MINNEAPOLIS (January 11, 2008) – AchieveMpls announced today the 2nd Annual Tracy Awards, sponsored by Ken Fink and Gary Fink, Director of Museum “Louvre It or Leave It.” The purpose of the Tracy Awards is to stimulate the artistic creativity of Minneapolis High School students by offering a visual art contest in all media (2 and 3 dimensional, painting, drwaing, printing, sculpture, clay, computer generated, etc.).
Students enrolled in grades 9–12 in one of the seven Minneapolis Public Schools comprehensive high schools are eligible to apply. Submissions for this year’s contest are due on January 29, 2008. High School art teachers will submit finalists to the jury for selection.
The Tracy Awards are closely aligned with the Minneapolis Public School’s annual Viva City arts celebration of performing and visual arts. Contest finalists will have their work framed and exhibited at the Viva City exhibition in the Minneapolis Public Library from April 5th through April 20th of this year. A professional jury of local art experts determines the top three prizes. This year’s jurors include Kinji Akagawa, MCAD professor and McKnight Artist of the Year, Lyndell King of the Weisman Art Museum, and visual artist Megan Rye.
Prizes:
* 1st Prize – $7,500 scholarship for post secondary institution
* 2nd Prize – $5,000 scholarship for post secondary institution
* 3rd Prize – $2,500 scholarship for post secondary institution
AchieveMpls is a non-profit organization designed to galvanize community resources to help all Minneapolis Public School (MPS) students succeed in school and become productive citizens. In 1989, a group of business, service and civic leaders gathered to discuss a common concern – chronic adult unemployment. Efforts to prepare youth for emplyoment were seen as critical to fighting chronic adult unemployment. AchieveMpls was designed to meet the needs of all students, develop business partnerships with schools, match caring adults with students as mentors and tutors, and provide leadership scholarships for teachers and principals.