Print integrity – artwork must be print-able on both sized banners (as outlined above)
  4. Municipal interest – the piece must appeal to municipal representatives from a practical perspective as worthy of purchase and subsequent public display.

DISPLAY OF ART AND USE OF WINNER’S SUBMISSIONS

The banners are intended for municipal public display.  The awarded artwork will be used by BFK for the printing of banners and/or posters to advance Bike Friendly Kalamazoo’s mission as a not for-profit public charity. 

Entries will be judged without knowledge of the entrants’ identity. The Jury Committee reserves the right to certify all entrants and their submissions, voting and to award fewer than the announced number and type of prizes depending on the entries received.  Current Jury Committee employees and their immediate families are not eligible to submit an Entry. All Jury Committee decisions are final. The Official Entry Form, rules and guidelines are subject to change without notice. 🙂

Please Share and Like our Bike Art Prize posting on Facebook @fallbikecelebration

CONTACT INFORMATION & MEDIA RELEASE

Please email entries and contact us for more information using the email address on our entry form. A media release announcing the opening of BFK’s Public Bike Art Competition is HERE.

You may click HERE to see the winning entries from 2019. Technical considerations affect the sizes you see at any given time on various devices.