Spotted on the Talking Books Librarian post, there is a “Cool contest for young artists living with disabilities“. Accelerate, sponsored by VSA arts and Volkswagen of America, Inc., is an open juried exhibition for young disabled artists. The deadline for submission is June 19, 2009. There are several prizes, including a Grand Prize of $20,000. The exhibition is open to artists ages 16–25 living in the United States who have a physical, cognitive, mental, or sensory disability.

Starting from zero, ideas take shape, momentum builds, creativity gathers speed, and a new work of art is created. How does art propel your success and provide you freedom of expression? As an artist, what sets you in motion—and how do you fuel your imagination? Describe your artistic journey and how disability might shape your creative process. Define how you measure success both artistically and within your career pathway. Share with us your work that will launch you to the next level.

You can accelerate your development by giving yourself a fresh set of challenges, or the same set viewed from a different angle, every day. Explore a different path—if it’s a dead end, explore another. — Paul Foxton

We are interested in both representational and abstract work. Artwork may illustrate actual aspects of your motivation, such as the physical world or personal discoveries. Abstract work that relates to the inner world of emotions is also encouraged. Work might also reflect your experience of living with a disability and its role in shaping or transforming your work.

For more details, see the exhibit we site. For more information about disabilities that apply, please review the VSA arts Disability Awareness Guide, located under Resources at www.vsarts.org. There is a plain text description of the exhibit as well.

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This entry was posted on March 12, 2009 at 11:26 am and is filed under news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.