Art in the Gardens 2024 Design Contest

This year we celebrate the 31st anniversary of our summer festival, Art in the Gardens. We are calling all designers to help us create a fun t-shirt for all our visitors to rock this year! Design should celebrate elements from our annual summer festival, Art in the Gardens such as art, music, wine, beer, food, and entertainment.  Get a feel for the event with these highlights from years past - CLICK HERE.  Winning designs will also incorporate the things that make the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens so unique – plants, animals, structures, and flowers... especially our show-stopping dahlias.
 
Give us your best creative depiction combining the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens and Art in the Gardens. The winner of this contest will have their design featured on the 2024 Art in the Gardens shirts, and other printed items. Recognition will be given in the event program, on our website, and on social media pages. The winner will also receive the apparel featuring their design, two tickets to Art in the Gardens, and a Household Membership to the Gardens!

 SUBMIT YOUR DESIGN  — Deadline: March 24

ENTRY GUIDELINES

There is a $10 entry fee per design that supports the Gardens and our summer fundraiser. If you are under the age of 18, you may create a design, but it must be submitted on your behalf by a parent or guardian. The winning design will adhere to the following design guidelines:

• Must be the artist's own original work and they have all necessary rights and permissions to use any included elements
• This must be a graphic design or illustration, no photographs
• The design must be limited to 5 colors or less
• The design should be built to fit within a 10" wide by 12" tall area
• Submitted in high resolution between 600 and 1200 dpi as a .pdf, .png, .ai, or .psd file 
• The design must represent Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens and Art in the Gardens in some way 
• The text "Art in the Gardens" and "2024" are required
• Elements to consider including in your design:
  • Art in all mediums, music, wine/beer, food
  • Ocean imagery, recognizable scenes, and structures found at MCBG
  • Seasonally relevant plants such as fuchsias, begonias, roses, succulents, cacti, heaths, heathers, vegetables, and especially dahlias
  • Please refer to pictures of the Gardens, our plant collections, and event photos from previous Art in the Gardens on our website

IMPORTANT DATES

• Submit your design beginning Monday, January 15, 2024
• LAST DAY to submit a design – no exceptions – Sunday, March 24, 2024
• Winner will be announced by April of 2024

A LITTLE HISTORY

In the past, our Art in the Gardens apparel has included images of our Featured Artwork. The shirts have highlighted a variety of styles of artwork. This year we are opening it up to you! Give us your best creative depiction combining the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens and our annual summer festival, Art in the Gardens.