LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL ARTISTS AWARDED TUITION SCHOLARSHIPS TO THE ART INSTITUTE OF DALLAS

[DALLAS, April 7, 2008] – High school seniors, Armando Perez of Oklahoma City and Brittany Barrett of Shreveport placed in the top two at the local level of The Art Institutes and Americans for the Arts “Life is Better with Art in it” Poster Design Competition. Armando placed first and will receive a $3,000 tuition scholarship to attend The Art Institute of Dallas, and Brittany, who placed second, will receive a $2,000 tuition scholarship towards her education at The Art Institute of Dallas. 

As the first place winner, Perez’s design will be entered into the national stage of the competition, in which he will compete against other local winners from across North America for tuition scholarships. The grand prize winner of the national competition will be awarded a tuition scholarship worth $25,000 to study at one of The Art Institutes schools. 

The competition was open to graduating high school seniors interested in pursuing an education in graphic design. Students submitted an original poster design, a current high school transcript and a statement describing their design process, and why they want to attend one of The Art Institutes schools. From April 14 – May 2, an industry panel of judges selected by The Art Institutes will assess each student's poster design based on the specified criteria by visiting the posters and designers’ statements at www.artinstitutes.edu/pr.aspx?ID=PDC005 beginning April 14. 

The poster designs of the top 12 winners’ in the national competition will be used in a promotional calendar, to be distributed to high schools across North America.