There seems to be massive amount of confusion in people's minds about the difference between pre-selection, selection, shortlisting and winning. I can't see how most of this occurs, but I do my best to politely set them straight....
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| View of last year's Sunday Times Watercolour Competition at the Mall Galleries |
Given the claim was actually on a gallery website it might have been a gallerista who was exercising rather too few brain cells.
However I've certainly have come across artists who really haven't got a clue when it comes to the technical terms relating to art competitions.
The main difficulty seems to be understanding the difference between "selected" and "shortlisted".
So here is.....
A glossary of art competition descriptions for the confused
Pre-selected
You made it through the first (screening) stage and you are now officially on the long list.Typically this is associated with a digital pre-screening. Your digital image worked. You now need to get your artwork to where it is being judged in person.
Selected artist
Your artwork has now been selected for the Exhibition.Somehow or other we end up with a list of artists' names rather than a list of selected artworks. Hence why you are now referred to as a "selected artist"
This is the term most of the people who get into an exhibition SHOULD use.
Shortlisted
There is an official and announced shortlist for the prize. Your name is on it. You get invited to the announcement of the prizewinners which may or may not also include dinner! (Suddenly you realise you need a new frock or suit!)To qualify as a shortlist the list has to be short. If it's got 80 names on it it's not a shortlist - it's a list of selected artists!
A lot of prizes don't do this but some do (e.g. BP Portrait, Threadneedle).
Prizewinner
You won a prize. As in "A prize" not "THE prize". You get the smaller cheque.Winner
You won "THE prize"! The one the competition is named after. You can now officially feel faint, revise your CV and website to make a big thing about it and generally wonder how on earth that happened.
You also get a big cheque and the problem of what to do with it!
Links: Major UK Art Competitions in the UK in 2013
Links: Major UK Art Competitions in the UK in 2013
You need to add in First Place Winner, which is not the Winner, but the occupier of the first Place after the winner!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteActually - on that one I'd take issue with the organisers. It's absolutely and completely crackers having a top prize and a "first place" prize - each devalues the other.
ReplyDeleteI find this phenomenon only happens where people are trying to satisfy multiple sponsors. It doesn't happen when there's only one! :)
I went to a National Craft Exhibition recently, there were two prizes in each category...First Prize ( a medal ) and Second Prize ( a certificate ). In some of the categories only a Second Prize had been awarded....what are your feelings on that practice?
ReplyDeleteTotally 100% what I'd like to see more of.
ReplyDeleteFirst Prize shouldn't mean the best of what entered this year if it is to rank alongside First Prizes of previous years.
First Prize should mean a standard has been set and met.
Of course much easier if you're judging plants at the Chelsea Show than art in an art competition - but to my mind the principle is the same
However being able to identify, recognise and apply some sort of criteria about what First Class means suggests all judges should feel the same way - and have the same acute level of awareness of what does and what does not come up the mark.
I'm afraid on occasion I find the judges somewhat lacking in judgement....... but that's just my opinion. I guarantee somebody will feel the same way every year with respect to every open exhibition or art competition. Such is life!
Thank you for this post Katherine.
ReplyDeleteI have now updated my exhibition list to say "selected artist" rather than the clumsy phrase "Exhibiting artist in juried show." that I had used in my ignorance.