Calling All Digital Media Competitors to Rochester Artech 2008 at RIT

Before Dean Ganskop graduated with an undergraduate degree in information technology from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2006, he noticed the lack of visual displays in his surroundings and decided to do something about it.

“I noticed there wasn’t any artwork on the walls in the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences so I came up with the idea for the RIT Digital Arts Competition to promote the expression of the arts through digital media,” says Ganskop, a second-year IT graduate student at RIT.

“With a visual arts college on campus, it seemed like there should be art everywhere one looks, and with a computing college here too, digital art was the perfect fit. Furthermore, with imaging giants like Kodak and Xerox in town, there is no better place than Rochester for hosting a digital arts competition and exhibition.”

Under the continued direction of Ganskop, the competition’s name has changed and the Rochester Artech 2008 Digital Art Exhibition was born. Winning digital media submissions from high school and college students, and amateur and professional artists from the Greater Rochester area will be showcased at Dyer Arts Center, located at RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf, from April 8 through May 4. Several grand prizes will be awarded, ranging from $500 to $1,000.

This January and February, Rochester Artech is offering a series of free interactive workshops available to the public. The following will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. in Room 1226 at RIT’s Frank E. Gannett Building: Jan. 12-Photoshop; Jan. 19-Illustrator; Feb. 2-Flash; Feb. 9-Digital Illustration; Feb. 16-Photoshop. Also on Feb. 2, Digital Printmaking will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. in Room 4501 in the James E. Booth Building.

Submissions will be accepted through Friday, Feb. 22, juried by a panel of art faculty and professional artists, and the winning pieces will be displayed at the exhibition. All entered pieces must include some digital element; categories include graphic design, photography, digital illustration, collages, printmaking, animation, digital video and 3D-installations.

“We hope to promote the expression of the arts through digital media and to increase Rochester’s recognition as a center for digital imaging,” says Ganskop.

For more information including workshop registration and the submission form, visit http://www.rochesterartech.com.

Editor’s Note: The Rochester Artech 2008 Digital Art Exhibition is sponsored by RIT’s Creative Arts Committee, the Rochester Arts and Cultural Council, NYS Council for the Arts, and the Print Club of Rochester.