The Art of Engineering: The 2022 Art of Engineering Challenge

Deadline extended!

Engineering is as much of a creative endeavor, as it is scientific.  The Cal Poly College of Engineering invites students, faculty, staff, and alumni to submit visual artifacts that celebrate the aesthetic beauty of engineering to help decorate our common spaces and labs.

As an engineer and creator, we invite you to explore the interplay between engineering and art.  Consider demonstrating the beauty enabled and expressed through engineering, such as physical assembly, CAD, coding, or any other elegant visualizations of data, information, or design. Alternatively, use traditional artist’s mediums: use paint, pencil, photography and your engineering know-how to share the beauty of the engineering design process: design, build, break and fix!

Click to submission form.

Invitation:

  • Submissions will be accepted from College of Engineering students, faculty, staff and alumni (including LAES).
  • Media types accepted: Graphics, photographs, small physical works (2’ by 2’) displayable (submit a photograph for entry)
  • Digital entries must be submitted in 300 dpi – jpeg, tiff or pdf format
  • 300-word description of the work and its relationship to art and engineering required
  • Digital entries only accepted via Microsoft form (original photographs and physical work should be submitted via digital image with the actual medium described in the write up):
  • Entries must include a copy of the legal agreement (complete pdf, save and attach to email)
  • Maximum of 2 entries per person

Selected works will be displayed in common spaces and labs within the College of Engineering, including building 14, building 192, Bonderson and the ATL.

Entries will be selected based on aesthetic qualities and clear conveyance of the interplay of both art and engineering.  Entries must be original, entirely the work of the entrant. A cross-disciplinary committee of three Engineering faculty or staff members with one CLA staff/faculty member will select the works to be publicly displayed.

Calendar:

Entry Deadline: April 25, 2022

Submit your entry here.

Artists Notified: May 13, 2022

For questions, contact Zoë Wood at zwood@calpoly.edu.

The College of Engineering reserves the right to photograph entries and gallery events for purposes of publicity, documentation and promotion.  Selected entries will be displayed in Engineering buildings and administrative offices.

In this inaugural challenge we invite you to take inspiration from one of the following three paintings, to be hung in conjunction with the selected pieces (in the ATL and lobby of bldg. 192).  These paintings hail from the GRC Armstrong collection (Anne and Duanne Armstrong):

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