Back for its 10th year with a fighting theme, the Crowbar Festival 2011 organised by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Singapore (4As) will take place from 1st to 5th August 2011.  The festival will consist of the Crowbar Awards, the 48-Hour Challenge, a Crowbar Seminar, and cumulating in the Crowbar Awards Show Night.

To kickoff the official start with the call for award entries, a full length shelf of fighting fish in glass jars was installed in select locations such as creative education institutions, graduation shows and design bookstores in April. Arts and design students are urged to initiate the ‘fight’ by pulling out the Crowbar entry card strategically positioned between the jars.

This year’s Crowbar Awards will be co-chaired by Pann Lim and Jonathan Yuen from Kinetic Singapore. Heads of jury will include Thomas Yang from DDB Singapore, Larry Peh from &Larry, Ivanho Harlim, and Royston Tan. Entries close on 18 May 2011 for film, and 20 May 2011 for the remaining disciplines.

Main supporters for the festival include Alice, Colourscan, DesignSingapore, Kinetic Singapore, MakeStudios, Nanyang Polyechnic, Ngee-Ann Adelaide Education Centre, RJ Papers, Singapore Press Holdings, and Tan Chin Tuan Foundation.

Since its inception in 2001, the Crowbar Awards has been a tradition for local arts and design students hoping to make a mark and establish a path into the much exclusive design community. Each year, advertising, design, interactive, photography, and film students compete to submit their best works to be critiqued by much respected gurus in their field, knowing that the rewards are beyond the cash prize and the full-size crowbar hardware.

 In recent years, the awards have attracted entries beyond borders. In 2010, the awards attracted 1,000 entries from 39 schools across the globe, spanning countries including New Zealand, Shanghai and Germany.

“The fighting theme is very appropriate for Crowbar. The Show is now internationally recognised and one of the very few shows in the world catering to young talents still in school. Thus, these talents are fighting to be recognised and acknowledged as the best in their field. It’s also a platform to showcase their abilities and skills to potential employers.” Said Theodore Choo, President for 4As.

“Each year, there are only a handful of good job openings in this highly competitive advertising and design industry and Crowbar is the students’ opportunity to break into it. This is platform for them to showcase their talent, pluck up courage and be open to judgment by industry veterans as well as their peers.” Added Pann and Jonathan who conceptualised this year’s fighting theme.