Tennesseans for the Arts announced today the 10 finalists of State Your Plate, the contest to design Tennessee’s next specialty license plate. The finalists represent cities and towns across the state – including one finalist from Jackson, Billy Worboys – and range from ages 16 to 60. Their works represent various aspects of Tennessee’s artistic character, from music-inspired designs to a painting of the state flower to more abstract compositions.
Now, it’s the public’s turn to get involved. Beginning today, Tennessee residents can go online at www.stateyourplate.org to rate the 10 designs that were selected and vote for which license plate they’d like to see representing Tennessee on the road. Voting is open until 12 p.m. CST on Nov. 23.
The selected artists are:
Sarah Byrd, Knoxville – Bearden High School student
Carla Christina Contreras, Ashland City, - Artist, actor, author and entrepreneur
Leslie Haines, Nashville - Academic director of graphic design and advertising at The Art Institute of Tennessee
Matthew James Harris, Springfield - Full-time student, Nossi College of Art
Shumyla Jan, Memphis. - Independent graphic designer
Sallie Mayne, Brentwood - Former executive director of the Nashville Film Festival
Mary Anna Simon, Spring Hill - Graphic designer
Lee Swets, Memphis - Design editor at the Memphis Business Journal
Amelia Winger-Bearskin, Nashville - Assistant professor of art at Vanderbilt University
Billy Worboys, Jackson - Creative director at Younger Associates
The winning design will be announced the week of Dec. 7. The winning license plate will be available for sale to the public with proceeds directly benefitting the arts in Tennessee. Specialty license plates and tags already have a strong tie to the arts, with 40% of the sales going to the Tennessee Arts Commission, which then distributes those funds to arts groups across the state. Tennesseans for the Arts will need to pre-sell 500 of the winning specialty license plates to the public in order to send the design to production and establish it as a permanent license plate option for drivers in Tennessee.
Click Here to read about the artists, including Worboys
