Annual High School Design Competition:
Six teams of metro-area public high school students received significant recognition for their creative work on November 16, 2005 during a special educational awards ceremony at Graphic Communications Day, AGC’s major trade exposition held at NYC’s Pier 90.

Forty-three teams from 16 metro area schools (NYC, NJ and CT) entered the third Annual Graphic Arts Design Competition this year, up from the seven schools and 12 teams of the first competition in 2003. The Design Competition emphasizes the importance of education and teamwork in graphic arts and production.

Each team, mentored separately by professional executives from the advertising, publishing and graphic design communities, created posters for The Actors’ Fund through a collaborative partnership with AGC and the Education Foundation for the Graphic Arts. The Actor’s Fund, a 123-year old non-profit organization for members of the entertainment industry, will use the winning poster to promote its many programs and services.

Submissions by the 43 teams were judged by a second group of industry professionals from the same communities, along with executives from The Actors’ Fund and AGC. “Culling down the entries to only a few choices was particularly difficult, given the exceptional caliber of the work,” noted AGC Vice President for Education & Chief Learning Officer and Foundation Secretary, Diane Chavan. “All of the students who participated are extremely talented individuals and each is a ‘winner’ in our estimation.”

Receiving First Place Honor: Manhattan’s High School of Graphic Communication Arts.

The team’s winning poster will appear in advertising for The Actors’ Fund and at Broadway theaters. In addition to the public recognition, each student received a pair of VIP tickets to a Broadway show, “A Wonderful Life” and a pair of tickets to the opening day of the Newark Bears baseball team, where their winning poster will be projected on a screen at the ball park.

In addition to framed citations, each student received a copy of Adobe Creative Suite 2 software, free classes at AGC’s Center for Graphic Arts Education, a copy of AGC’s Buyers Guide—the ultimate resource for the graphic communications industry--a new book, “Getting It Right In Print: Digital Prepress for Graphic Designers” authored by Mark Gatter and released by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, and a tee-shirt from the Rochester Institute of Technology. The High School for Graphic Communication Arts will receive a plaque of recognition, a copy of the Adobe Creative Suite 2 software, and a special visit from a working actor.

The second and third place winners, who also received the prizes mentioned above (except for the tickets) and framed citations, were:

Second Place: Flushing High School (Flushing, NY)
Third Place: Morris County School of Technology (Denville, NJ).

This year, the winners of AGC’s three special categories of awards were:

Judges’ Special Merit Award: Wayne Valley High School (Wayne, NJ).

Technical Excellence Award: Samuel Gompers Career & Technical High School (Bronx, NY).

Most Innovative Award: Bushwick High School (Brooklyn, NY).

Congratulating the award recipients were Joseph Benincasa, Executive Director, of The Actors’ Fund of America, Denis Jones, a seasoned Broadway performer who has appeared in “Grease” and “The Full Monty” and who is currently the Associate Choreographer of the smash hit, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”, AGC President & CEO Susie Greenwood and Ms. Chavan.

The Annual Graphic Arts Design Competition establishes mentorships between design professionals and student teams from public high schools in the NY/NJ/CT metropolitan region. The ultimate goal of such mentoring is to provide support and feedback to the student teams and their advisors as they participate in the competition and offer guidance regarding their career htmlirations.

For further information about the Competition, and information about next year’s event, contact , at 212/279-2100, ext. 109