California High Schoolers Can Showcase Design Talent, Win Scholarships in Poster Design Contest for Americans for the Arts and The Art Institutes

California High Schoolers Can Showcase Design Talent, Win Scholarships in Poster Design Contest for Americans for the Arts and The Art Institutes -Entry Deadline is Feb. 11 for Poster Designs with Theme "Art is a Global Language" LOS ANGELES, Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- High school students from across California interested in a design career have a unique opportunity to put their artistic talents to the test by entering the Poster Design Scholarship Competition, sponsored by The Art Institutes and Americans for the Arts. For entry, students are asked to create an original poster artwork design that expresses the slogan, "Art is a Global Language." More than $200,000 in scholarships will be awarded, with the first-place winner receiving a $25,000 scholarship to study design at one of 31 Art Institutes locations throughout North America including California locations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County and San Diego. Entry deadline is Feb. 11, 2005. "We're pleased to be collaborating with Americans for the Arts because we believe, as educators, this is a critical time to support and strengthen the universal role that the arts play in our lives and in the world," says Art Institute of California-Los Angeles President Laura Soloff. According to Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, "as funding for arts programs continue to be slashed in federal and state budgets, we want young people to remember that art is a valuable communication tool, helping us to transcend language barriers and cultures, a tool that needs to be promoted and preserved." The competition takes place in two stages; a preliminary competition will be held at the Art Institutes locations in the U.S. and Canada in March. Winners from the preliminary competition will have their entries placed into consideration for the final stage and national judging, which takes place in April. The first-place winner's poster will be used in national marketing materials for Americans for the Arts. In addition, their piece with other top national winners' work will be used in a promotional calendar for Americans for the Arts, to be distributed to high schools across North America. Americans for the Arts will also create an online gallery of all scholarship winning artwork on its Web site http://www.americansforthearts.org/ . The contest is for graduating high school seniors interested in pursuing a career in design. Students must submit an original poster design, a current high school transcript and a statement describing their design process, and why they want to attend one of The Art Institutes. In April, an industry panel of judges selected by Americans for the Arts and The Art Institutes will assess each student's poster based on the specified criteria. Contestants are notified of their winnings by May 6, 2005. The Art Institute of California-Los Angeles, The Art Institute of California-San Francisco, The Art Institute of California-Orange County, The Art Institute of California-San Diego and the California Design College in Los Angeles, as well as 26 other Art Institutes throughout North America will offer the competition to interested high school seniors. For more information on the competition or an application, visit http://www.artinstitutes.edu/poster or contact The Art Institutes, toll free at 888.328.7900. About The Art Institutes The Art Institutes located in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County and San Diego are a part of The Art Institutes ( http://www.artinstitutes.edu/poster ), with 31 education institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary professionals. The parent company of The Art Institutes, Education Management Corporation ( http://www.edmc.com/ ) is among the largest providers of private post-secondary education in North America, based on student enrollment and revenue. Student enrollment exceeded 66,000 as of fall 2004. EDMC has 70 primary campus locations in 24 states and two Canadian provinces. EDMC's education institutions offer a broad range of academic programs concentrated in the media arts, design, fashion, culinary arts, behavioral sciences, health sciences, education, information technology and business fields, culminating in the award of associate's through doctoral degrees. EDMC has provided career-oriented education for over 40 years. About Americans for the Arts Americans for the Arts is the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. With a 40-year record of service, it is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. For details, visit http://www.americansforthearts.org/ . Source: The Art Institutes CONTACT: Anne Mack of The Art Institutes, +1-714-830-0254, or cell, +1-949-400-2055, or amack@aii.edu Web site: http://www.edmc.com/ http://www.artinstitutes.edu/poster http://www.americansforthearts.org/ ------- Profile: International Entertainment