The C.G. Jung Society of Sarasota and Ringling College of Art and Design today announced the three winners of the INDEX (Industry Experience) competition to create the 2023-24 season design for the website and brochure of the society. The competition focused on creating a design to evoke interest in the Society and the work of Carl Jung that reflects the theme of emergence: from darkness into the light, the Phoenix rising from the ashes of fires of transformation, the transformation of base material to golden potential, and the emergence of the self from the ego. 

Ringling College’s INDEX program provides opportunities for students to gain industry experience with real clients prior to graduation, building their portfolios and client management skill sets. 

Student submissions were judged by the Board of Directors of the Society and the winning art will be used on the society’s website and seasonal printed material. 

• First place winner Junyi Chen ’24, Illustration, will receive a $1,500 cash prize.
• Second place winner Julia Zhu ’23, Illustration, will receive a $1,000 cash prize.
• Third place winner Sophia Bonaccorsi ’24, Motion Design, will receive a $500 cash prize.

Chen created a Phoenix-inspired design. “I genuinely enjoyed working on this project,” she said. “As someone who dreams every day, I was able to incorporate some of my dream themes into this piece, viewing the emergence of dark to light from a third-person perspective. In this painting, I depicted a phoenix breaking through the heavy clouds, carrying a star and leading countless souls to another bright sky. If a bird trapped in a cage symbolizes restriction and wisdom, the flying phoenix represents a spiritual liberation from the confines of the physical body, desiring to be filled with spirituality and experiencing the world from different perspectives without constraints.”

Carol Shore, art coordinator for the C G. Jung Society said, “It was inspiring to have 24 Ringling students participate in the Second Annual Image, Archetype and Humanities Art Award competition by The C. G. Jung Society of Sarasota. We value this opportunity to work with Ringling’s next generation of creatives and to introduce them to the work of Carl Jung. Jung was an accomplished artist in his own right and took seriously the need of humans to create. The award features a different theme each year, challenging students to investigate the archetypal images that guide life.”