British Library seeks avant-garde work

The British Library is holding a competition to design a present day work of the avant-garde, which will be displayed in its shop window.

Postgraduate art and design students are being invited to submit old or new works in any medium. Submissions should be ‘boundary-pushing’ and must fit into the 3.4m x 1.8m x 70cm space. The British Library will spend up to £3000 on producing and building the winning submission.

Graphic designer Peter Saville is judging the competition, along with design group Creativeinterpartners managing director Caryl Harris, Central St Martins College of Art and Design typography professor Phil Baines, author Charles Leadbeater and Newsnight culture correspondent Madeleine Holt.

Saville says, ‘I am anticipating interesting responses to how we might understand an avant-garde now.’

The competition coincides with the British Library’s exhibition Breaking the Rules: The Printed Face of the European Avant Garde 1900-1937.

Joanna Newman, strategic partnerships manager at the British Library, says, ‘This is a great opportunity for students to gain experience of producing a design according to a challenging brief, and gives us the opportunity to highlight the fantastic resources the library has for the creative industries.’

The winning entry will be displayed at the British Library in the shop window facing the piazza, and showcased on the British Library website. The closing date for entries is Friday 9 November.

For more details see http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/features/breakingtherules/competition.html.