Amplify Competition
The Amplify Competition is an opportunity for Smith College students to share their knowledge, stories and perspectives in a public forum and raise their voices to bring about positive change. The competition specifically seeks to amplify students’ voices as they draw attention to the issues that matter to them. It is open to all current Smith students, and entries can be drawn from assignments completed for a course taken for credit in the past year, or a piece developed outside of a student’s course work.
Amplify Competition 2024 Project Gallery
And the Winners Are...
Competition Categories
This year, the Wurtele Center for Leadership is partnering with the Smith Office for the Arts (SOFA) and Neilson Library to sponsor the 2023–24 Amplify Public Art Competition. We are issuing a Call for Proposals (CFP) for a temporary public art project in the form of an installation to be displayed on the ground floor of Neilson Library in response to this fall’s exhibition of a curated set of protest posters selected from the Library’s Special Collections, which represent a variety of social, political, and cultural issues. Highlighting the range of artistic forms that protesters have used to inspire change, the fall exhibition invites visitors to explore how institutions, organizations, and individuals raised awareness about pressing issues of social and political activism in the 20th Century.
For the Amplify CFP, we invite proposals from students that take the form of a public art response to the exhibit that was featured in the fall, activating the public space of Neilson’s ground floor in ways that extend the experience of passers-by as they encounter student work on the themes explored in the original exhibit. We will select three proposals to feature, placed next to each other on the expanse of wall after the fall exhibition is removed.
Submissions
We are no longer accepting submissions to the Public Art section of the Amplify Competition.
For the purposes of this competition, we define public speaking as the verbal delivery of knowledge and ideas with the intent of influencing or enhancing a listener’s views on a particular topic or issue. This category will take the form of a public event at which students may speak in one of two formats: a “TED”-style talk of no more than 5 minutes or a piece of original spoken-word poetry of no more than 5 minutes. The event takes place on February 4, 2024, 3–5 p.m. Judges will be present to evaluate speaking submissions. After the speaking event, videos of public speaking performances will be posted on the Amplify Competition website in order to be considered for the People’s Choice Award. All public speaking awards will therefore be given not at the speaking event but rather at the overall Amplify Award Ceremony on March 4, 2024, 7–8 p.m.
Registration
Registration opens Friday, January 5, 2024, for the Amplify Public Speaking Competition. Students interested in participating in the competition should submit an entry no later than Sunday, January 14, 2024. Registered students will receive further communication about additional competition logistics and criteria.
We define public writing as any written piece (published or intended to be published) that seeks to influence or enhance a reader’s views on or raise the visibility or salience of a particular topic or issue. This includes:
- Opinion Pieces: op-ed (no more than 1200 words) written in the last 12 months, either as part of a Smith College course assignment or as an independent submission to a publication
- Other Articles: A piece of long-form journalism, online blog or zine (online or physical copy) created in the last 12 months, either as part of a Smith College course assignment or as an independent project. NOTE: While longer pieces are acceptable, submitters to the Public Writing category are advised to consider whether they have conveyed their argument in as concise a manner as possible.
In previous year’s competitions, the most successful entries have offered well-researched and deeply nuanced perspectives on current issues. Judges in this category generally look for pieces of writing that offer a fresh take on the topic, and that they can imagine encountering in public media outlets. Fictional writing and poetry have historically not been chosen for prizes in this category. (Poets should consider delivering a spoken-word poem in the Public Speaking category.)
Submissions
Students interested in participating in the competition should submit an entry no later than Sunday, January 21, 2024.
We define a multimedia piece as any submission that combines different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single project for purposes of communicating information to an audience, in order to influence or enhance an audience member’s perspectives on or raise the visibility or salience of a particular topic or issue. This includes but is not limited to:
- Podcast Episode: Originally written podcast episode of no more than 60 minutes. Podcasts can leverage interviews and content from other sources, but should marshal those voices in service of a larger argument advanced by the creator of the piece.
- Interactive Website: a website that includes both text and imagery to inform viewers about a current issue.
- Original Short Film: Documentary or artistic film no longer than 30 minutes in length.
- Graphic Essay or Comic Book: Original work that incorporates imagery and text and draws on research to address a particular issue.
In previous years' competitions, the most successful entries have been those that are intentionally designed for the chosen format, whether that is digital or analog, and that utilize sound and/or visual design compellingly to engage the audience. These entries have typically blended creative elements or approaches (for example, storytelling, prose, or poetry) with a clear and well-researched connection to a topic or issue of public interest.
Submissions
Students interested in participating in the competition should submit an entry no later than Sunday, January 21, 2024.
Amplify Competition Overview
Amplify Competition Prizes
Depending on the number and quality of submissions, judges may not award all prizes for all categories.
Important Dates
Look out for sessions and events during these months where you can workshop your piece and get feedback.
Date |
Description |
---|---|
September 18, 2023 |
Competition opens for Public Art proposals |
November 20, 2023 |
Public Art proposal deadline |
December 8, 2023 |
Public Art competition winners announced |
January 5, 2024 |
Competition opens for Public Writing and Multimedia categories |
January 14, 2024 |
Registration deadline for Public Speaking category |
January 21, 2024 |
Public Writing and Multimedia category submission deadline |
February 4, 2024, 3–5 p.m. |
Public Speaking category event |
February 12, 2024 |
Amplify gallery website goes live |
March 4, 2024, 6–8 p.m. |
Public Art Reception (6–7 p.m.) |