2004 HBCU ART COMPETITION KICKS OFF: Verizon puts up $25,000 in prize money
Students Compete for Awards, National Recognition and $25,000 Grant for Their School’s Fine Arts Department
http://www.eurweb.com/articles/moren...7002262004.cfm
Story Date: Feb. 26, 2004
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Verizon launched its third annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBU) Student Art Competition, where young artists have a chance to receive awards, national recognition and a $25,000 grant for their school’s fine arts department.
Marie Johns, president of Verizon Washington, DC, and other company executives hosted the 2004 competition kick-off ceremony at the Armour J. Blackburn Center at Howard University.
The event included a talk by author Halima Taha on how young artists can build their careers in art.
Historically black colleges and universities have provided opportunities for many talented young Americans to make important contributions around the world,” said Verizon Retail Markets President Bob Ingalls. “It is important that we support the work of young artists, particularly when it enriches our lives by exposing us to diverse cultural experiences. That’s why we continue to contribute in this way to the future development of these incredibly talented students and support the continued work of the fine institutions that have given them the chance to realize their dreams.”
The Blackburn Center was an appropriate setting for the 2004 competition because in 2002, a then-Howard University student, Alexis Peskine, became the competition’s inaugural grand prizewinner. As part of the honor, the university’s fine arts department received the first $25,000 Verizon Foundation Art and Technology Grant on behalf of Peskine. In 2003, Verizon Foundation donated more than $14 million to African-American communities and nonprofit organizations in the United States.
The Verizon HBCU Student Art Competition program allows talented student artists who attend HBCUs to compete for the prestigious Verizon Artist of the Year title. In addition to this official recognition, a new element of the 2004 competition is a People’s Choice component, where, by logging on to
www.verizon.com/artcompetition this summer, site visitors will be able to vote for their favorite semifinalist’s artwork.
This year, Verizon will award approximately $50,000 in prizes, including the grand prize, valued at more than $10,000 and featuring a 12-week paid internship at Verizon’s advertising agency, Burrell Communications in Chicago. The grand prize also includes a $25,000 Verizon Foundation Art and Technology Grant presented to the fine arts department of the grand prize-winning student’s school. Students who are first and second prizewinners will receive awards valued at $3,500 and $3,000, respectively. In addition, semifinalists’ work will be exhibited this summer at a New York City art gallery. Winners will be honored at an awards gala in October at New York’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Immediately following the 2004 announcement, Verizon hosted “Verizon Presents: Self-Management Tools for the Visual Artist.” The lecture, presented by Halima Taha, author of the best-selling book, “Collecting African-American Art: Works on Paper and Canvas,” offered practical tools to help students to make a living in fine arts after graduation. "This competition stands firmly on more than a hundred years of tradition, whereby black colleges provided primary training and exhibition for young artists, curators and scholars,” Taha said.
The art competition is open to undergraduate students who are enrolled fulltime at historically black colleges and universities with accredited fine arts programs. The competition runs through April 30. (A list of participating colleges and universities is attached.) All entries must depict the celebration of African-American culture, interpreting the theme evolution of progress, in the form of painting, drawing, photography, mixed media or collage.
Qualifying entries are judged by a panel of five experts in diverse fields of art to determine the winners based on originality, memorable content and delivery, how well the theme is addressed, and potential for gallery exhibition. Visit
www.verizon.com/artcompetition for official rules, more information on the competition and to view the 2003 winning entries online.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are post-secondary academic institutions founded before 1964 whose educational mission has historically been the education of Americans of African descendent. Located primarily in the Southeastern United States, there are now about 120 HBCUs, with a mix of community and junior colleges, four-year colleges and universities, and public and private institutions. HBCUs enroll less than 20 percent of African- American undergraduates, but award one-third of all bachelor's degrees and a significant number of the advanced degrees earned by African-Americans. For more information on HBCUs, visit
www.hbcu-central.com.
Verizon Foundation last year awarded 22,000 grants totaling more than $70 million to charitable and nonprofit agencies that focus on improving basic and computer literacy, enriching communities through technology, and creating a skilled work force. The foundation uses its resources in the United States and abroad to develop partnerships in technology and connect them with organizations serving the needs of diverse communities, people with disabilities, victims of domestic violence and the economically and socially disadvantaged. The foundation also supports Verizon Volunteers, an incentive program that last year encouraged Verizon employees to volunteer more than 500,000 hours in their communities and provided $27.8 million in combined contributions to charitable and nonprofit organizations. For more information on the foundation, visit
www.verizon.com/foundation.
A Fortune 10 company, Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services, with approximately $68 billion in annual revenues. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world, as measured by directory titles and circulation. Verizon's international presence includes wireline and wireless communications operations and investments, primarily in the Americas and Europe. For more information, visit
www.verizon.com.
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SCHOOLS PARTICIPATING IN THE 2004 HBCU STUDENT ART COMPETITION
Alabama 1. Alabama A&M University 2. Alabama State University 3. Bishop State Community College 4. Gadsden State Community College, Valley Street 5. Lawson State Community College 6. Stillman College 7. Talladega College
Arkansas 8. Philander Smith College 9. University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
District of Columbia 10. Howard University 11. University of the District of Columbia
Delaware 12. Delaware State University
Florida 13. Florida A&M University
Georgia 14. Albany State University 15. Clark Atlanta University 16. Morris Brown College 17. Savannah State University 18. Spelman College
Kentucky 19. Kentucky State University
Louisiana 20. Dillard University 21. Gambling State University 22. Southern University and A&M College 23. Southern University at New Orleans 24. Xavier University
Maryland 25. Bowie State College 26. Coppin State College 27. Morgan State University
Mississippi 28. Jackson State University 29. Mississippi Valley State University 30. Tougaloo College
Missouri 31. Lincoln University - Missouri
North Carolina 32. Barber-Scotia College 33. Bennett College 34. Elizabeth City State University 35. Fayetteville State University 36. North Carolina A & T State University 37. North Carolina Central University 38. St. Augustine’s College 39. Winston-Salem State University
Ohio 40. Central State University 41. Wilberforce University
Pennsylvania 42. Cheyney University 43. Lincoln University - Pennsylvania
South Carolina 44. Benedict College 45. Claflin College 46. South Carolina State University
Tennessee 47. Fisk University 48. Lemoyne-Owen College 49. Tennessee State University
Texas 50. Jarvis Christian College 51. Prairie View A&M University 52. Texas College 53. Texas Southern University 54. Saint Philip’s College
Virginia 55. Hampton University 56. Norfolk State University 57. Virginia State University 58. Virginia Union University
West Virginia 59. West Virginia State College
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source: Tamika Lee, Burrell / 312-297-9713 /
tlee@burrell.com / Catherine Lewis, Verizon / 703-974-5547 /
catherine.hogan.lewis@verizon.com
Verizon 2004 HBCU Art Competition
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