Application Guidelines
Applications for the Parsons Festival Exhibition are collected through an online form that allows you to apply with a specific project represented by images, descriptions, video, and audio.
On the online application form, applicants are asked to provide the following:
- Contact information
- Project description (200 words)
- Project samples and information
PROJECT SAMPLE INSTRUCTIONS
The project sample is a critical element of your application. Prepare a well-organized work sample that represents your art and/or design project, process and ideas.
Project samples will be collected online via the online application form. You must prepare your files and file names or links before you submit them online.
Digital Images (for every applicant)
- At least one (1) and up to five (5) digital images.
- Images must be saved as JPEG files, 1400 pixels in the longest dimension, at 72 dpi.
- Each image filename must be saved as “lastname_firstname_01” (e.g., Smith_Malcolm_01.jpg, Smith_Malcolm_02. jpg, etc.)
- In the first round of reviews, only the first image and the project description will be viewed on screen by faculty. The full application, including all submitted assets, will then be reviewed by the student curator panel, which will make the final selection of work for the exhibition.
Video/Audio (for time-based media, motion graphics, animation, and performing artists)
- Three (3) minutes of video/audio
- Applicants may submit one (1) clip of video/audio totaling no more than three (3) minutes of footage.
- In the second round of reviews, videos will be projected.
- Video/Audio clips are accepted as weblinks to clips hosted on external sites (YouTube or Vimeo). We recommend that you submit a video (which can contain one clip or multiple clips) that has been edited down to the allotted time. If your clip is longer than the allotted time, the review panel will watch only the first three minutes of the clip.
Interactive (for digital and interactive designs, websites, mobile applications, game designs, etc.)
- During the selection process, interactive projects will be viewed on screen using a standard browser such as Firefox, Chrome, or Internet Explorer.
- Applicants should ensure that hosted online project samples are accessible online for at least two or three months beyond the application deadline.
Document
- You may optionally upload an Adobe Acrobat PDF file that includes supporting information related to your submitted assets. This may contain supplemental assets related to the primary work that you are submitting, such as book or editorial designs, narrative work, story boards, architectural or interior design plans and renderings, design research deliverables, mood boards, lookbooks, design personae, digital technology site maps, interaction flows, etc.
- File size: 10 MB maximum
- Document length: 5 pages maximum
- Page dimensions: 8.5 x 11 inches
DEADLINE
Applications must be submitted by March 11, 2014, at 11:00 pm.
NOTIFICATION
Applicants will be notified by email with a decision about their work by March 21, 2014.
ELIGIBILITY
The competition is open to all students enrolled in an undergraduate or associate’s degree program at Parsons (BFA, BBA, BS, AAS only). Individuals as well as collaborative groups of students are eligible to apply.
Collaborative Teams
Eligible collaborative applicants should submit one application and a joint project description and assets that demonstrate the collaborative project of the team.
Applicant Restrictions
This open call is focused on Parsons’ undergraduate and associate’s degree programs. Continuing education and graduate students are not eligible to apply for this year’s exhibition.
MEDIA
Students in all disciplines and forms of art and design across the entirety of the undergraduate and associate’s degree programs at Parsons are encouraged to apply. This means a myriad of art and design practices including fine art, painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, social practice, installation, performance art, graphic design, communication design, illustration, print making, digital art and design, game design, interactive design, video, animation, fashion apparel, fashion accessories, strategic design and management, systems design, design research, urban design, independent and collaborative interventions, interdisciplinary practices, architecture, interior design, product design, audio and video, motion graphics, etc. All media are eligible.
REVIEW PROCESS AND SELECTION CRITERIA
The open call for the Parsons Festival Exhibition may receive more than 1,000 applications. In the first round of reviews, faculty representatives from across the various programs at Parsons will weigh in on the applications. The final selection will be determined by a jury comprised of graduate students participating in the Curating Art and Design course, co-taught by Carin Kuoni, Vera List Center for Art and Politics, and Andrew Robinson, Assistant Professor of Art and Design.
The faculty panel in the first round of reviews will screen the first image and project description only. All images and assets will then be reviewed in the second and final review round by the student curator panel.
The juries will review and rank all applicants according to the following criteria:
- Merit of work, based on submitted project sample.
- Compelling approaches to “making” and “meaning” as represented by work sample and project description.
- Demonstration of process and critical thinking, as expressed by work sample and project description.
PARTICIPANT EXPECTATIONS
Students whose work is accepted for the exhibition are expected to make a serious commitment to meet with curators and advising faculty in the process of reviewing, collecting, and retrieving work for the exhibition. Projects must be delivered to galleries between April 22 and 24, and must be collected from galleries on May 27 or 28, 2014.
Students are also expected to be available for at least one public event during the exhibition to showcase their project.
CONTACT
If you have additional questions, please email parsonsfestival@newschool.edu.