the Pisan Romanesque meets Contemporary America

Competition open to all public and private high school students
in San Francisco, California and New York City, New York

The Pisan Romanesque meets contemporary America

A contest for the secondary schools of San Francisco and New York

The goal of the contest is to teach students of San Francisco and New York about the Pisan Romanesque period and to promote the appreciation of this chapter in the history of Italian culture in schools and families.

> Teaching materials <

Why hold a contest on the Pisan Romanesque style
for high school students in the USA?

The goal of the contest is to present the architectural and artistic heritage of Pisa to high school students and their teachers in San Francisco and New York City, to inspire them to study one of the most interesting and renowned examples of Italian architecture, and to stimulate their interest in art history, architecture and the fine arts.

The Contest Theme

The theme of the contest – The Pisan Romanesque Meets Contemporary America – challenges students to apply the features of the style that is typified by the famous Leaning Tower and the Duomo creatively to objects, paintings, buildings, gardens or the urban infrastructure that form part of their everyday experience in San Francisco and New York City and to interpret this medieval style in an original work of visual art (drawing, painting, video, mixed media).

For more detailed information, see the sections Teaching Materials and Contest rules and how to participate

Prizes and awards for students and teachers

Two first prizes will be awarded for the best entries submitted by students, group or class, from the city of San Francisco / San Francisco Bay Area and the city of New York / state of New York, respectively (cash prizes).
Honorable mention for a work submitted by a group or class from San Francisco and for a work submitted by a group or class  from New York (prizes will include books on Italian art and handcrafted items made by artisans working in the Tuscan tradition).
The teachers of the first prize winners (group or class) in San Francisco and New York will be awarded a one-week holiday in Pisa in June 2015 to enjoy the annual festival “Giugno Pisano”.

For more detailed information, see the section Contest rules and how to participate

Artwork to be submitted

The Società Storica Pisana (Pisa’s History Society, Italy) invites classes in grades 9 to 12 from high schools in San Francisco and New York to submit original artwork inspired (in terms of similitude or contrast) by the architectural style known as “Pisan Romanesque”.

Artwork in the “Pisan Romanesque Style” can be applied to any of the following categories:
  • Interior design of a workplace
  • Handmade objects
  • Drawing or painting
  • Parks and gardens
  • Buildings, bridges, towers and other constructions
  • Urban infrastructure
Media/Formats accepted:
  • artifact-drawing-iconDrawing
  • artifact-painting-iconPainting
  • arifact-digital.iconDigital format

For more detailed information, see the section Contest rules and how to participate

Things Entrants Need to Know

  • Classes and groups of students from all high schools in San Francisco (SF city and SF Bay Area) and New York City (NY city and NY State) are eligible
  • Limit of three entries per group/class. Each class/group (entrant) may submit from one to three original works in any of the following media/formats: drawing, painting, photograph, video, mixed media.
  • The artwork must be submitted by the teacher on behalf of the students.
  • The contest is free and open to all students.
  • Winners will be notified no later than May 15, 2015.
  • The Chamber of Commerce of Pisa will retain ownership of the digital artwork and the right to use digital images of the artwork for display and promotion.
  • Artwork that depicts copyrighted images will be rejected. All artwork must be based on original ideas created entirely by the students.
  • Any artwork received may be published on the website and posted indefinitely.
  • IMPORTANT: Original artwork should be uploaded in high-resolution digital format for reproduction and display
  • IMPORTANT: Each student must download a parental permission form, complete it, and give it to the teacher prior to submission of the contest entry. See the section Submission.

For more detailed information, see the section Contest rules and how to participate

Questions?

See the section FAQs

For technical questions regarding the submission process or how to upload the artwork: contact the Società Storica Pisana at submission@pisanromanesquemeets.it

For general questions regarding the contest (its inception, the contest theme, eligibility, media formats accepted, etc.): contact the Società Storica Pisana at info@pisanromanesquemeets.it