MIT Office of the Arts 
(Published in Tech Talk 3/6/1996)
Thanks to the generosity of an MIT alumnus and his wife, MIT students now have a new opportunity to receive recognition for their work in the visual arts.
The entry submission date -- Monday, April 8 -- for the first Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts has been announced by the Student Art Association (SAA). The SAA has established the awards through an endowment from Harold and Arlene Schnitzer of Portland, OR. Mr. Schnitzer, a real estate investor, graduated from MIT in 1944 with a degree in metallurgy.
Three prizes will be awarded based on a student's body of work: first prize is $1,000; second prize is $600; third prize is $400.
Artists, who must be registered MIT students, are required to submit at least three pieces of original work or one piece of original work and visual representations of other originals (to be available for later viewing). The artist must also submit a written statement by the artist concerning his/her creative interest as it pertains to the works and art in general.
The Schnitzers are collectors of contemporary art with a particular interest in artists of the American Northwest. "They believe that training the eye is very important in dealing with the visual imagery in our lives," noted former Associate Provost for the Arts Ellen T. Harris. "They feel this is especially true for engineers, recognizing a very strong relationship between engineering training and visual arts training."
"The Schnitzer Award will add validity, vitality and quality to the marriage of art and technology here at the Institute," said Ed McCluney, director of the Student Art Association. "The prize will attract students who might otherwise consider their artistic efforts to be minor or simply wasted," he continued. "Although part of their interest is monetary, the bigger picture shows a burst of creative, competitive energy as they seek to rise to the challenge."
A panel from the Student Art Association and the visual arts community will judge the artists' overall artistic talents and creative concept on Wednesday, April 10, and announce the winners April 18-19. Winning entries will be displayed in the Wiesner Student Art Gallery from the week of May 13 through mid-June, 1996. There will be a reception in the gallery for the winners and a plaque inscribed with the names of each year's winning artists will be permanently installed on the wall of the Wiesner Gallery.
Students can pick up guidelines and applications at the SAA (W20-429), the Campus Activities Complex (W20-500) and the Office of the Arts (E15-205). For more information, call Ed McCluney at 253-7019 or Ted Johnson at 253- 3913.