The Art Institute of Charleston, a branch of the Art Institute of Atlanta and Americans for the Arts, the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, announce that entries for the 2012 poster design competition are now being accepted.

The Art Institute of Charleston will accept entries through Feb. 3.

This year's competition challenges high school seniors and high school graduates from the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico to design a poster that best expresses the competition's new theme "You Can Create Tomorrow." Contestants will compete in two different categories: (i) high school senior or (ii) high school graduate/adult.

The local winner in the high school senior category will earn a $3,000 scholarship and the local second place winner in the high school senior category will earn a $1,000 scholarship to the Art Institute of Charleston. The local first place winner in the high school graduate category will earn a $1,000 scholarship to the Art Institute of Charleston.

The local first place winners in each category will go on to compete in the national poster design competition. The national grand prize winner in the high school senior category will earn a full-tuition scholarship to an Art Institutes school.

The national grand prize winner in the high school graduate category will earn a $10,000 tuition scholarship to an Art Institutes school.

"We are inspired by the creativity that students exhibit in the artwork they create for this competition and believe that this scholarship competition helps some of our most talented students achieve their goals," said Rick Jerue, president of the Art Institute of Charleston.

Visit www.artinstitutes.edu/postercompetition or http://www.multivu.com/players/English/51393-art-institutes-poster-design-competition/

The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu) is a system of more than 45 educational institutions located throughout North America. The Art Institutes schools provide an important source for design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals. Several institutions included in The Art Institutes system are campuses of South University.

See aiprograms.info for program duration, tuition, fees, and other costs, median debt, federal salary data, alumni success and other important info.

Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America.

With offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City, it has a record of more than 50 years of service.

Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Additional information is available at www.AmericansForTheArts.org.