Finalists Selected for $10,000 Peoria Prize for Creativity
Posted on April 25th, 2006
Cash prize and medallion recognizing creativity through collaboration to be awarded at Discovery Forum
Peoria, IL – Three finalists have been selected from a diverse field of entries from around the world for the 2006 Peoria Prize for Creativity international competition. The $10,000 prize will be awarded to the winning submission on April 28th at Discovery Forum 2006: Creating through Collaboration at the Peoria Civic Center.
The Peoria Prize for Creativity is a $10,000 cash award, underwritten by the Peoria Civic Federation that recognizes an exceptionally innovative creative project that involves collaboration between at least one person from the arts or humanities with at least one person from the field of science, engineering, business, or education. The recipient will also receive a custom-designed medallion created by renowned sculptor and Bradley University faculty member, Fisher Stolz.
A panel of seven jurors selected the three finalists. These finalists will now be evaluated by three national jurors who will determine the winner of the $10,000 prize. The three finalists are:
AMEEd
Arizona State University
AMEEd: Arts, Media, and Engineering Education for K-12 Students is a multimedia education project developed from a collaboration among scientists, artists, educators, psychologists, and educators associated with the Arts, Media, and Engineering (AME) Program at Arizona State University. Also involved were the Arizona Department of Education, the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Mesa Art Center, and the Herberger College for Kids at Arizona State University. These collaborators designed and developed SMALLab, an experimental multimedia educational system that blends multimodal sensing, modeling, and feedback to give elementary school students a deeper understanding of movement and sound. Using body mapping and spatial sensing equipment, students explore how the dynamics of their movements can affect the physical environment. As the body moves through various areas of the SMALLab, specific physical actions trigger audio sequences and media elements, allowing the students to interact creatively with the physical space. http://ame2.asu.edu/projects/experiential/
SUPER VISION
The Builders Association & dbox – New York, NY
SUPER VISION is a multimedia theatre performance that explores the evolution of personal identity in the data age. Artists, performers, and technicians associated with the multidisciplinary studio, The Builders Association, teamed with designers and engineers of the design/engineering firm dbox to create a performance that uses 3D digital media to explore the convergence of visual art, architecture, information, and identity. SUPER VISION examines where we are today in the growing web of surveillance culture and how it is changing us. Following the national events post 9/11, Americans’ identity has become more and more comprised of the data which we generate: credit card charges, health records, cell phone usage, and other electronic transactions. SUPER VISION addresses the impact of this pervasive information environment on us as individuals and where it will lead us as a culture. http://www.superv.org/
PEXU
University of Michigan & University of Wisconsin-Madison
PEXU: Perception of the Extreme Unseen: Visual Representation of Subatomic Particle Energy and Matter: A team of graphic designers, artists, and physicists from the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin in Madison joined forces on a project to unveil that which cannot be easily expressed or described by either discipline. The objective was to create and communicate a visual representation of subatomic particle energy and matter for the general public--to unveil in two, three, and four aesthetic dimensions the very building blocks of all physical matter and energy. The project culminated in an exhibition at Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois and in a publication in Symmetry Magazine that has been referenced in more than 20 languages and hundreds of web sites worldwide. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~janhande/pexu/
The one-of-a-kind Peoria Prize national competition was established to foster, recognize, and reward visionary and innovative creative projects that result among individuals representing the arts and sciences. In 2005, the inaugural Peoria Prize went to a team of 70 world-wide collaborators for their project, Hands Across the Ocean: The Lost Chord. Ultimately, the Peoria Prize recognizes the powerful economic impact that takes place when a culture of creativity exists in a community.
The public is invited to attend this day-long event focusing on collaboration in public policy, education, science, and technology. The awarding of the 2006 Peoria Prize for Creativity will culminate the day’s events. Early bird registration is $35, available through April 26th and includes lunch as well as admission to the Creativity Showcase and Showcase Reception. To register, phone 309-677-2377.
Each of the finalists will have project displays available in the Creativity Showcase, along with over 40 regional displays of creativity projects and initiatives.
NOTE: The 2006 Peoria Prize for Creativity will be awarded at 4:10 p.m. by Glen Barton, retired Chairman and CEO of Caterpillar Inc. and Chairman of the Peoria Civic Federation. A press release will be available at that time.
