The Uplifting Memes program team invites all UNCG undergraduate and graduate students to submit art works to our contest in one of three categories (see "Categories for Submission & Definitions" for more details). The winner of each category will receive a $100 Visa gift card. Additionally, the winner of an Audience's Choice award (decided at the opening reception) will receive a 3D-printed Uplifting Memes trophy. Please read the "Rules & Guidelines for Submission" section for more details.

1. Original composition: Works submitted in this category include original works that invoke the aesthetic, rhetoric, or theme of memes in some way. Works in this category should not feature, appropriate, or include obvious derivative visual features of existing fine art or copyrighted media (but may include or illustrate meme-related phrases that do not derive from copyrighted works, such as "i'm baby," "ight Imma head out," or "weird flex but okay").

2. Use of public domain or Creative Commons media: Works submitted in this category specifically integrate or otherwise make use of public domain or Creative Commons-licensed visual media to invoke the aesthetic, rhetoric, or theme of memes in the submitted art work. For explanations of "public domain" and "Creative Commons," as well as potential sources for public domain and CC-licensed visual media, please see the slides and resources from our Finding Meme-spiration workshop.

3. Transformative use (fair use) of existing media: Works in this category may attempt to make transformative use of existing copyrighted visual media sources in the submitted art work to invoke the aesthetic, rhetoric, or theme of memes in the submitted art work. Transformative use is a concept within the "fair use" clause of the U.S. Copyright Code that allows artists to use copyrighted media in their work for the purposes of parody, commentary, criticism, or to generate new artistic medium. As summarized by attorney Richard Stim for the Stanford University Copyright & Fair Use Center, "Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner. In other words, fair use is a defense against a claim of copyright infringement. If your use qualifies as a fair use, then it would not be considered an infringement." As there are no hard and fast rules to transformative use, each artist needs to make a determination for themselves as to whether they have a fair use claim to copyrighted media. Tools such as the CAA Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts by the College Art Association, the Columbia University Fair Use Checklist, and the American Library Association's Fair Use Evaluator can help.

Contest Rules

1. One entry per student. Each entry can only be submitted under one category of consideration ("See Categories for Submission & Definitions") and must meet the guidelines for that category.

2. We are leaving what qualifies as art that "invokes the aesthetic, rhetoric, or theme of memes in some way" up to you, but we ask that you explain the relation of your work to memes in the description for your object label.

3. If you are submitting a work in the "Transformative Use" category, you must make an appointment to meet with Maggie Murphy or Jenny Dale in Jackson Library to discuss your submission and "fair use" guidelines before submitting a work to the contest. (See "Deadlines for Participation & Submission" for more information.) This meeting is required, but does not constitute legal advice or an offer of representation. We are not lawyers.

4. We reserve the right to reject works that clearly violate copyright or other intellectual property laws. You must be able to make an argument for "transformative use" or other "fair use" of copyrighted materials in your work (see "Categories for Submission & Definitions" for more information about these terms.

Submission Guidelines

1. We will accept work in any static visual medium (i.e. not video art) for the contest and exhibition.

2. You must submit at least one high-resolution image (JPG or PNG) of your entire work with a minimum resolution of 2400 x 2400 pixels at 300 ppi. You may optionally include up to two additional images of details or alternate for judging purposes.

3. When you submit your entry, please indicate if you would like us to print an image of your work for the show or if you would like to exhibit your work in its original medium (for all pieces not originating as digital works). We are able to print images up to 24 x 24 inches. Please ensure the image you submit is has the minimum pixel dimensions at 300 ppi for the size at which you would like us to print it. (You can use this chart as a reference for the dimension requirements of different print output sizes.)

4. By submitting a work to this contest, you give us permission to display an image of the work in an online gallery and to photograph it when it is exhibited in Jackson Library for use by the Uplifting Memes team in future publications or presentations about this project.

Students who will be submitting works under the "transformative use" category must schedule a consultation with Maggie Murphy or Jenny Dale by March 20, with the consultation to take place on or before Friday, March 27.

Submissions to the contest are due by 11:59 pm on Wednesday, April 5.

We are able to print digital submissions that meet our technical specifications (see "Rules & Guidelines for Submission for more details"), but contest participants who submitted 2D or 3D art works in other media for consideration should make arrangements with Maggie Murphy to deliver those pieces to Jackson Library by Tuesday, April 14.