Engineering college preps for art contest to fill display space in Norm Asbjornson Hall

Artists, buckle up: The Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering is soliciting proposals for artwork to fill a 20-foot wide by 10-foot tall wall space on the first floor of the eponymous Norm Asbjornson Hall. Any current MSU student can apply, regardless of their major.

“Nobody’s got a monopoly on good ideas when it comes to art,” said Rob Maher, an electrical engineering professor and the coordinator of the contest.

Artists are free to explore any theme and work in any medium — but they’re encouraged to make full use of the space. According to Maher, prior winners often create pieces that incorporate “some kind of dynamic aspect to them. Either something that moves or something that has three dimensions.”

That being said, Maher is keen to see an artist use the space in ways it has never been used before. “My expertise is in audio engineering and I’ve been hoping someone would have a display that would include interactive sound,” he said. “So far, we haven’t seen a proposal like that.”

The proposals will be reviewed by a panel of judges including engineering and arts faculty and a student judge nominated by ASMSU.

NAH comes to life when artwork from the contest is installed.

“[With the art], it wouldn't just be an engineering building alone. It would actually have a little more life to it,” Maher said.

The winning artist will even have the opportunity to shape some people’s first impressions of MSU, Maher said. “Because of its location, many prospective students come to campus with their folks, park in the parking lot and essentially walk through,” he said.

The contest is one of several ways the engineering and arts colleges collaborate across campus. “The Engineering, Arts and Architecture Colleges have a good relationship. I think that’s a cool thing about MSU. Everybody here is interested in those crossovers,” Maher said.

Interested students will have the opportunity to visit the venue and discuss their ideas with contest representatives on Monday, Nov. 14 at 1:00 p.m. in the front atrium of NAH. Artists will have access to representatives from the panel, who will be providing tips and answering questions about the contest.

Similar info sessions will occur on Thursday, Nov. 17, at 4:00 p.m. and Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 4:30 p.m.

Written and illustrated proposals will be accepted from Dec. 1, 2022, through Jan. 20, 2023. The winning proposal will be announced around Feb. 10, 2023.