Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – An art contest is challenging local artists to look beyond the canvas and envision a more beautiful Jonesboro through a new category.
Submissions will be accepted for the Foundation of Arts’ (FOA) Perspectives Art Contest from Nov. 3 to Nov. 7, according to a Facebook post. This will be the 10th year that the contest has occurred.
Artwork can be delivered at the Forum Theater Box Office located at 115 E. Monroe Ave. each day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Anyone ages five and up can participate.
Marketing manager Meredith Pierce said the main goal of the contest is to reach out and give back to the community by gathering canned goods to give to the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas.
“Our mission statement as an organization is to improve the quality of life of our community through the arts, and so we thought this was a perfect way to tie in the arts while giving back and finding a way where everyone can participate,” she said.
Participants can submit their art in one of two categories: A general category and, new this year, the Keep Jonesboro Beautiful (KJB) category. According to FOA’s website, in this category, artists can submit works that inspire residents to “do beautiful things.”
Pierce said the KJB Commission reached out to the FOA a couple of years ago about a way to get involved, leading to the commission’s involvement in the contest, thinking it would be a great way to showcase the beauty of the city and potentially lead to new creations for the area.
“Maybe a rendering that could reimagine an existing space we have in Jonesboro, or just reimagine how to beautify a street, a sidewalk, an intersection, a park, and a stormwater drainage basin,” she said.
Also new this year is that, in addition to 2D artwork, the FOA will be accepting 3D artwork, including 3D printed and clay-made pieces. Pierce said a small shelf with glass doors was purchased to help keep the pieces safe for display. The reason for the addition, according to Pierce, was that the FOA Arts Center did not have any shelving units for that type of artwork.
Voting on submissions will be held at the Arts Center, located at 382 S. Main St., from Nov. 10 to Nov. 14.
From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, people can bring any amount of canned goods and distribute them to their favorite art pieces that are on display. Cans will then be tallied up to determine who the winners are.
“We have people come in that don’t necessarily know anyone in the contest but want to give cans, so it’s kind of a fun process to watch people walk around and look at all of the art, choose one that really speaks to them, and then leave their cans to vote for that particular piece,” Pierce said.
As for the future of the contest, Pierce hopes that it will continue to grow, that more people will submit their own pieces, and the new partnership with KJB will result in new beautification projects for the city.
Winners will be announced at the foundation’s “The Nutcracker” performance at 7 p.m., Nov. 21.
You can find the submission guidelines and other event details by clicking here.
