Create + Connect is a free, community art vending machine permanently installed on the Robert Morris University campus. Artists affiliated with RMU submit their work through our online portal, and it gets printed into collectible trading cards — and sometimes stickers, business cards, and other fun extras — that are loaded into the machine.

The machine runs on custom 3D printed coins, so no real money is ever involved. The whole idea is to connect artists with the RMU community and give everyone a fun, low-pressure way to discover new creative talent.

Every use of the machine guarantees you a trading card featuring an RMU-affiliated artist’s work. The card always includes the artist’s name, piece title, and medium — and often social media handles, a QR code, a personal quote, and more.

Beyond the trading card, some artists include extra goodies in their slot: custom stickers, business cards, hand-written notes, doodles, fortune slips, and more. Every slot is a surprise — that’s half the fun!

Yes, completely free! The machine uses custom 3D printed coins provided on-site through a coin dispenser — no money needed. A built-in cooldown on the dispenser means you’ll need to wait a short period before receiving another coin, which just keeps things fair for everyone.

The machine is a permanent installation on the Robert Morris University campus in Moon Township, PA — it’s not going anywhere! Submissions are now open, and the machine will continue to be refilled with new artist submissions on an ongoing basis.

After that, the machine stays on campus and will continue to be refilled with new artist submissions on an ongoing basis.

Create + Connect was founded by Sara Heston, a graduating senior at Robert Morris University (Class of 2026, Experience Design). Sara currently handles all printing, loading, and maintenance herself, with plans to expand the team as the project grows.

The project is fully funded by the Academic Media Center (AMC), located on the fourth floor of the Nicholson Building on the RMU campus.

Coins are distributed through a 3D printed coin dispenser located near the machine. Use the dispenser to get your free coin — it works in any slot. A built-in cooldown means you’ll need to wait a short while before getting another one, which helps keep things fair for everyone.

Yes! But keep in mind that with limited slots, you’ll eventually start receiving duplicate cards. Rather than trying to collect every card at once, check out the poster at the machine listing all current artists, or browse them on our website and social media anytime.

If you’re hoping to get a specific artist’s goodies without repeated uses, reach out to us at create.connectvending@gmail.com and ask!

It’s all part of the fun! Pass it along to a friend, a classmate, or anyone you think would enjoy discovering that artist. Think of it like any collectible — the extras are worth sharing.

If you really want a specific artist’s extras (stickers, business cards, etc.) without repeated uses, email us at create.connectvending@gmail.com and ask!

We do our best to keep all slots stocked at all times. When an artist’s submission runs out, we contact them directly and give them the option to resubmit. The goal is for there to always be something in every slot — whether you use it on day one or month six.

Not broken — just new! The push mechanic on a brand new vending machine can feel stiff at first. With regular use it loosens up and becomes much easier. If you’re having genuine difficulty, reach out at create.connectvending@gmail.com and we’ll help.

Yes! The machine stands approximately 3.5 feet tall, with the coin slot and item retrieval within reach from a seated position. The push mechanic may be stiff on a new machine — if accessibility is a concern, please reach out at create.connectvending@gmail.com and we’ll make sure you get your card.

Every card front features the artist’s submitted artwork. The back always includes at minimum:

• Artist name
• Piece title
• Medium (what the original art is made from)

Artists may also add social media handles, a portfolio link, email address, QR code, a personal quote or fun fact, and a logo or photo. The more the artist shares, the easier it is to connect with them!

All Create + Connect trading cards are the standard trading card size: 2.5 × 3.5 inches. They’ll fit beautifully in standard card sleeves and binders — perfect for starting a collection!

The back of the card is your starting point — check for social media handles, a website, email, or QR code. If an artist hasn’t included contact info, that’s a deliberate choice on their part and should be respected.

You can also visit our Gallery Page (coming soon!) on this website to browse all current and past submissions, or follow our social media for artist spotlights and features.

Yes! We’re building a Gallery Page on this website where you’ll be able to browse all current and past submissions and learn about each artist — no coin required.

In the meantime, a poster at the machine lists all current artists and their info right on site.

Please do! Sharing your cards and goodies online helps artists get discovered and the whole community grow. Tag us on our soon-to-launch social media pages — the more sharing the better. Create + Connect is built for networking, and every post helps!

Anyone affiliated with Robert Morris University is welcome to submit:

• Current RMU students (all programs and years)
• RMU graduates and alumni
• Faculty members (adjunct and full-time)
• RMU employees
• Visiting scholars

We won’t ask you to verify your affiliation — but keeping the machine within the RMU community makes it easier to connect artists with their audience. We hope to expand beyond RMU in the future!

Submitting through the portal is completely free! Trading cards and business cards designed through the submission portal are printed at no cost to you — covered by the Academic Media Center.

The only costs are if you personally choose to include physical extras in your slot — your own handmade stickers, art prints, notes, etc. That’s entirely optional. We never want to pressure any artist into spending money to participate.

All submissions go through the online portal at createconnectvending.com — it’s the only accepted method, which ensures everything is properly formatted and print-ready.

The portal walks you through:

• Uploading and cropping your trading card front artwork
• Designing the back of your card (name, socials, QR code, etc.)
• Optionally designing a business card
• Describing any extra goodies you’d like to include

No design experience needed — the portal handles all the print formatting for you!

