ROOSEVELT ISLAND — The Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park is giving away a $300 gift card to Blick Art Supplies and a park swag bag to the person who wins its inaugural "Sketch 4 Freedom" contest this summer.
Through July 31, the park's Conservancy will take sketches and drawings that feature the park and representations of FDR's "Four Freedoms" — the freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want and the freedom from fear.
Artists must be 18 years or old and can submit up to four entries.
All submitted artwork must be developed at the Four Freedoms Park and show how the freedoms relate to art, expression, the built environment and life in the 21st century.
The Conservancy also asks that artists using paint, watercolor, charcoal, chalk or other materials use them offsite and not near the untreated granite at the park.
Already, some artists are sharing their sketches on social media:
Richard Alomar of Urban Sketchers — a nonprofit that promotes on-site drawing — is partnering with the Conservancy to put on the contest and will host free artist meet-ups at the park on Friday, July 7 from 4 to 7 p.m. and on Saturday, July 15, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A winner will be selected through a public online vote and will be announced in September to win the $300 Blick gift certificate and the swag bag.
The top five sketches will be featured on the Conservancy's website.
