Black History Month is here and the February 5th Wadadli Youth Pen Prize deadline isn’t far behind. Meanwhile, organizers report success courting several prospective prize donors, with more to come.
Colombian Emeralds, Raeburn Generator Services, D. Gisele Isaac, The Daily Observer newspaper, the Art Loft – specifically Debbie Eckert and Jane Seagull, Harpers, Althea Prince, and the Best of Books are among those making cash or kind contributions to the prize package. Additional incentives in place, the organizers are urging writers and artists, 35 and under, to get creative as they explore the theme.
Recognizing the popularity of put-downs like “black and ugly”, the organizers have flipped the script and, in the spirit of the month, encourage Antiguans and Barbudans to explore what it is to be “black and beautiful” in whatever way the artist/e sees fit.
There are no boundaries of genre for the literary competition, only a 500 word or less limit; while the visual artists are urged to use any colour medium – though if photography is used it must be as an element within a collage. Written pieces must be typed, double spaced on 8 ½ x 11 paper and submitted either by email to wadadlipen@yahoo.com, by mail to P.O. Box 2717, or by hand to the Best of Books. Only one piece of writing per author will be accepted; and, the coordinator allows, if it must be hand-written, a last resort only, please ensure that it is legible.
Visual art submissions, meanwhile, should be no smaller than 17 x 24 and no larger than 24 x 36; hard copies only, dropped off at the Best of Books.
Entries should include – on a separate sheet – contact information and age of the entrant.
The judges are – for the literary competition D. Gisele Isaac, Brenda Lee Browne, and Joanne C. Hillhouse – also the competition coordinator; and for the visual arts competition Mark Brown, Renee Morris-Phiip, and Erwin Warner. They will select one winner in each age category – under 12, 13 to 17, 18 to 35 – and one overall winner for both visual and literary arts.
Winners will be awarded during the Word Up! 2010 arts showcase which forms part of a week of Black History Month activities being organized by a grouping of cultural and arts practitioners and activists. This includes institutions like the Museum, businesses like the Best of Books, and individuals like Hillhouse, Isaac, Browne, Zahra Airall, Kush David, and Cedric Holder. Their planned activities include radio discussions and lecture, the aforementioned arts showcase, with proceeds benefiting both the Museum and Haiti relief efforts, a visual arts exhibition, a radio trivia competition, and, of course, the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize. It’s all part of their efforts to stir discussion about the ways we see ourselves; image and identity.
