Politics & Government

LADOT Announces TAP Card Design Contest

The competition is the first of its kind in any major metropolitan area in the world that has a regional smart card system for its public transportation network.

The City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) announced a collaboration with Downtown Los Angeles’ Gallery Row Organization to sponsor an artist competition to design the next wave of LADOT TAP smart cards.

The competition is the first of its kind in any major metropolitan area in the world that has a regional smart card system for its public transportation network, according to LADOT.

Find out what's happening in Pacific Palisadeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

LADOT’s DASH and Commuter Express bus services joined the regional TAP smart card network in June 2012 and it unveiled four limited edition, custom-designed TAP cards at the Downtown LA Art Walk in May 2013, in order to support art and design in the City of Los Angeles.

The theme for card designs is Downtown Los Angeles.

Find out what's happening in Pacific Palisadeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The deadline for entries is Dec. 18. Entry forms, official competition rules and instructions on how to submit the design are all available at the competition webpage: http://www.ladottransit.com/tapcompetition.html.

Two winning designs will be chosen, and each artist will be awarded a prize of $500 cash and a $500 gift certificate to Raw Materials Art Supplies, an art and architectural supply store in Downtown Los Angeles.Winners will be selected in mid-January 2014 by a five-person jury panel: Nic Cha Kim (Gallery Row Organization), Qathryn Brehm (Downtown LA Art Walk), Nathan Cartwright (The Hive Gallery), and two representatives from LADOT.

This first of its kind competition is open to artists and designers, 18 years of age or older, who live or work in Los Angeles.

”The LADOT TAP Card Design Competition is an incredible opportunity for local artists to get creative, and be recognized in a very big way by having their designs in the hands of thousands of LADOT riders," said Nic Cha Kim, one of Gallery Row Organization’s founders and its current president.

Gallery Row Organization (GRO) supports a thriving, pedestrian-friendly, culturally abundant, urban neighborhood at the heart of Downtown Los Angeles.GRO provides business development consulting services for creative business owners interested in joining the revitalization of Downtown Los Angeles. 

For more information about GRO, visit www.galleryrow.org.





Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here