Full story available here. https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-stampede-unveils-2020-poster-created-by-17-year-old-artist
"The 2020 Calgary Stampede poster is a poster unlike any before it, created by the youngest poster artist in Stampede history.
During an unveiling ceremony at the Calgary French and International School, Calgary Stampede president Dana Peers announced student Ariel Clipperton as the winner of the student poster competition. At only 17 years of age, Ariel’s artwork will be the symbol of next summer’s Stampede.
“It’s a beautiful piece of art that certainly represents the Western culture of the world-famous Calgary Stampede rodeo, but we’ve also said it’s about the student as well and Ariel did a wonderful job all the way through the program. We could tell that she was going to be a great ambassador for the Calgary Stampede,” said Peers.
The Stampede poster is distributed worldwide and is used to design pins, buckles and the president’s truck.
Calgary Stampede President and Chairman of the board Dana Peers speaks at the 2020 Calgary Stampede poster unveiling event.
The poster provides a glimpse of Stampede behind the scenes — which has never been done before in the annual poster — and features a cowboy looking out towards the Grandstand. Ariel worked more than 100 hours to perfect the poster, choosing a photograph for inspiration, working on the design and participating in the mentorship program once she made it to the top 30 artists.
“I wanted something that people would remember and people would be captivated by,” said Ariel. “When I saw all the posters from the very first one in 1912, I wanted to choose something that hadn’t been done before.”
“My piece pays homage to the sport of rodeo through the eyes of a rodeo competitor, which was inspired by an iconic behind-the-scenes photograph captured by the photographer Bill Marsh.”
As the poster artist, Ariel will act as an ambassador for the Stampede and is awarded a $10,000 scholarship provided by the Brandon Flock Foundation.
“Every artist dreams of getting this level of exposure and to me getting this much exposure at such a young age is honestly hard to wrap my head around,” said Ariel.
This was the second annual student poster competition, which has proved successful with about 100 students applying each year to earn the role of poster artist. Peers announced the Stampede is already accepting entries for the 2021 student contest.
The competition narrows the original 100 applicants down to 30, then selects a top eight, all of whom work to perfect their designs.
“This program is about understanding what the next generation thinks about the Calgary Stampede,” said Peers. “What I’ve learned over the last two years is that this next generation is enthused about the Stampede.”
