Stimulated by a world of ‘Sims’

STUDENTS at L.A.’s Otis College of Art and Design, San Francisco’s Academy of Art University and Parsons the New School for Design in New York are already hard at work creating art inspired by the videogame series “The Sims” for competitions and exhibitions at their schools.

The project, “The Sims: In the Hands of the Artist” -- sponsored by Electronic Arts, publisher of the “Sims” games, and Ford Motor Co. calls for students to create paintings, illustrations, sculptures, fashion designs, cinematography and interactive displays. Machinima -- animated films using the engine from the video game -- are also being sought. Each school will distribute $12,000 in prize money and present shows of selected works.

Parsons is up first with an April 19-May 12 exhibition, followed by the San Francisco institution’s June 26-July 19 show. The final exhibition will be July 14-Aug. 11 at Otis College’s Ben Maltz Gallery.

Said Meg Linton, director of the Otis gallery: “I think the whole reason for doing something like this is to really kind of let the creative minds have it; they are taking it in directions you can’t even imagine.”

-- Diane Haithman