One of the things that makes Worldcon unique is that it is an event run by its members for its members. It is always so wonderful to see members of the fan community share their passions with each other. One way to do this is to enter one of our competitions. If you’re creative, artistic, or good at sharing interesting ideas with others, do consider entering. It’s a great way to become more involved with Worldcon! All longlisted entries will be showcased as Displays at the convention.

Maciej Matuszewski at Worldcon 75 in Helsinki, Finland in 2017.

Academic Posters
There has been a long running dialogue between academia and Science Fiction. Many of our favourite stories rely on ideas that come fresh from the pages of research journals, and many an academic was inspired to take up their career by the work of writers such as Le Guin or Clarke. Worldcon has always had a space for researchers to share their latest work, and the academic poster competition is a long running part of this. This year we are expanding the competition to two categories – one for STEM subjects, and one for Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities. We are looking for posters from anyone who considers themselves to be studying or working in an academic field and you are invited to select the which category of the competition best fits your work. We welcome any A0 size poster designs, as long as they explain your research to a general audience. We will put up your poster for the whole of the convention and you will be invited to be at your poster from noon to 14:00 on Saturday 17 August to answer questions from members and judges.

Proposals are welcome from presenters at any point in their career. All submitted posters will be considered for display, but students and post- doctoral researchers will be eligible to enter their submissions into the formal competition. Each category will have a €100 prize for the poster that best communicates its subject to the public. The deadline for submitting your initial abstract and title is July 1st.

Torc Waterfall by Stanisław Ludwiński
Creative Commons License BY-SA 3.0

Fantastical Ireland Photo Competition
Throughout the years countless SF creators and fans have been influenced by Ireland. A picture is worth a thousand words, so what better way to celebrate this than by entering our photo competition. Just send us your favourite pictures that have a connection with mythology, speculative fiction or just inspire you. Submit a favourite photograph from long ago, or a picture you’ve taken specially for this competition. Images may either be taken in Ireland, or be related to Ireland. Landscapes, portraits, and staged scenes are all welcome. The winning entries will be showcased in convention publications and at the Closing Ceremony.

The deadline, June 3rd, is fast approaching, so get your entries in soon.

Rocket Building Competition
Rockets and starships have long been staples of Science Fiction, but have you ever wanted to make your own spaceship? Get ready to enter our great Worldcon model competition! Create a model rocket or spacecraft from your own imagination or let yourself be inspired by any known universe (Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, The Expanse, Aliens etc). There will be separate categories for under eighteens and over eighteens; and separate categories for those choosing to make LEGO models and those making models from scratch. In the latter category, entrants are encouraged to show their creativity in using recycled materials.

You will have until the start of the convention to finish your rocket. We will release a form for you to register your interest and book your place soon.

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For more information about the competitions, including rules and instructions on how to enter, visit https://dublin2019.com/get-involved/competitions. For general competitions enquiries, email displays@dublin2019.com

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A community art project can be a fun way for lots of people to create something together. In today’s blog post, I’d like to introduce you to a couple of projects that were part of past Worldcons, and give you a preview of what we’re preparing for Dublin. We have already started, and you can help!

Loncon 3 – Pigeons!
To promote Loncon 3’s Exhibits, many people made or photographed felt pigeons, following a design from Serena Culfeather. These often-elaborate creations travelled the globe, starred on a dedicated Pinterest page, were distributed on postcards at LoneStarCon 3, and had their own Eastercon workshop. In the Exhibits hall itself, they flocked to the feet of the Wizard of the Pigeons (whose author was one of the convention’s Guests of Honour).

Worldcon 75 in Helsinki – Hyperbolic Crochet

Helsinki in 2017 was my first Worldcon. I ended up volunteering for the Craft Corner, and managed to turn my fascination with hyperbolic crochet into a community project. I ran into hyperbolic crochet via the Institute for Figuring, which is responsible for the Crochet Coral Reef. My first impression of a community art project was taking part in the effort to create the UK Reef. From there it wasn’t that much of a leap to start and run something in Helsinki. Doing that turned out to be the fastest way to find and get to know all the crafters around. If you’re interested in the nitty gritty details of what goes into running a project like this, here’s a writeup of my experience.

We had loads of fun making pretty things as you can see here:

Dublin 2019 – The Raksura Colony Tree

I had enough fun in Helsinki that I wanted to do something similar for Dublin. The basic idea has been inspired by quite a few influences, with the hyperbolic crochet coral reef probably being the most important one. How about building something fantastic instead of a fantastic underwater world? I hugely enjoyed Martha Wells‘ Books of the Raksura, and one part of that enjoyment was its worldbuilding. A whole village living inside a giant tree that has platforms with all sorts of life growing on its branches? What an opportunity to show off all the myriad ways you can create organic forms using yarn and thread, with possibilities to contribute for everyone! And this time, I want us to get a head start.

I’ve already started making things as part of a proof of concept and as examples for the kind of things we’re looking for. The Raksura Colony Tree is a blog dedicated to coordinating and documenting this project, with lots of ideas. There’s also a Ravelry Group, if that’s more your speed. So, if you want to help to make this project really impressive, grab your favourite crafting tools and some yarn and get to work!

At Worldcon itself, the community art project will be located in the Warehouse at Point Square, right next to the Art Show. We’re planning a series of workshops for making more things for the model as well as for putting things together. Ideally, we’ll have something to show from Day 1, with things getting better and better as the con goes on.

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