The U.S. Virgin Islands Centennial Commission is asking local artists to submit a logo to represent the 2017 commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the transfer of the Danish West Indies to the United United States.
The competition was announced by the panel in a news release Friday.
"We are asking that interested persons submit a logo design to be considered as the official logo of the commission," the news release said. "The logo will be used to identify the centennial and, as such, will be used on stationery, marketing collateral, packaging, signage, messages and other communication. The expectation is that the logo will symbolize the centennial; not necessarily explain it."
There are no winning prizes, only public recognition, the commission said.
What the logo means is more important than what it looks like. The commission urged artists to consider the theme: "Our history, heritage, development and pride."
According to the commission, the seven-judge panel will evaluate the submitted artwork based on the four criteria:
• Interpretation and the clarity of the theme.
• Creativity and originality of the depicted theme.
• Quality of artistic composition and overall design based on the theme.
• Overall impression of the art.
The rules follow.
1. Submissions will be judged blindly; numbers rather than names will be assigned to the artwork by the Centennial Public Relations Committee.
2. There will be a total of seven judges, three from St. Thomas, three from St. Croix and one from St. John.
3. The seven judges will select the top three designs.
4. The commission will select one of the top three designs as the winner.
5. The logo shall be in color.
6. All contestants MUST be age 16 or older at the time of entry.
7. All contestants must reside in the U.S. Virgin Islands
8. All work must be released for individual usage or purpose usage grants. All entries must contain copyright-free art or art released for entrant’s and public use. No unauthorized use of any copyright images, text, or other material will be accepted.
9. All entries must be submitted online and include the entrant’s name, mailing address, telephone number and email address.
10. Contest entries must be submitted in JPG format and a file size not exceeding 2MB (2048 KB.)
Entries must be submitted no later than midnight, Sept. 10.
More information can be obtained by sending email to doc2017centennial@gmail.com, ron2017centennial@gmail.com or cecile2017centennial@gmail.com.
Judges will submit the three finalists to the commission on Sept. 20, and the commission will announce the winner on Sept. 30.
The commission is charged with planning events throughout 2017 to celebrate and commemorate the transfer.
March 31 is recognized as Transfer Day in the USVI. Each year, the territory acknowledges the anniversary by symbolically lowering the Danish flag and raising the Stars and Stripes. The first and official ceremony took place on St. Thomas on the grounds of the Legislature at 4 p.m. March 31.
