SA Taxi Foundation Art Award entries open

Entries for the third SA Taxi Foundation Art Award is now open and creatives, artists, and designers are invited to begin work on their submissions.

The SA Taxi Foundation Art Award is gearing up for the third year of its watershed challenge to practitioners of the visual arts with entries for this award now open.

Creatives, artists, and designers are invited to begin work on their submissions. The closing date for award entries is February 13 2017.

The main award is worth R700 000 and includes a cash amount of R50 000, while the top five finalists will each receive an award to the value of R660 000 including a R10 000 cash prize.

The prizes include production of the artists’ designs as decals, each to be carried by 10 taxis on national routes for a period of six months, as well as an extensive publicity campaign aimed at creating national awareness of their work to kick-start their professional careers.

The SA Taxi Foundation Art Award therefore adds significant momentum for emerging artists trying to build a sustainable career.

Won by Tshepo Mosopa in 2015 and Audrey Anderson in 2016, the award has seen the work of 12 finalists grace 120 taxis that transport hundreds of thousands of South Africans to and from work daily. As a result, the work has been viewed by millions of South Africans, whether as taxi commuters or other road users, causing a buzz wherever it is spotted.

Entering the art award is a two-step process. Firstly, artists are required to create an original artwork in any medium based on the brief given in the entry form. Secondly they are required to design a decal for a taxi, interpreting the ideas and concepts of their original artwork.

These taxi decals should be an extension of the artwork and use either visual elements or interpret the concept of the original work to translate it into a successful taxi decal.

Creatives should also consider all of the safety regulations, visual restraints, and cultural sensitivities that can come into play once an artwork moves around a city as a three-dimensional object.

While the judges are looking for excellence in the artwork as well as the design work, they will emphasise the way an artist makes the transition from one format to the other.

Entry forms, entry requirements, and decal templates can all be downloaded on the SA Taxi Foundation Art Award website, www.sataxiartaward.co.za

Creatives must email their entries online, to info@sataxiartaward.co.za

For more information, contact the art award project managers, Lizamore & Associates Gallery at 011 880 8802 or tammy@lizamore.co.za