Arrow Electronics, Inc.
Colorado Artist Stefan Begej's "Innovation Engine" will be displayed with other finalists' work at the 2013 Arts Festival
DENVER (June 24, 2013) - On Friday, June 21, the Cherry Creek Arts Festival and Arrow Electronics selected Stefan Begej as the winner of the Five Years Out Arrow Art Challenge, a national challenge to inspire artists to take the concept of innovation and express what five years out looks like in the art world, translating ideas into their artistic medium.
Through a competitive and collaborative selection process, a jury of regional artists and art professionals chose seven finalists out of an application pool of over 120 artists. Each finalist received a $5,000 commission to create a forward-thinking piece; the seven pieces arrived in Denver last week for the judging process. The jury selected one winner, Begej, to receive the Innovation Award for his work "Innovation Engine," granting him a $10,000 prize and a jury exempt invitation to exhibit at the 2014 Cherry Creek Arts Festival.
"Each of the seven finalists truly demonstrated a vision toward innovation, reflecting the diverse process required to generate unique creations and solutions," said Richard Kylberg, vice president of corporate communications at Arrow. "Although it was a difficult decision, Arrow, the Cherry Creek Arts Festival and the jury determined that Stefan Begej's work best exhibited the blend of innovation and creativity we strive for in the fields of technology and art."
The Arrow Innovator's Club will be located at Detroit Street and Second Avenue during the Festival. In addition to an opportunity to view the work of the winner and seven finalists, performance speed painter, Tim Decker, will be painting portraits of innovators three times a day on July 5, 6 and 7. Arrow, ranked #141 on the Fortune 500 list, made Colorado the company's headquarters in 2011.
As a cultural innovator, the Cherry Creek Arts Festival has been delivering world-class arts experiences and education to the Colorado community for 24 years. The partnership with fellow innovator Arrow inspires a movement to guide artistic creation and evolution forward, and the Art Challenge complements Cherry Creek Arts Festival's non-profit mission and leadership in art experiences and education. The finalists' pieces will become part of the innovative collection of artwork at Arrow and may be featured in a global ad series and in offices around the world.
For more information about the Arrow Five Years Out Art Challenge, please visit www.cherryarts.org/ArrowFiveYearsOut.
Cherry Creek Arts Festival
The Cherry Creek Arts Festival is a three-day, world-class and award-winning celebration of the visual, culinary and performing arts and enjoys an annual attendance of 350,000 visitors. Special exhibits,art and culinary demonstrations, and interactive family activities on "Artivity Avenue" complement the Festival experience. The 2013 event will take place on July 5, 6 and 7. The 2013 Cherry Creek Arts Festival is presented by Janus, Arrow Electronics and Toyota. Associate sponsors are The Art Institute of Colorado, Cherry Creek North, Cherry Creek Shopping Center, FastFrame of Cherry Creek, Frontier Airlines, Heineken, Heinrich Marketing, JW Marriott Denver at Cherry Creek, King Soopers, and the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District. They are joined by Associate Media Sponsors, 9NEWS, Colorado Homes & Lifestyles, Mountain Living, The Denver Post Community, Alice 105.9, Studio 1430 KEZW AM, KOSI 101, 99.5 The Mountain and Xfinity. Supporting Sponsors include Blake Communications, Deep Eddy Vodka, Dish, Esprit de She, Fruition Internet Marketing, Happy Llama Inc., SoBe Lifewater and Viking Range Corporation. Contributing Sponsors include Colorado Business Bank, Creative Law Network, Earls Kitchen + Bar, Kaiser Permanente, MDC Foundation and Xcel Energy. Along with the annual civic event, the Cherry Creek Arts Festival's 501(c)(3) non-profit mission provides art education and outreach programs in local area schools. For more information, visit www.CherryArts.org; or follow us on Facebook or Twitter (2013 hashtag: #loveccaf).
Arrow Electronics
Arrow Electronics (www.arrow.com) is a global provider of products, services and solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions. Arrow serves as a supply channel partner for more than 100,000 original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers and commercial customers through a global network of more than 470 locations in 55 countries.