Museum Accepting Entries for Seventh International Art Competition

The Museum of Church History and Art is accepting artwork from professional and amateur Latter-day Saint artists for its Seventh International Art Competition. The theme for this competition is “Our Heritage of Faith.”

Artists can begin submitting entry forms and photographs of their original artwork to the competition immediately. To be eligible for competition, entries must have been created after January 1, 2003. All entry forms must be received on or before October 21, 2005. Online entry forms are found at www.lds.org/churchhistory/museum.

Artwork will be judged in two rounds. In the first round, artists will submit photographs or digital images of their original artwork to be judged. First-round winners will be notified by mail on or before December 31, 2005. First-round winners will be asked to submit their original artwork to the Museum of Church History and Art for further judging.

The criteria for artwork submissions are the following:

“A concept, idea, or story related to (1) Latter-day Saint doctrines, beliefs, and teachings, including messages or stories from the scriptures and teachings of the prophets; (2) events, places, and people in the history of the Church; (3) the application of gospel teachings and values in Latter-day Saint life.”

Competition organizers said this year’s theme was crafted to be all-encompassing.

“We wanted the topic to be broad and general to include what it means to be a Latter-day Saint,” said Robert Davis, senior museum curator. “We want to make the competition as open as possible to artists around the world.”

Brother Davis said the competition has proven to be an excellent way to identify up-and-coming artists.

Previous competition entries have included paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, textiles, pottery, ceramics, jewelry, wood carvings, photography, and metal work.

Second-round winners’ artwork will be displayed at the Museum of Church History and Art from March 24 to September 4, 2006.

The museum will offer Purchase Awards and up to 20 Merit Awards of U.S. $500 each to top second-round winners. Three Visitors’ Choice Awards of $500 each will also be given at the conclusion of the exhibit in September.

The museum sponsors the International Art Competition every three years. During the competition in 2003, the museum displayed more than 171 pieces of artwork. A gallery of this artwork can be viewed on the museum’s Web site. Since the competition began in 1988, members have submitted more than 4,500 pieces of art to be judged.

Alma Arise was part of the Sixth International Art Competition. (Alma Arise, by Walter Rane, © IRI—may not be copied.)