Roller Poster

Frank Malfitano, the festival’s director, said the jury will consider a range of two-dimensional works, including oils and acrylics, watercolors and illustrations, and other media. He added that the June festival is looking for artworks in a 24-by-36-inch format that are readily adaptable for poster design and reproduction. 

Frank Malfitano: Opening up a contest for this year’s Jazz Fest poster that the general public can enter.

The poster’s theme, he emphasized, is wide open. There is no expectation that artworks will depict a sax player or a nightclub audience or dancers swaying to music. Malfitano said several well-known jazz albums had visually compelling cover art that had no direct connection to jazz. 

In discussing the competition, Malfitano said he views it from several perspectives. “It gives us an opportunity to enhance our connection to local artists,” Malfitano said. “We wanted to reach out to the many talented artists in the Syracuse community. It’s our intent to make this an annual affair, one that people will look forward to each year.”

In addition to the first-prize award, the festival will confer non-cash benefits on runners-up two through five: VIP passes for Jazz Fest 2008, for example. And during the festival, their pieces will be exhibited in the Whitney Applied Technology building at OCC. 

Artworks must be submitted by Saturday, April 5, 1 p.m., at Suite 246 in the Delavan Center, 509 W. Fayette St. The center is open weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Submissions will not be returned, but entrants can pick up their work at OCC during the festival, which is slated for late June. 

For information about entry forms or other aspects of the competition, go to www.syracusejazzfest.com, or call the OCC Visual Arts Department at 498-2401. 

—Carl Mellor