The portal accepts all standard image formats including JPG, PNG, WebP, and most common file types. For the best print quality, use an image at least 800 × 1100 pixels. The portal includes a built-in crop tool so you can adjust exactly how your image fits the card.

Very small images (under ~400px wide) may appear pixelated at card size. If you’re scanning traditional artwork, aim for at least 300 DPI at the full card dimensions.

Submissions are permanently open — there’s no ongoing deadline, and you can submit whenever inspiration strikes!

Submissions are open now and always — there’s no deadline, and you can submit whenever inspiration strikes! Rolling submissions are added to the machine as space allows, typically within one to two weeks of acceptance.

Yes! You can submit multiple different designs. However, to keep the machine fair, we’ll include a maximum of 2 varieties of your submission at any one time.

If you submit more than two versions, leave a note in the Extras section of the portal letting us know your favourite, and we’ll reach out to confirm how you’d like it presented. When your submissions run out of the machine, we’ll contact you to resubmit, update, or take a break — the machine will always be ready for you!

Expect approximately one to two weeks from submission to being loaded into the machine, depending on the volume of submissions at the time. As the project grows and processes become more streamlined, turnaround time will get faster!

Yes, with some caveats. Once your submission is printed and loaded alongside others, removing it is difficult — though possible for urgent reasons.

If you need to make changes before printing, go back to the portal and make your updates, then leave a note in the Extras section explaining what changed. You can also email us directly at create.connectvending@gmail.com for anything urgent.

We will almost never reject a submission — Create + Connect celebrates art in all its forms. The only submissions we may decline include unwarranted explicit nudity, graphic violence, content promoting drug use, or deliberately harmful/hateful material.

We deeply understand that art explores difficult truths. Our concern is simply that this is a public-facing platform open to everyone on campus. If your work makes a statement or explores challenging themes, we want to support your voice — we just ask that you consider whether this is the right context for it.

When in doubt, email us at create.connectvending@gmail.com before submitting — we’d love to talk it through with you.

It depends on how you’re using it. AI as a tool to support your creative process is completely fine — we actually used Claude AI as a tool ourselves when building this very submission portal! It helped us beta test and fix formatting issues, but it didn’t build it alone. That’s exactly the kind of use we’re okay with.

What we don’t accept is using a generative image tool like Midjourney, DALL-E, or Adobe Firefly to create an image and then submitting it as your artwork. If the core creative vision of your piece came from a text prompt rather than from you as an artist, it doesn’t belong in this machine.

Create + Connect is about real artists sharing real work to make real connections. Uploading a generated image isn’t art — it’s knowing how to type a prompt. This platform is meant to help you stand out and gain traction, and that means what’s in the machine has to actually be yours.

If you’re not sure whether your use of AI crosses the line, just reach out at create.connectvending@gmail.com before submitting.

If a submission looks plainly AI-generated, we’ll reach out to you directly — no bans, no strikes. We’ll explain the concern and give you the opportunity to resubmit with your own work.

Repeated attempts to upload AI-generated art after being contacted is a different story, and may result in your submissions no longer being accepted. But honestly, we’d rather just have a conversation first.

It’s not that we hate AI — it’s about what this platform is actually for. Create + Connect exists to connect real artists with the RMU community. When someone puts their card in the machine, people should be able to flip it over, find that artist online, and make a genuine connection with a real human who made something.

If the art was fully generated by a prompt, there’s no artist behind it in the way that matters here. This machine is meant to be a way for artists to stand out, gain traction, and build something — not a place to claim credit for work a machine produced.

We’re not anti-AI. We’re pro-artist.

All submissions are reviewed for copyright issues. Please only submit original work that you created and own the rights to. Work that directly copies or reproduces copyrighted characters, logos, or intellectual property is not accepted. Work inspired by or paying homage to existing art (without reproducing it) is evaluated case by case.

Unsure? Email us at create.connectvending@gmail.com before submitting.

Yes! All submissions are reviewed for spelling and grammar errors, color visibility issues (e.g. dark text on a dark background), plainly AI-generated imagery, and copyright concerns. If we spot something, we’ll reach out before printing so you have the chance to fix it. We want every card to look its best!

We’re currently setting up official social media pages where we’ll post artist spotlights, new submission announcements, machine updates, and behind-the-scenes content. Visit createconnectvending.com for the latest links, or email us at create.connectvending@gmail.com to be added to any mailing list once it launches!

Email: create.connectvending@gmail.com
Website: createconnectvending.com

We try to respond to all emails as quickly as possible. If your question is urgent (like a submission change before printing), mention that in your subject line!

Please let us know! Send a screenshot of the issue plus a description of what you were doing when it happened to create.connectvending@gmail.com. Include your browser, what step of the submission you were on, and what happened vs. what you expected. This helps us fix it quickly for everyone.

Absolutely — we’d love to grow the Create + Connect team! If you’re interested in helping with printing, logistics, social media, or anything else, reach out at create.connectvending@gmail.com and tell us how you’d like to be involved. As the project expands, so will the opportunities!

Reach out! No question is too small. If something isn’t covered here, we want to hear it — your question might even end up in a future version of this FAQ. Email us any time at create.connectvending@gmail.com and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.