FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Susana Weymouth
813-221-2787
susanaweymouth@tbbca.org

Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts “TBBCA” announces Call to Artists for the 2018 Gasparilla Music Festival Presented by Cigar City Brewing and Poster Contest presented by Hill Ward Henderson in pARTnership with TBBCA and the Gasparilla Music Foundation.

TAMPA, Fla. (December 13, 2017) – The 7th annual Gasparilla Music Festival (GMF) presented by Cigar City Brewing invites Tampa Bay area artists with a passion for music to enter the TBBCA-GMF Poster Contest, presented by Hill Ward Henderson in pARTnership with TBBCA and the Gasparilla Music Foundation.

Artists interested in participating are requested to register their intent to submit prior to Friday, January 12th, 2018 by sending an email to susanaweymouth@tbbca.org
Final original artwork may be submitted prior to, but no later than, the deadline Monday, February 5th, 2018. (Delivery of original art to TBBCA by pre-arrangement only.)

GMF 2018 will take place in downtown Tampa on March 10th & 11th and will feature musical acts from a wide variety of genres on several stages and cuisine from the region’s top restaurants. The poster design should be an artistic representation of GMF. Artists are encouraged to incorporate Tampa Bay’s wide diversity of culture into its design; however, artists are discouraged from using “Gasparilla” themes such as pirates or beads. Please do NOT include the GMF name or logo in the artwork; doing so will disqualify the entry. If chosen, GMF branding will be incorporated to the final poster version by GMF.

Entries will be judged by an expert panel of judges and the GMF Poster Committee. GMF will make the final decision to select the winning entry. Submissions will be evaluated based on concept, originality, lay out and marketing adaptability.

The winning poster design will be announced at the GMF VIP Sound Check party (date TBD) and will be recognized as the Official Commemorative Poster of the 2018 Gasparilla Music Festival.
The winning artist will receive:
∙ $500 cash award
∙ Two (2) VIP tickets to GMF 2018, valid for both days of the festival ($300 value)
∙ Featured bio in the GMF program
∙ Recognition on GMF social media sites
∙ A print of your poster, which will be gifted to GMF sponsors and individual donors
∙ Featured poster-signing session at the festival
∙ Possibility of your artwork will be reproduced as an “official” festival T-shirt

By entering the contest, artists agree that the winning submission will become the property of GMF and can be auctioned off at the GMF Sound Check party, with proceeds going to the non-profit Gasparilla Music Foundation in support of their arts education, Recycled Tunes, and other programs. The winning artist receives no further cash payment other than the $500 prize.
For non-winning submissions that are selected as finalists, those artists can opt to allow their works to be auctioned at the GMF VIP Sound Check party, with proceeds to be split 50-50 between each artist and GMF, so each artist receives half the proceeds of the sale of the artwork. The remaining half of the proceeds will be used to support the Gasparilla Music Foundation, including its Recycled Tunes program which provides refurbished instruments to area children. Unsold items will be returned to the artist. By submitting an entry for auction, artists may decide on the reserve price of their entry, subject to minimum reserve pricing of $50 and maximum reserve pricing of $500. Only the winning artist(s) give GMF license for reproduction for promotion and sales.

GUIDELINES FOR ENTRY
∙ The GMF poster contest is open to all artists residing in the Tampa Bay region.
∙ Limit to one entry per artist. Entries must be an original art piece (any medium) that is production-ready, vertical poster format and framed or matted.
∙ Canvas size must scale to 24”x36”.
∙ On the back of each entry, artist must include their printed name, address, phone number and email address.

All artists interested in participating are requested to register their intent to submit prior to Friday, January 12, 2018 by sending an email to susanaweymouth@tbbca.org
Artwork must be delivered by pre-arrangement only to Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts, 633 North Franklin Street, Suite 735, Tampa, FL 33602 before or by the submission deadline Monday, February 5, 2018. Artists must contact susanaweymouth@tbbca.org to coordinate your delivery.

About TBBCA
Tampa Bay BCA is a non-profit 501 (c) (3), one of 11 national Business Committees for the Arts, member of the private sector network and pARTnership movement of Americans for the Arts. For over 28 years, TBBCA has united businesses in support of the arts, based on the philosophy that ‘the arts are good for business, and business is good for the arts.’ TBBCA offers programs in support of arts education, culture and the arts in our community, including Call to Artists, Cultural Encounters, TBBCA Chalk Walks, The Charlie Hounchell Art Stars Scholarships, and others. To learn more go to www.tbbca.org or contact susanaweymouth@tbbca.org or 813-221-2787.