For the past 35 years, Tampa Hispanic Heritage (THH) has been holding poster contests for Tampa locals to bring awareness and promote Hispanic culture and also to provide educational scholarships for Hispanic students attending Hillsborough Community College and USF.
“Our poster contest is one of our signature events, and we use the winning poster design for the rest of our events. Everything we do is to raise funds for scholarships for students in Tampa Bay,” says Maribel Garrett, President of Tampa Hispanic Heritage.
Artists, who don’t necessarily have to be of Hispanic origins, are asked to make works under the broad theme “Traditions in the Hispanic Culture.” The deadline to submit work is June 4.
“One of the reasons why we have selected this theme is because there is so much difference within the Hispanic community. Someone from Mexico is not the same as Puerto Rico; their cultures are completely different and we want to bring awareness to that,” says María Bermúdez-Torres, VP of Tampa Hispanic Heritage.
While the first, second, and third-place cash juried prizes are alluring for artists, a big part of the prestige is having the opportunity to take part in other Hispanic Heritage events like their annual essay contest and leadership classes.
“For me, this contest is a way of expression in individuality. We have artists who are not Latino, but they get what it is. They know how to bring it to life for others to understand,” Bermúdez-Torres says. “The thrill of seeing the work and to see their thought process come to life is amazing.”
Because COVID halted their poster contest festivities last year, THH had to get creative and decided to pool together a group of poster designs that had been submitted in previous years and let the community vote.
“It allowed us to remain out there and people understood we were still doing things and still providing scholarships for students,” Garrett says. “With this new theme, it brings us back to the basics. We are really excited and looking forward to seeing how [different] artists interpret and represent that in their art.”
To find out more about the poster contest, visit the Tampa Hispanic Heritage website.
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