Poetry Broadsides Series wins UCDA Award of Excellence

Robert Finkel and his team of graphic designers have once again been recognized for their Third Thursday Poetry Broadside Series created for the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. The series received an Award of Excellence in the In-House Print category in the 47th Annual University & College Designers Association Design Competition. Judges evaluated 1,269 entries, awarding 204 total awards. The UCDA Design Competition recognizes the best of the exceptional design work done to promote educational institutions (secondary, vocation, or higher education) and supports the exchange of ideas and information relating to the unique role of these designers.

Finkel, who is an associate professor of graphic design, served as art director for the team of graphic designer faculty members from the School of Industrial + Graphic Design: Kelly Bryant, Samantha Herbert and College of Architecture, Design and Construction graphic designer Marcelo Blanco. This is the third consecutive year that the series has received an UCDA award. To date, the Letterpress Poetry Broadside series has won numerous awards, included 24 poets, six graphic designers, approximately 1,600 total prints, and nearly 4000+ hand-cranked impressions.

The broadside series is coordinated by Finkel and Associate Professor of Creative Writing, Keetje Kuipers, and JCSM Curator of Education and University Liaison, Scott Bishop. The prints are exhibited at the Jule Collins Smith museum year round. The broadsides have been included in the “Showcase: The Work of Creative Scholarship” exhibition that held in conjunction with Auburn’s “This is Research: Faculty Symposium 2016” at JCSM. The series has also received awards from the 45th Annual UCDA Design Competition, “Creative Quarterly 38/39,” and “Signs of the Times: Juried Broadside Exhibition” at North Dakota University.