In 2010, the Bridges conference will travel to Pécs, Hungary. Among that city's claims to fame is the world-famous Zsolnay Porcelain Manufactory, a center for historical and contemporary ceramics and porcelain. To celebrate the arrival of Bridges in Pécs, Dániel Erdély is inaugurating the ScienTile open tile design competition. Artists will submit prototype tile designs for display in an exhibition at the Zsolnay Cultural Center during the conference. A panel of judges will review the entries, and selected entries will be manufactured as prototypes by the Zsolnay. Winning entries, with the permissions from their designers, may also be considered for full commercial production.

Each artist is limited to a maximum of five entries. The tile designs should be printed in their actual sizes (maximum size 12"x12") on poster boards or other appropriate media to resemble real tiles. Each tile should be accompanied by a demonstration of its use in a complete tessellation at a maximum size of 24"x36". Here is a PDF example showing a single tile and a tessellation. The jurors will select the three best entries for special recognition.

If you would like to submit your work, please follow the instructions below. Nonconforming submissions will not be entered into the review process.

Please note that all the artworks should be sent or hand delivered to the Zsolnay Porcelain Manufactory Art Exhibition Hall by 3:00 PM on July 23, 2010. The exhibit participants are also responsible for picking up their works at the end of the conference. The artworks will not be insured while on display, so the artist assumes all risk for damage or theft.

The exhibit space will only accommodate a limited number of works, which may necessitate rejecting some good quality pieces. Review criteria include:

• Mathematical and scientific content
• Novelty and originality of the design
• Aesthetic appeal
• Craftsmanship (the level of skill and effort applied to the presentation of the prototype)

Images of any submitted artwork and accompanying descriptive data and technical descriptions (see below) should be submitted during May 1-25, 2010, to: ScienTile@bridgesmathart.org.

Notification of acceptance will be made via e-mail by May 25, 2010.