THE ART IN MOTION Competition
What is IT?
The Art In Motion (AIM) Competition is an annual competition dedicated to art that moves. This can include domino builds, chain reaction machines, a mixture, or any sort of kinetic art form.
Teams of builders come together to create never-seen-before kinetic art builds in a single space that are executed and then judged.
Why?
We hope AIM will supplement, expand, and grow the domino, chain reaction and related art forms over current opportunities, by:
Encouraging innovation, creativity and a high level of quality
Drawing in more builders and artists
Building a dedicated audience and encourage new sources of funding
GOALS
Create a self-sustaining competition format for domino artists, chain reaction artists, and other kinetic artists
Grow in sophistication and scope to resemble something like the World of Wearable Art competition
But most important: Create beautiful, awe-inspiring works of art that captivate audiences and add beauty to our world
Competition Format
Teams of three persons
Hoping for 6 teams for the first competition
Each team will have a 24-foot (7.32) long by 17-foot wide (5.18m) build space
Build space is sized to comfortably fit 6 builds inside a regulation basketball court with 5 feet buffer between the build and the audience, and 6 feet buffer between builds
Build space may be larger for future competitions
The build floor will be hardwood, with a Marley Floor covering
Everything in the build must either move or support motion in some way
At least 95% of the materials by both count and eight must be unmodified, re-usable materials
For example, domino stones, K’Nex pieces, ping-pong balls, etc.
32 hours of build time over a 4 day period: 8+10+10+4
Teams can bring their own materials and tools, or use the “house materials”
Builds must be uniquely created for the competition
Builds are judged across four dimensions:
Narrative / Story / Artistic Vision
Design (e.g. layout, colors, composition, form)
Build Difficulty
Execution (e.g. does it move like it’s supposed to)
STATUS
NOTE: AIM is currently a concept under development.
IN PROGRESS:
Find venue & determine dates for first competition
Tentative:
Date: March 19-22, 2026
Location: Park School - Baltimore, Maryland
Map location: Click Here
Create budget - Venue, PR, insurance, prizes, judges stipend, AV, ticket sales, merchandise
Create web site, rules & team sign-up form
NEXT:
Find public relations & marketing lead, create marketing budget & plan
Identify grant opportunities and apply where possible
Maryland Arts Council, STEM/STEAM
Gather the "AIM Launch Team”