When will the contest be announced?

Usually in April. Follow our socials to make sure you don't miss the announcement.

What’s the Purpose of this Contest?

The Kimball Art Center is requesting proposals for a design to be printed on t-shirts and other wearable goods at the Kimball Arts Festival this summer. Items will be screen printed by Motherlode Printing. Up to two designs will be selected and will receive an award, see official RFP.

The winning design(s) will be printed on high quality items and sold as festival merchandise to the general public, given away to KAC members and donors as a membership perk, and gifted to KAC staff and board members. Any profit from merchandise sales directly supports Kimball Art Center’s year-round art education and exhibition programming.

Who is Eligible?

All Utah based artists are eligible to submit a maximum of two (2) designs per person. The artist’s primary residence must be within the state of Utah to be considered eligible. All applicants must be 18+ years of age. If you are under the age of 18, your design must be submitted by a parent or guardian on your behalf.

What is the design criteria?

(2026)

• Theme: Designs can relate directly to the Kimball Arts Festival, Park City, art, or what being a part of the Park City art community means to you. Designs should evoke the mission, vision, and values of the Kimball Art Center.
• Unpublished Original Work: The design must be your own original, unpublished work.
• Event Name, Date, and Location: Your design must include the event name “Kimball Arts Festival”, the location “Park City, UT”, and either the date or the festival’s annual year.
• Size: Design must be for one side of shirt only and no larger than 13”x13”.
• Color: Designs must be one color graphics due to limitations of on-site screenprinting. As the designer, you may recommend the color of ink used to screenprint and the color of the t-shirt. KAC reserves the right to make the final decision on all color choices.

  • KAC Color Palette:
  • KAC Red - C:5 M:96 Y:80 K:22, Hex #AF272F
  • KAC Steel - C:63 M:48 Y:43 K:50, Hex #4474B
  • KAC White - C:0 M:0 Y:0 K:0, Hex #FFFFFF

• Typeface: Designs may include any font. If you would like to match the Kimball Arts Festival’s official font use the following:

  • Primary Font: Acumin Variable Concept - Wide Extra Light or Wide Black Italic
  • Secondary Font: Acumin Variable Concept - Bold, Bold Italic, or Regular

• Designs May Not Include: Adult content including but not limited to violence, weapons, sexual themes, drug use, etc.

  • Political content of any kind
  • Other logos, insignias, or representations of another brand, company, or individual
  • Unoriginal or copyrighted material of any kind

What is the Judging Criteria?

The contest’s selection committee will include board and staff representatives of the Kimball Art Center. Committee members will judge designs based on the following criteria:

• Submission meets criteria stated above
• Originality of concept and design, demonstrates creativity and innovation
• Connection to the Park City community and the Kimball Arts Festival
• Overall design execution and layout
• Totality of design and production readiness

Decisions by the selection committee are final.

What is the award?

The selection committee will select up to two designs to screenprint on to be determined merchandise items, potentially including but not limited to tote bags, tshirts, sweatshirts, and posters as well as post on media platforms. The 1st place winner will receive a $500 honorarium, a festival VIP ticket, media recognition, and two (2) merchandise items printed with their winning design. The 2nd place winner (if applicable) will receive a $250 honorarium, and festival Weekender ticket, media recognition, and one (1) merchandise item printed with their winning design.

How do I submit my design?

Please include all components listed below when submitting your design:

• Each entry must be submitted as a completed work with a high resolution (minimum 300 DPI) .jpeg, .pdf, .png, or .ai file of the design and a mock-up of the design on a standard t-shirt
• Brief artist statement and explanation of design
• Examples of previous work that best reflects any work you’ve completed that is similar to this request. Please limit examples to three (3) per artist.
• Contact information: Phone, email, mailing address Submit your design(s) via email to artsfest@kimballartcenter.org by the submission deadline stated in this specific year's RFP (released in April each year).