Sunday, February 13, 2011

Online Art Contest Celebrates Black History, Raises Money for Good Cause

By Donte Gibson
In honor of Black History Month, Frito-Lay’s brands Lay’s and Doritos have kicked off their Black History Month Art Contest. The company is looking for artists from across the country to submit their Black History Month-themed artwork to their website http://www.celebratecommunityarts.com/. The site will house an online gallery where visitors can vote on their favorite pieces. The five pieces with the most votes will receive $1000. Frito-Lay will also select a grand prize winner who will receive up to $5000 and a gallery showing of their artwork in their hometown.
While this contest sounds pretty sweet, it gets even sweeter. The contest is in partnership with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). For every vote cast for the artwork  on the site, Frito-Lay has pledged to contribute one dollar to the UNCF. If visitors enter the code from the front of their Doritos, Lay’s Kettle-Cooked Potato Chips or Lay’s Potato Chips bag, the company will contribute an additional dollar donation to the fund. The company will donate up to $35,000 to the UNCF, with a pledged minimum contribution of $25,000. Each visitor is limited to one vote a day, but are given the option of sharing their favorite piece of artwork on their favorite social networking channels to drum up additional support for their favorite entry.
In addition to going directly toward the UNCF, the contest’s proceeds will go toward the Frito Lay Arts Scholarship. The scholarship will present two awards, both worth $5000, to college students majoring in Fine Arts, Graphic Arts, Art, Theatre Arts/Drama or Visual Arts at a four-year university. The scholarships will be open to students of all years and can be applied for during the run of the contest, the cut-off date being March 1, 2011.
There are currently 26 pieces of artwork in the online gallery. For those interested in submitting for the contest, visit the contest site between January 17th and February 28th. Once your work is uploaded, voters will have from February 1st to February 28th to cast their vote. Frito-Lay will select the contest’s grand prize winner based on votes, artistic talent, creativity and cohesion with the Black History Month theme. So artists, start submitting now because time, like a mind, is a terrible thing to waste.

2 comments:

  1. Welcome to the blogosphere, my friend! Great to have you here. I'll link to yours if you'll link to mine (hmmm, is that anything like if you show me yours, I'll...nah, didn't think so!) Congrats on moving up in the contest. 'Wish I could throw my votes to you, but I'm doing my best to make sure Frito-Lay does indeed donate the whole $35K to UNCF.

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  2. I'm with you Michelle...thank for being my first blogger....now start promoting that piece...this is a good test of the effectiveness of your social networks and email lists:)

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