Calling All Dallas-area High School Students! UCR Announces Call for Entries for “Retail As Art"

Feb. 7, 2013 - PRLog -- Dallas, TX -- United Commercial Realty (UCR), Texas’ largest retail real estate services provider, is currently accepting applications for their fifth annual “Retail as Art” photography scholarship contest. The contest is free to participate and open to all Dallas Independent School (DISD) and local area private high school students.  Deadline for participation forms is March 13, 2013. For more information and submission criteria, visit www.ucrrealty.com/retail-as-art or www.Facebook.com/RetailAsArt.

Dallas-area high school students are encouraged to submit their best photographic interpretations of “Retail as Art” which will be judged by local photographers, tastemakers and industry professionals. The top three winning entrants will receive a UCR “Retail as Art” Scholarship  The annual invitational’s mission is to showcase the best local photographic talent, celebrate and capture the true essence of Dallas retail and reward students and their schools for their talent and efforts.  

“Retail as Art’s” Kick-Off Party, an informative orientation,  will be held on March 6 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Design Within Reach (4524 McKinney Avenue, Dallas, TX 75205) where guest speakers including industry professionals and photographers will provide helpful advice to the students, and the UCR team will review contest details and answer questions.  Participation forms, available online at www.ucrrealty.com/retail-as-art, are due by March 13, 2013, and artwork submission is due by April 5, 2013. After the judging process concludes, the winning images and other notable submissions will be exhibited at the “Retail as Art” Exhibit on May 8 at Three Three Three First Avenue Studio where the winners will be announced.

With a 501c3 status, “Retail as Art” is the heart and soul project of Mickey Ashmore, UCR’s president and CEO. A former speech and English high school teacher and current father of three and grandfather of five, Ashmore has always been passionate about a child’s education, support and inspiration. In 2008, UCR hosted the first “Retail as Art” invitational. Since then, the event has grown from one school to 12 DISD high schools and one private school.

Says Ashmore, “It is a blessing to be able to reach out to students and support their talent, challenge their creativity, enrich their retail and art education, and reward the top talent. The entire UCR team believes in this charity and we are thrilled with the growth this program has experienced. It's such a pleasure to see the outstanding results, both in terms of the photographs produced and the benefits received by all involved."

About Retail as Art:  Retail as Art is a 5013c organization.  All proceeds go to benefit the UCR “Retail as Art” Fund, which is organized and operated exclusively for educational and charitable purposes.

About United Commercial Realty:

Founded in 1988, UCR is a recognized leader in retail real estate services providing retailer representation, project leasing, investment sales and asset and property management. Today, UCR represents 228 local, regional and national retailers and manages and/or leases more than 39 million square feet of retail property, including power centers, grocery anchored centers, main street districts, lifestyle centers and mixed-use projects. The UCR Investment Sales team has executed over $3.5 billion in investment sales of retail property. Based in Dallas, UCR also has offices in Austin, Houston and San Antonio. The relationship with ChainLinks Retail Advisors allows UCR to deliver services throughout the nation. www.ucrrealty.com

In Photo: 2012 First Place Winner “Neiman Marcus” by Ally Hulsey, Booker T. Washington


ADDITIONAL HI-RES IMAGES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.