2017 Gasparilla Music Festival Poster Contest – Call to Artists
• All Tampa Bay area artists with a passion for music are invited to enter the 6th annual Gasparilla Music Festival (GMF) Poster Contest. The contest is presented by Hill Ward Henderson in pARTnership with Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts and the Gasparilla Music Foundation.
• The submission receipt deadline is 5:00 p.m., Friday, February 3, 2017.
• All artists interested in participating are requested to register their intent to submit prior to January 2, 2017 by sending an email to susanaweymouth@tbbca.org

GMF 2017 will take place in downtown Tampa on March 11th & 12th 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 2017 Gasparilla Music Festival.
The winning artist will receive:
• A $500 cash award
• Two (2) VIP tickets to GMF 2017, 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, you 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.

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 January 2, 2017 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 on or before the submission deadline at 5:00 p.m., Friday, February 3, 2017. Please contact susanaweymouth@tbbca.org to coordinate your delivery.

RELEASE OF RIGHTS OF THE WINNING ART PIECE AND ARTIST – POSTER ART:

“Poster Art” is the completed version of the winning concept image submitted by the selected artist to be used by the Gasparilla Music Festival. The concept image must be adaptable, in whole or in part, for the use in other media, including but without limitation, posters, advertisements, t-shirts, magnets, brochures and rack cards. The Poster Art becomes the property of the Gasparilla Music Festival.

Entrants agree to release the Gasparilla Music Festival and partners Hill Ward Henderson and Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts (TBBCA), from any and all liability resulting from submitting poster art. The Selected artist agrees to release the Gasparilla Music Festival and partners Hill Ward Henderson and TBBCA and all their officers, directors, volunteers, and agents from all liability, claims or actions of any kind whatsoever for injuries, damages or losses to persons and property which may be sustained in connection with the receipt, ownership or use of the artwork entered. Submission of entry artwork constitutes consent to use the Selected artist’s name, likeness, and art submission for editorial, advertising, and publicity purposes, without compensation

About Gasparilla Music Festival
The Gasparilla Music Festival presented by Frontier is an annual music festival in downtown Tampa produced by the Gasparilla Music Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The 2017 festival will take place in Curtis Hixon Riverfront Park, Kiley Gardens Park and MacDill Park on March 11th & 12th and will feature musical acts from a wide variety of genres on several stages and cuisine from the region’s top restaurants. As part of its mission to support and promote music and education, the organization is involved throughout the year in several initiatives, including providing scholarships to music students.

About Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts
Tampa Bay BCA is a non-profit 501 (c) (3), one of 11 national Business Committees for the Arts of the private sector network and pARTnership movement of Americans for the Arts. For over 27 years, TBBCA has united businesses in support of arts education, and culture and the arts in our community, based on the philosophy that ‘the arts are good for business, and business is good for the arts’. TBBCA offers programs that bridge the bay, including Cultural Encounters, Pop-Up Prose and Poetry, Emergency Fund for Jazz Musicians, TBBCA Chalk Walks, Culturepreneur Leadership Intern Program, Call to Artists, and The Charlie Hounchell Art Stars Scholarships. Each year, TBBCA awards six competitive and merit based fine and performing arts scholarships, helping to fund higher education in the arts for Tampa Bay area students with exceptional talent in Visual Arts, Instrumental Music, Vocal Music, Literary Arts, Dance and Theatre. www.tbbca.org

About Hill Ward Henderson
Hill Ward Henderson is a full-service law firm with multi-disciplinary practices headquartered in downtown Tampa. With more than 100 attorneys, the firm has a wide range of local, regional and national clients. One of Hill Ward Henderson’s guiding principles is a commitment to giving back to the community. The firm is honored to support the Gasparilla Music Festival and TBBCA and appreciates the wonderful work they are doing to bring great artists and art to Tampa Bay. For additional