2015 Banner Art Theme Announced - Applications Now Available

West Chicago, Illinois: July 18, 2014 – Dovetailing with a community-wide wellness initiative, Healthy West Chicago, the West Chicago Cultural Arts Commission has announced the theme for its annual Community Banner Art Project as A Picture of Health.

The Commission invites accomplished and emerging artists, with a connection to the City of West Chicago, (either through residence, work or school) or currently living in the Chicagoland area, to submit up to three digital files of original art for consideration for the Community Banner Project Competition.

 An entry is comprised of up to three JPEG images at 72 ppi measuring (h)7” x (w)5”. All files should be numbered and named with the artist's last name and first name. Ex.: 01Lastname_Firstname.jpg and submitted via this form. All media are welcome, with no limitation to technique or subject matter, as long as the theme revolves around the artist’s view of A Picture of Health.  An independent juror not affiliated with the City of West Chicago or the West Chicago Cultural Arts Commission, will select the works of art anonymously.

The chosen artwork will be transferred to 60” x 30” vinyl banners that will hang on street poles along Main Street in downtown West Chicago from May through September 2015, creating a vibrant display of public art for residents and visitors to the community. The Commission hosts an artists’ reception, produces a walking tour guide which maps the location of each banner and sponsors a People’s Choice Award for all banners selected.

The deadline for art submissions is December 12, 2014. This is earlier than has been the case for this program in the past, and organizers are hoping for a “healthy” number of entries and a bigger display for next year. "The Commission hopes that the beautiful summer and fall weather that naturally lends itself to more outdoor activity and availability of farm to table foods, will inspire some wonderful opportunities for creative interpretations of A Picture of Health", said Rosemary Mackey, City of West Chicago staff liaison for the Cultural Arts Commission. "The earlier deadline will help with the Commission's ability to plan for what it hopes will be a larger number of banners next spring."

Applications are available here or at www.westchicago.org under Forms. For questions about the 2015 Banner Art Project, contact the West Chicago City Museum at (630) 231-3376 or museum@westchicago.org.