Sega has partnered with iam8bit to celebrate Sonic the Hedgehog’s 35th anniversary with 35 Years of Speed: The Sonic Art Exhibit, a pair of gallery events showcasing original artwork.
The exhibition will debut during PAX West in Seattle before heading to Los Angeles later in September. More than 30 artists will contribute original pieces, alongside historical artwork from Sega’s archives.
The Seattle exhibition will run from September 4 through September 6 at 210 Gallery, while the Los Angeles event is scheduled for September 26 and 27 at ARK/8. Both galleries will be open daily from 11 AM to 7 PM.
Both companies also announced the Sonic Fan Art Showcase, letting fans worldwide submit original artwork. Selected entries will be featured in a digital showcase across Sega’s official website and social media channels, while a small number of submissions will also be displayed during the 35 Years of Speed exhibitions.
Submissions are open from July 8 at 9 AM PT through August 3 at 8:59 AM PT. Artwork will be judged equally on adherence to theme, creativity, execution, and visual impact, and artists from all regions are eligible to participate.
Artists should note that submitting artwork grants iam8bit a license to use entries for exhibition and promotional purposes. Under the submission agreement, Sega also receives a perpetual worldwide license to use, modify, reproduce, distribute, and create derivative works of submitted artwork, without compensation beyond artist credit, if the piece is selected for the exhibition. Entries must also be created without using generative AI tools.
The selection criteria are as follows:
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Theme Adherence (25%)
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Creativity & Originality (25%)
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Technique & Execution (25%)
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Visual & Emotional Impact (25%)
The full set of rules is as follows:
- No Compensation. You agree that you are providing your Submission voluntarily and without any expectation of or right to payment, royalties, creative credit, or other compensation or consideration of any kind.
- No Guarantee of Selection. iam8bit and Sega have sole discretion whether to include your Submission in the Show. If iam8bit and Sega do decide to include your Submission in the Show, iam8bit will notify you and give you an artist’s credit for your Submission.
- No Restrictions on iam8bit or Sega. iam8bit and Sega are free to use, disclose, reproduce, distribute, or otherwise exploit your Submission only as permitted under Section 6 below, without any obligation to you. iam8bit and Sega have no obligation to review, keep, acknowledge, or return any Submission.
- Right to Reject or Remove Submissions. iam8bit and Sega may reject, remove, discontinue, or stop using any Submission at any time, for any reason or no reason, without liability or obligation to you.
- No Impact on iam8bit’s or Sega’s Rights. iam8bit and Sega may already be independently developing, or may in the future develop, content, products, or ideas that are similar or identical to your Submission. You agree that you will not assert any claim against iam8bit or Sega (including claims of infringement, misappropriation, or unfair competition) arising out of any similarity between your Submission and iam8bit’s or Sega’s products, services, or creative works.
- Ownership. By making a Submission, you grant (a) iam8bit a limited, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, display, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, and modify the Submission solely in connection with the Show and the advertising, promotion, operation, documentation, and archival of the Show; and (b) Sega, and its affiliates, licensees, successors, assigns, designees, and service providers, an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, modify, reproduce, display, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, and create derivative works from the Submission in any form or media, without restriction or compensation to you. You acknowledge and agree that this Agreement does not grant you any ownership interest in or license to Sonic, Sega, or any other Sega intellectual property except as necessary to create and submit your Submission, and that, as between you and Sega, Sega retains all right, title, and interest in and to all such intellectual property and any related derivative works.
- Compliance with Law. You represent and warrant that your Submission does not infringe the intellectual property rights, privacy rights, publicity rights, or other rights of any third party, and does not violate any applicable law. Your Submission must not contain any material that is obscene, defamatory, hateful, harassing, threatening, unlawful, misleading, privacy-invasive, infringing, or otherwise inappropriate, as determined by iam8bit or Sega in their discretion.
- Publicity. You grant iam8bit and Sega the right to use your name, artist name, social media handle, likeness, biographical information, statements, and any credit information you provide in connection with the Show and the advertising, promotion, operation, documentation, and archival of the Show, without additional compensation or approval.
- Eligibility and Authority. You represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years old and have the full right, power, and authority to make the Submission and agree to these terms. If you are submitting on behalf of any other person or entity, you represent and warrant that you have authority to bind that person or entity to these terms.
- Indemnity. You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless iam8bit, Sega, and each of their respective affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, licensees, successors, and assigns from and against any claims, damages, liabilities, losses, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of or related to your Submission, your breach of these terms, or any allegation that your Submission infringes, misappropriates, or violates any third-party rights or applicable law.
- No Generative AI. You represent and warrant that you created your Submission without the use or assistance of any artificial intelligence (including without limitation generative artificial intelligence tools such as) Stable Diffusion, Flux, Dall-E, etc.
