Art contest winners released

Your Art Here, a local non-profit organization, recently announced the winners of Billboard Generation VII, the organization’s seventh annual billboard art contest.

The deciding committee chose four Bloomington works – “My Bus Runs on Lemons and Flys,” “Good and Bad for the Environment,” “Alternate Fuels” and “One Less Car” – and one Indianapolis work, “Watch Your Carbon Foot Print.” A super-sized version of each piece will be displayed on its own billboard in its respective city.  

“The ultimate goal is to give kids a chance to create something and have their voice heard in the community,” said Julie Hardesty, co-director of Your Art Here.

Students in elementary through high school submitted their work pertaining to this year’s theme, “Sustainability: Living in Balance.”

The theme was chosen because it was a hot topic during the 2008 presidential debates, Michelle Dalmau, co-director of Your Art Here, said.

Prior to the “Bagels, Billboards and Ballads,” a Youth Art Month fundraiser for Billboard Generation VII, Hardesty worried about whether the organization would have enough funding to purchase all of the billboards needed to display the winners’ works.

In the end, Your Art Here was able to accumulate enough money to purchase the remaining billboards and support this year’s Billboard Generation VII project through local grants and donations.

This years theme was inspired by increased attention to sustainability topics like global warming, the protection of ecosystems,  alternative fuel sources and renewable energy.

“It’s a good project to do for the kids in the community,” Hardesty said. “And this is the seventh year we’ve done it, so it’s something the community is getting used to and the kids are looking forward to.”