Latest News

(Lawton, OK) The 2020 International Festival Committee will adjust their original requirements for their annual poster competition due to recent school closures and concerns related to COVID-19. The committee is offering artists of all ages a break from the stress with a chance to make the festival poster from the safety and comfort of their own home. The Festival Poster Contest is now accepting submissions to both adults and students and is an opportunity for everyone to exercise their creativity and help them focus on getting through this in a fun way.

Artists can take a high-quality photo of their final poster design and email it to the Lawton Arts & Humanities Division at lahc@lawtonok.gov . The staff will send a reply confirming receipt of the artwork. The artist name, full mailing address, and phone number must be included in the email, as well as school and current grade level (if applicable). Please do not mail the actual poster, but do keep it through September 28, 2020, in case the judges need to contact the artist with questions.

In addition to submitting the artwork through email, artists can use an 8 ½ X 11 sheet of paper or larger to create their artwork. “In past years, we required the artwork to be on poster boards and a particular size, but this year, we do not want anyone to go out and try to find poster board for this competition,” said Lawton Arts & Humanities Coordinator Michael Leal.

The winning design may be used on promotional materials advertising the festival. This competition is open to adults of all skill levels and students K-12. Judges can select one winner in each division (K-5, 6-8, 9-12 and adult). Each division winner will receive a $50 award. The competition winner will be chosen from division winners. Also, the competition winner receives a $200 stipend, one festival T-shirt, and one official 2020 International Festival poster.

All email entries, along with the winning design artwork, become the exclusive property of the Lawton Arts & Humanities Council and will not be returned. The winning artist will receive credit when the design is used for festival purposes. Submissions should be an artistic response illustrating the cultural richness of our community celebrated by the International Festival. The design must include the United States, along with Filipino and Mexico flags which represent the countries of the two original members that still serve on the festival committee.

The deadline to email the entries is Friday, May 15, 2020 by 5:00 p.m. Judging is tentatively scheduled for June 2, 2020. Artwork will be viewed and voted on by members of the International Festival Committee. They will consider the overall impact of design, artistic merit, creativity, and appropriateness of the subject matter as it relates to the International Festival. Artwork will also be judged by its ability to be transferred to a screen print without distorting the original design.  

“We turn to the arts to get through difficult times, so it’s been hard to grapple with social distancing, canceled events, and the closure of venues during the COVID-19 outbreak. We decided rather than cancel this poster contest, we would turn it into a digital competition. Artists are adaptable, especially when facing challenges, so we hope this will be a fun project for everyone,” said Leal.

This year marks the 41st consecutive year for the International Festival which will be held September 25, 26, & 27 at Elmer Thomas Park.  

For further information, please contact the Arts & Humanities Office at (580) 581-3470 or (580) 581-3471.