Submit your best “Streets of Laredo” themed art for a chance to win!
To accompany the Center for the Study of the American West’s 2019 Garry L. Nall lecture in Western American Studies, Amarillo and Canyon college and high school students are invited to submit entries to the “Streets of Laredo” art contest. Top entries will be featured on the WTAMU campus at the Oct. 24 lecture, presented by Dr. José Limón, and then will be exhibited at Amarillo National Bank starting Nov. 1. The contest will be juried by Amarillo College and WTAMU faculty.
DEADLINE: 11:59 p.m. (CST) Oct. 1, 2019
PRIZES: First place—$500, second place—$250, third place—$100
WHERE TO SUBMIT: facebook.com/groups/SOLcontest/
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Using the above link, join the contest Facebook group. From there, upload up to 3 photos of your completed artwork. In the caption of your post, include: 1. Your Name 5. Media used 2. Institution where you are a student 6. Dimensions 3. Your major 7. Price (optional) 4. The title of the artwork
It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that photos upload correctly and that all required information is provided.
ARTWORK GUIDELINES • Any 2-D medium that can be placed on an easel and hung in the exhibition hall will be considered. This could include but is not limited to prints, photographs, drawings, and digital art. • Submissions must be original artwork created solely by the student. • Artist must be a WTAMU or AC student in good standing (all majors welcome!) • Maximum size: 36” on longest edge • Minimum size: 8” on shortest edge • Artwork selected for the art exhibition must be professionally framed, on stretch canvas, or professionally printed on foam board. Artwork must be delivered ready to hang. Students can also contact their school's print shop about foam board printing options. • Entries selected for display at the “Streets of Laredo” lecture must be ready to hang and delivered to WTAMU by Oct. 24 for showing (note: lecture artwork will be displayed on easels and must be rigid). Failure to deliver artwork on time will result in forfeiture of prize money. • Students selected to display their work at Amarillo National Bank will be given delivery instructions when notified about selection. • WTAMU is not responsible for broken or damaged artwork. • The student will be notified when to collect artwork after the exhibition ends. • If the student chooses to list artwork for sell, it is his/her responsibility to handle the transaction and any inquiries received.
ABOUT “STREETS OF LAREDO” “Streets of Laredo” (AKA “Cowboy’s Lament”) is a famous cowboy ballad that has been performed and recorded by many musicians. But this cowboy ballad has its origins on the hungry streets of 19th-century Ireland, far from Texas, cowboys, and cattle. Furthermore, the town of Laredo, at the point of the song’s Texas incarnation, was ethnically- speaking heavily Mexican-American, and the same was true of many working cowboys of the time—despite the song’s “Anglo” cultural identification. The song has taken life in film and literature, notably Larry McMurtry’s novel Streets of Laredo, where Lorie Wood (the character we first meet as the young prostitute in Lonesome Dove) becomes the heroine of the story. More recently, a New Zealand indie rock band called itself “Streets of Laredo,” and the song made its latest cameo appearance in the Coen brothers’ 2018 film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. In short, “Streets of Laredo” has a long and complex range of cultural reference and significance. Learn more about “Streets of Laredo” at wtamu.edu/museum/csaw-projects.aspx
Questions? Contact CSAW at [email protected] or 806-651-5238