The Irving Arts Center is offering local students two creative opportunities this summer. The inaugural Transportation Summit Art Contest and the summer art jobs internships provide students with educational ways to express their creativity.

The Transportation Summit Art Contest is open to Irving students ages 6-17. The deadline for entry is May 16. The contest celebrates the 11th Annual Transportation Summit held in Irving, Aug. 12-15. Students are encouraged to create works of art that depict the theme, “Transportation in Texas: Today and Tomorrow.”

Art work can focus on one or all modes of transportation including rail, aviation, surface, sea and public. Art must be 2-D and use one of the following mediums: watercolor, acrylic or oil paints, markers, colored pencils, felt-tip pens, soft ball-point pens, ink, charcoal, pastels or crayons.

Contest winners will receive a cash prize, and their work will be displayed during a special exhibition at the ArtsCenter, Aug. 2 – Sept. 7. For more information contact Marcie Inman at (972) 252-7558 x1225.

The second opportunity for students is the 8-week summer art jobs internship. The program selects local teens ages 16-21 to create a public work of art with a known artist. Carol Adams, a multi-media artist from Ohio was chosen as the lead artist for the project. She, along with 11 interns, will create a large-scale work of art to be displayed permanently at Irving Central Library.

This is third summer art jobs project, and it is funded by a Community Development Block Grant, the ArtsCenter and Irving Public Library. Previous projects include The Future is in our Hands, a mosaic by Naomi Campbell and Dakota Warren on display in Irving’s Human Services Building, and Irving Centennial Mural, created by Francisco Mendoza and located at the Arts Center.

Interested teens can apply online at www.cityofirving.org. For more information contact Marcie Inman at 972-252-7558 x1225.

About the Irving Arts Center
The Irving Arts Center is a department of the City of Irving and is located at 3333 N. MacArthur Blvd. (one mile north of 183). Sponsors include the City of Irving Arts Board and The Texas Commission on the Arts. For more information contact the ArtsCenter at (972) 252-7558 or visit www.irvingartscenter.com.