United Airlines: advert-body-1 by Laundry Service

For Women’s History Month, United Airlines is launching a first-of-its-kind contest designed to find and uplift underrepresented women artists by providing a chance to paint a canvas like no other — a United Airlines aircraft. While 51% of today’s artists are women, less than 13% of art on display in museums is by women artists according to The National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Painting a Boeing 757 provides artists with a traveling canvas that flies on average 1.6 million miles a year and 476 cross-country trips. The aircraft is roughly 3,666 times larger than the typical 18” x 24” canvas.

Today the carrier has more women who are pilots than any other airline in the world, including Bebe O’Neil, United’s System Chief Pilot, who manages the carrier’s 12,600 pilots. The airline has worked with Women in Aviation, a nonprofit organization which provides networking, education, mentoring, and scholarship opportunities, for more than 25 years and Girls in Aviation Day to ensure a growing number of female pilots.

To enter, individuals must identify as a woman, including cisgender, transgender, woman-aligned or non-binary, and reside in the United States, who can visually represent either New York/New Jersey or California, two key markets for the airline, in their own style, while combining the company’s mission and what the communities in each region mean to the artist. Two winners, one representing each region, will be chosen and given a chance to work alongside renowned artist Shantell Martin to finalize a design for their respective region’s plane. Shantell brings to the contest her talents and work, from the New York City Ballet to a collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning artist Kendrick Lamar, which are full of whimsical drawings and storytelling, that are dedicated to making sure other women artists are seen.

Individuals are encouraged to visit united.com/HerArtHere and submit a design idea, examples of their work portfolio along with a short video by March 24, 2019, followed by a public vote from April 10 – April 19, 2019 to determine the winning artists from each region.

Customers in Los Angeles and New York have an opportunity to visit murals by Shantell Martin as part of this contest. Each mural showcases interactive airplane windows that lead to videos with more information. The murals will be on display until March 18 at 799 West 8th Street, Los Angeles, CA and at 38 Norman Ave, Brooklyn, NY.