PUTNAM — The Putnam Business Association is already busy planning for the upcoming season of First Fridays. This year’s events will occur over six evenings: May 1, June 5, July 3, Aug. 7, Sept. 4, and Oct. 2, and will continue the tradition of live music, community art projects, engaging performances, and art vendors. 

The season-long theme is A Century of Art, with each month exploring a distinct period of art in the 20th century, including: Art Nouveau, The Jazz Age, World War II and the Arts, Pop Art, Urban Art, and Digital Art. With the 2015 theme as inspiration, there will also be a poster contest, allowing local artists to compete for the chance to submit the cover art for the 2015 First Fridays program. 

For 2015, the First Fridays committee is eager to engage local artists once again with the Second Annual First Fridays Poster Contest. For a second year, the winning artist will receive a cash prize and will see their work on the cover of the 2015 program. The contest will allow artists to be inspired by the 2015 theme, A Century of Art. Entrants are encouraged to use creativity to interpret and explore art of the 20th century to create an original work. All pieces must fit into a 16x20 poster frame portrait orientation and must be submitted by March 14. 

For more information on the 2015 season of First Fridays and for more on this year’s theme and poster contest, visit www.discoverputnam.com. 

Over the past four years, First Fridays has grown in size and recognition from a small outdoor art festival, to an award-winning seasonal event. In December of 2014, the Connecticut Economic Resource Center and Governor Malloy recognized the Putnam Business Association’s 2014 First Fridays events with a Celebrate Connecticut award. 

In 2014, First Fridays celebrated the different facets of cultural diversity with each monthly event. This year, First Fridays will focus on the evolution of art throughout the 20th century – a time of rapid change in the U.S. As technology transformed people’s everyday lives, the arts – music, dance, photography, and theater mirrored the leap forward taking place over the passing decades of the 1900s. Throughout the 2015 season of First Fridays, each event will be a journey back in time, viewing the past through six different periods of the 20th century. With each month, be on the lookout for theme related performances, community art projects, and art attacks.

Last year, the First Fridays committee held its First Annual Poster Contest, searching for original artwork to grace the cover of the 2014 event program. Fourteen artists submitted posters with the winning entry serving as the cover artwork for the program. At the July event, all 14 entries were part of a silent auction, with proceeds going to the Putnam Arts Council, the driving force behind the Art Attacks featured at each First Fridays.