Artstorm 2023 Submission

Thank you for your interest in the Artstorm 2023 stencil contest!

This year Artstorm will look a little different! We are inviting the public to submit designs for three layer stencils that will be installed around the City of Lynchburg near storm drains. Storm drains bring stormwater (and any pollutants that water picked up) to our creeks and streams, where it enters the James River untreated. Be a Guardian of the James and help remind people Only Rain Down the Drain!

By creating stencils, more community members will be able to have the memorable experience of marking a stormdrain.

Artists can follow the directions below to create and submit their own stencil design.

Three winning designs will then be made into physical stencils by Lynchburg Water Resources and installed by the public on September 8th. Artists are of course welcome to help install their art!

The top three stencil artists will recieve a cash prize of $100 (1st place), $75 (second place), and $50 (third place). 

To enter the stencil contest, complete the following steps by August 15th:

1) Create an artboard/ working space 24 by 18 inches in a design program. Your stencil art can't exceed this size.

2) Create your three layer stencil design. Each layer will be one color, coming together to create a single image. As you are creating the image, try to keep the elements of your design seperated into layers 1, 2, and 3 in the layers bar. This will make cutting the design easier. 

3) Save your file as both an Art File (where we can visually see the colors that each layer will be once painted), and a working Cutting File. The cutting file will be what we use to make the design into a stencil. It needs to be a vector file in a program such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Indesign, or Inkscape. 

3) Submit your three layer/ three color cutting file, your art file, and sign the art release agreement by August 15th.