For the first time, a youth artist will design the Calgary Stampede's poster

Alberta's youth artists have a shot to paint their way into Calgary's history, by competing to design the Calgary Stampede's 2019 poster.

More than 100 youths, aged 15 to 24, applied for the chance to be selected last fall, and now it's down to just eight finalists.

Incoming Stampede chairman and president Dana Peers said the Stampede is renowned for celebrating Western heritage, and it's a celebration he hopes to keep alive for generations to come.

That's why, under his tenure and for the first time ever, a young artist will design the iconic poster that advertises the Stampede worldwide, he said. 

"It really was a bit of a project to understand what the Calgary Stampede meant to youth in the province today," he said. "For the first time I think we're actually seeing pieces that we wouldn't typically see."

Peers said the poster, and what's depicted in it, has in the past been chosen by the president.

"I've really said to them, 'This is who we are, this is what the Calgary Stampede stands for in our community and I'm interested now in understanding what that means to you,'" he said.

Peers said he's been impressed with the work he's seen from the youth applicants.

"We certainly saw an awful lot of inclusiveness in how the works were being presented, and in that sense it's more reflective of our community," he said. "I think that's something they brought to the table for us."

Alberta artist Shannon Lawlor was the first to be the Stampede poster artist twice, first in 2017 and again in 2018.

She helped mentor the youth artists at a workshop earlier this year — and she was inspired by what she saw and the young people she met.

"It gives me hope for the future for the youth to be a part and carry our heritage and our history forward about the Calgary Stampede and the west as we know it," she said.

Lawlor said it's important to embrace youth into Stampede culture in order to bring the memory and the vision it represents into the future.

"We need them to carry it forward," she said.

Lawlor said she brought the mock-up and original painting of her 2017 poster to a workshop for the artists to see, and to show them her work process.

"I was able to speak to them quite candidly about the process I went through in 2017 and the steps I took in making the poster come to fruition," she said. "It inspired them to ask a lot of questions."

Lawlor hopes this experience — for both the finalists and the winner — is a highlight.

"It's been a real addition to my career as an artist, there is no question about it," she said.

"They were major checkmarks in my career … The Calgary Stampede is a historical event and the posters annually are a significant part of the Stampede itself and I'm truly honoured to be a part of that."​

Oleg Stavrowsky, 91, was the Stampede poster artist in 2015.

He said he hopes the honour of being chosen as the poster artist opens many doors in the career of the young artist.

"It's a very well-known show and it will be historically on record forever, so it's like putting a nice big white star next to your name as far as accomplishments go," he said. "It's a very nice thing to have happen to you because there is a lot of very great competition out there."

The 2019 Stampede poster, and the winner of the contest, will be revealed in October.

The Calgary Stampede is looking for another youth artist from Alberta to take the reigns in designing the 2020 poster as well.

Winners of the 2019 and 2020 poster design contest will also be the recipient of $10,000 educational scholarship. The deadline to apply is November