* Entry Dates (online only): April 4

We’d like to invite you to submit artwork to be considered for the cover of our print and digital versions of the 2023-24 Enjoy Mill Valley Guide and print version of the Mill Valley Community Map. It’s an amazing opportunity to get a ton of exposure in Marin and beyond. And check out the fantastic perqs.

If you're not a practicing artist, we hope you'll spread the word and forward this email to your favorite artists--student artists too.

The Enjoy Mill Valley Guide is a vital, engaging 48-page resource booklet published annually and the Mill Valley Community Map is a colorful, printed fold-out map that includes the five primary Mill Valley districts. Both are created by the Mill Valley Chamber in partnership with The Marin County Visitors & Convention Bureau and Marin Magazine.See past issues below.

This is a juried art contest and two separate pieces will be selected for two different publications. Art can be from two different artists or one. Winning artist(s) will receive the following Prizes, including significant promotions:

Sizes: The Guide is 10"h x 7"w and the Map is 9”h x 4”w – please keep these dimensions and vertical orientation in mind when submitting art. See examples below and keep in mind that the final art will include text--"Enjoy Mill Valley Guide 2023-24" on the Guide and "Mill Valley Community Map" on the Map.

Submission Limit: 3 works per artist.

Art Criteria & Theme: Connectivity is our overall Mill Valley Chamber theme for 2023 and that theme must be conveyed in both the Guide and Map covers.

How can you express connectivity between the inspiring people, places and things that link the Mill Valley community together? The beauty of our natural surroundings. The iconic things that make Mill Valley unique – amazing public art all over town, the steps, lanes and paths, the clock tower, live music everywhere and a richness of arts and culture that rivals communities much larger than ours. The people who live and work in our town who contribute to our daily lives. Analog and digital.

Please submit paintings and photographs--illustrations, animations, collages, mixed media, etc.--that reflect our theme of connectivity and cry out “Mill Valley” to locals and visitors alike. The audience should be able to get a sense of what Mill Valley is all about through your art. It can be literal or symbolic.

The Guide includes directories, calendars of events and community resources. The Map is a collectible resource for Mill Valley. Our goal is for both covers to be so beautiful that people will want to keep and display them on their coffee tables at home and work. Cover art should be bold with saturated colors, so it pops and draws attention. It must be relevant for all four seasons of the year.

For inspiration look at the Art Boxes and murals around town and notice their striking, eye-catching colors. View them and find out where to find them. Also be sure to check out this year’s poster art for the Mill Valley Music Festival to notice the use of vibrant colors and fun combinations of people, places and things.

FAQ

• Artists must be residents of Marin or San Francisco. We welcome student artists.
• All work must be original and current, limited to three entries per person.
• Artist agrees to give non-exclusive rights to publish art on 2023-24 Enjoy Mill Valley Guide and/or the 2023-24 Mill Valley Community Map.
• Art submissions deadline: Tuesday, April 4, 2023.
• Image format: high-resolution PDF or JPG, PDF preferred, with vertical orientation for the 10”h x 7”w Guide and/or 9”h x 4”w Map.
• Ad file title should include the title of the piece and the artist’s name, for example MtTam_SusanLopes.pdf
• Submit entries to info@millvalley.org with “Cover Contest” in the subject.
• Include in submission: your name, email, phone number,  dimensions of your art and the city you reside in.
• At the end of the submission period, April 4, 2023, a panel of judges will select the winners.
• All entrants will be notified via email of the results by April 18, 2023.