Geographic wonders: Sign up for poster project and illustrate beauty of JoCo’s parks

If you have artistic talents and want a place to show them off, Johnson County Park & Recreation has a project for you. It’s gearing up for its second annual poster project promoting local parks. Applications to be part of it are due March 26.

Styled after the Works Progress Administration posters for national parks of the late 1930s and early 1940s, this year’s batch of posters will feature Antioch Park, Ernie Miller Park, Mill Creek Streamway Park and Stilwell Community Park.

The idea is to make sure the parks “represented geographic diversity across Johnson County, some of our older parks mixed with some of our newer parks,” said Susan Mong, superintendent of culture for Johnson County Park & Recreation District.

Last year’s featured parks included Shawnee Mission Park and Big Bull Creek Park. The county has been selling posters, notecards and postcards of last year’s designs both online and at the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center.

Interested artists should have a background in graphic design or illustration, but a huge professional portfolio is not a necessity to compete. Even students can apply just by showing examples of pieces done in the past.

“We really pride ourselves on providing opportunities like this one for emerging artists to feel comfortable applying,” Mong said.

Artists do not need to create anything new until chosen for the project.

“We are looking to mimic that WPA (Works Progress Administration) style, so we want the artist be able to adapt and be consistent with that overall look and feel,” Mong said.

The four selected artists will each receive a $2,500 stipend to complete the work, funded by AT&T. Last year, 28 artists applied for four spots.

Only people living in Cass, Clay, Douglas, Jackson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami, Platte or Wyandotte counties are eligible.

Once selected, the artists will get a tour of their particular park and have time to get a feel for its unique features. After getting a sense of the park, each artist must submit three or four preliminary designs.

“We try make sure they’re diverse across the four designs, so we don’t end up with too similar of interpretations. We really leave a lot of creative freedom to the artists to see what speaks to them and what vantage points stand out in each of those park spaces,” Mong said.

An Aug. 22 event will show off the final four poster designs. To compete for one of the four spots, submit an application at jcprd.com/1901.