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Date: 5/1/2023
HOLYOKE — In continued celebration of the city of Holyoke’s 150th anniversary, the Holyoke Preservation Trust, in collaboration with Holyoke Heritage State Park, is calling on Pioneer Valley artists of all ages to enter an art contest celebrating the milestone.
Titled, “Looking Back & Looking Forward” the contest will look for pieces of art inspired by Holyoke’s history and/or vision for the city’s future. Details and a brochure with an application form can be found at www.holyokepreservationtrust.org.
There will also be a cash prize for winners in three age groups. Winners in kindergarten through fifth grade will receive $25-$100, winners in grades 6-12 will receive $50-$150, and adult winners will receive $50-$200. Submissions must be delivered to Holyoke Heritage State Park by the Friday, Aug. 25.
Winning works will be publicly displayed at Holyoke City Hall and for the month of September at Holyoke Heritage Park. During the month of display at Holyoke Heritage Park, other submissions will also be featured in a gallery type setting to showcase the work done to celebrate the city.
Holyoke Preservation Trust Treasury and Board of Directors member Olivia Mausel said the idea for the contest came from doing a similar contest in the past for Pulaski Park in Holyoke. With the year of celebrations ahead for the city’s 150th anniversary, Mausel said the Preservation Trust thought this would be a fun addition related to the significant year.
“We said let’s do a citywide version of that [Pulaski Park art contest],” Mausel said. “They have all the rest of the school year and summer to work on it. We’re looking for all kinds of creative things about the past, and about the future, the next 150 years, what kind of things will be going on here?”
On the application to enter the art contest there is a description about the city’s history for a starting point for artist’s work. The application makes note of Holyoke’s history and the land the city stands on and how it has changed over the last century and a half.
“The land on the western side of the Connecticut River was originally inhabited mostly by the Pocumtuc tribes who spoke the R-dialect of the Algonquian language. Later it was inhabited by the early settlers of the city of Springfield. In 1774, it was incorporated as the town of West Springfield. In 1850, the area in West Springfield, known as Ireland Parish, was incorporated as the town of Holyoke. One hundred fifty years ago, in 1873, Holyoke was incorporated as a city…Its design and growth as an industrial city with its dam and canal systems, and immigrant workforce are historically noteworthy.”
It is noted on the application that any work of art that is for sale must be presented with price that includes 30% donation to the Holyoke Preservation Trust. When submitting an entry, artists must designate which of the categories they are submitting their entry in: best painting; best photograph; best 3D art; best mixed medium and best poetry or storytelling.
Some rules of note included within the application are the entry must be original and unaided, the art must be connected to or inspired by Holyoke’s history and or vision for the city’s future, and a total of two pieces of artwork may be entered per artist but a maximum of one award will be awarded per artist.
Accepted discipline of artwork includes painting, glass, drawing, mixed-media, fiber, jewelry, sculpture, storytelling, clay, printmaking, metal, wood, digital, photography, poetry and “other” which concludes the list on the application.
The artwork submitted must include the completed entry form and a very brief written narrative about how the work relates to premise of the contest. Awards are given at judge’s discretion and are based on originality, technique and execution.
All winners will be asked to be photographed with their artwork, which will be posted on the Holyoke Preservation Trust website. Winners will be announced and awards will be distributed in mid-September. Winners need not be present to win but everyone is encouraged to attend the award ceremony.
For students under the age of 18, a parent, legal guardian or teacher must sign off on an application.
Mausel said she is excited for the contest to begin accepting applications and believes there will be so many great artists of all ages that enter in this contest celebrating Holyoke.
“It’s part of the 150th, it’s a giant year,” Mausel said.
More details and brochure with an application form for the contest can be found at www.holyokepreservationtrust.org.