Innovative online climate change art contest engages thousands of artists with winners selected by celebrities, experts, and public voting

Contact: Sarah Ingersoll Email: [email protected] Phone: (310) 486-5448 WASHINGTON, DC – The CoolClimate Art Contest called on artists worldwide to submit their work for the first online art competition designed to generate iconic images that address the impact of climate change. More than 1,000 artists from around the globe made submissions through CoolClimate’s partner, deviantART.com, the largest online network for artists, creatives, and art enthusiasts, with 15 million members worldwide. As Agnes Gund, art expert and one of the judges for the Contest said, "There is probably no issue more important facing us today then how we are affecting our environment. The CoolClimate Art Contest is a smart and engaging way to compel artists to influence and communicate the critical issue of climate change. Art has the power to persuade on a deeply emotional level, sometimes more effectively than grafts or numbers or datasheets." A panel of notable art experts and celebrities selected the 20 semi-finalists that were featured on The Huffington Post where the public voted to determine the Top 5 winners. The judging panel included:

• Jackson Browne (musician)
• Chevy Chase (Comedian) and Jayni Chase (philanthropist)
• Mel Chin (artist)
• Dianna Cohen (artist)
• Philippe Cousteau (ecologist)
• Agnes Gund (collector & philanthropist)
• Van Jones (environmental activist)
• Carrie Mae Weems (artist)
• David Ross (curator)

David Ross, art expert and judge for the Contest said: "The Contest really engaged the creative community, with over 1,000 artists submitting work and 44,000 people visiting the site. The finalists include a range of artistic styles including sculpture, graphic design, photography, and painting; and they were created by artists from all over the world — From France, Bolivia, Bucharest and Greece to Wisconsin, Nebraska, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. It is particularly gratifying that so many artists responded to the challenge of creating art work that can communicate serious concerns for the future of our planet." The top 5 Climate Artists of 2010 as determined by popular vote are:

1st place: No Pollution Please by Christos Lamprianidis (Greece) 2nd place: AIR by David Criado (Bolivia) 3rd place: Oil Spill Duck Sculpture by Donald Gialanella (Wisconsin) 4Th place: Don’t Trash It by Starkman Design Group (California) 5Th place: Tick Tock by Juliet McIver (California)

Angelo Sotira, CEO and founder of deviantART, Inc. added, "Using art for social action is a powerful tool and a passionate interest of our community. Partnering to host this initiative was an obvious choice for our global network of artists. We’re very proud of Christos Lamprianidis, a deviantART member of two years, for being awarded the top spot for his stunning piece 'No Pollution Please.' We look forward to seeing his blog on the Huffington Post." The winners will be honored October 7th at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC, featured on the Planet Green Planet100 show and distributed at key global warming events for 350.org's international day of climate action on 10/10/10. Environmental organizations and 350.org organizers worldwide are being provided with an image tool kit that offers 10 ideas for using the CoolClimate Art finalists in their ongoing climate change communications. The winning images include reference to a range of issues related to climate change problems and solutions. Van Jones, environmental activist and judge for the Contest stated, "These powerful images speak to the air, water, and earth that sustains us, and reveal the perils arising from our addiction to coal and oil. Human ingenuity created these problems; human creativity - on full display here - can get us out. I encourage all environmental activists to use these images in their ongoing climate change communications." All entries, as well as winners and finalists, can be viewed at the CoolClimate deviantART web site (http://coolclimate.deviantart.com). Artists are encouraged to continue to submit their creations to the CoolClimate project to connect with one another and share their work with the public.

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PARTNERS

• 1Sky
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