Here's my summary of where I think we are up to
- The Bad News: Art Competitions which no longer exist - and why that might be happening
- Big Question Mark: Art Competitions with a BIG query
- Good News: Art Competitions being held in 2020
PLUS
- Why art competitions are important
- TOP TIPS for art competitions (the ones that are left!)
 |
| The Threadneedle Prize Preview in 2016 |
What I find most sad is that both art competitions for figurative art seem to have disappeared at the same time.
BAD NEWS: Art Competitions which no longer exist
The following art competitions have definitely finished.
The Threadneedle Prize
The Columbia Threadneedle Prize - Figurative Art today (formerly known as The Threadneedle Prize) was a major art prize with a big money prize. Latterly the first prize also included a solo exhibition in the Threadneedle Space at the Mall Galleries.
- finished after running for a decade
- This was my blog post looking back - After The Threadneedle Prize + a recap of past winners and what happened next
 |
| The Threadneedle Prize in 2016 |
The National Open Art Competition
- closed in 2018
- no sign of a resurrection
- website indicates it's "postponed until further notice" - which is the phrase I always associate with "hope over experience" people who are reluctant to give up but have no reasonable expectation of anything changing.
Why's it happening?
At a guess:
- expenses exceed income
- sponsors disappear or die
- unsuccessful at securing new long term sponsorship
- merits of the exhibition no longer attract quality entries
- marketing has become more difficult and must involve quality social media marketing
- competition has become tired and needs to be reinvigorated
- the benefits vs costs equation no longer makes sense to the main sponsor
BIG ??? - Art Competitions with a query
 |
| Lynn Painter Stainers competition - back in 2014 |
Lynn Painter-Stainers
- The Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers records the history of the Prize - but says nothing about the future or the date of the next exhibition
- There's no website for the competition
- It's disappeared off the Parker Harris website - and I got no response to enquiries about it
I'm wondering if the Lynn Foundation have backed out and/or are in a state of suspended animation.
- Guy Parsons OBE who was CEO and a Trustee of the Lynn Foundation died in September 2019. He ran the charity after he set it up in 1985 for his client Mr Lynn, who invested millions of pounds into the cause.
- It's unclear how this art competition contributed to the main purpose of the Lynn Foundation - which primarily targeted the advancement of health or saving of lives.
I'd say this art competition is not happening this year. I'd say there's a very good chance it won't reappear unless another sponsor steps up......
BP Portrait Award
 |
| Aleah Chapin wins the BP Portrait Award 2012 |
In 2020 the BP Portrait Award 2020 will
- presumably continue to hang fewer portraits due to the more confined space - see Call for Entries: BP Portrait Award 2020 (Part 1)
- have a much shorter and earlier exhibition
- date of the exhibition in London has changed - to May and June.
- AND it's much shorter - just five weeks
- which will result in much less exposure for the artists and fewer visitors to the exhibition
Will there be a BP Portrait Award 2021?
Will it continue to be sponsored by BP? Given that the BP Sponsorship is attracting more and more criticism - including by one of the Judges in 2019.
GOOD NEWS: Art Competitions still running in 2020
These art competitions are still running in 2020
 |
| RA Summer Exhibition 2015 |
The RA Summer Exhibition
- The art competition most unlikely to ever give up!
- website https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/summer-exhibition-2020
- My posts:
John Moores Painting Prize
- This art competition is still running.
- website: https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/jmpp/john-moores-painting-prize
- See my recent blog post Call for Entries: £25,000 John Moores Painting Prize 2020 + NEW Prize
The Sunday Times Watercolour Competition
- This art competition is still running.
- The website https://www.sundaytimeswatercolour.org/ promises that the call for entries will be published soon.
- to be honest it needs a bit of a revamp (see Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2019 - Prizewinners & Exhibition). Was 2019 the turning point for this competition - which has been noticeably less impressive in recent times? We wait to find out.
Wildlife Artist of the Year 2020
- not quite the same art competition as under the late David Shepherd - but it's still around
- exhibition at the Mall Galleries 27th - 31st May 2020
Derwent Art Prize
 |
| Chrys Allen - the first winner of the Derwent Art Prize in 2013 |
- The Derwent Art Prize is still current
- This is my recent blog post Call for Entries - 5th Derwent Art Prize 2020
ING Discerning Eye
- no news about 2020 yet
- no reason to suppose it will not run as usual
- website not updated since 2019 exhibition
- still live on Parker Harris website
- https://thediscerningeye.artopps.co.uk/
The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize
- no news about 2020 yet
- no reason to suppose it will not run as usual
- website not updated since 2019 exhibition
- still live on Parker Harris website
- https://tbwdrawingprize.artopps.co.uk/
Why art competitions are important
- newbie artists - because they make them think about standards and processes relevant to an art competition - which can also help them with developing and selling their art generally. Shipping artwork to a client is not very different to shipping to an art competition - except your client will keep the packaging!
- emerging artists in terms of raising their profile and getting their work seen on a national stage and by art galleries and agents - often for the first time.
- improving artists wanting to develop their careers - in terms of demonstrating a track record of being consistently chosen for different art competitions
- established artists who need to remind people they exist and are still producing quality artwork - and occasionally test their metal! However there can be a downside. It's bad enough being turned down for an art competition when you're an aspiring artist. Think about what it must feel like if you have supposedly already made the grade!!
TOP TIPS for art competitions
My Making A Mark Page about Major Art Competitions has a round up of some tips previously posted on this blog.
TIPS for artists entering exhibitions
You may find these TIPS helpful
- 20 tips for entering art competitions - What do you need to know when thinking about entering an art competition? Here's 20 tips to help you.
- Juried art competitions - does size matter? - For those concerned about what size to paint
- Is there a guide for pricing art for competitions? in which I offer some practical advice for artists wanting to work out how to price their artwork when entering a competition.
- Pricing prints for the Summer Exhibition - looking at the arithmetic on gross and net profit if a print is priced at an affordable level
- Top tips for art competitions - a precis - I've written many blog posts about art competitions over the years. Here are links to some of them.
- All the mistakes you can make when submitting work to an art exhibition - a checklist of nightmare scenarios
- NOT selected by an art competition or open exhibition? - Have you had your artwork rejected by an art competition or an open exhibition? Did you wonder why? Did you vow never ever to enter another one - and then entered anyway after the Call for Entries was published?
- WARNING: "Not previously exhibited" - about why it's important to read and observe ALL the rules
- How to calculate the cost of entering a juried art exhibition - For those concerned about how the expenses can mount up
- Pre-selected, selected, long listed, shortlisted, prizewinner - what's in a phrase? - A discussion of the terminology used to describe artists at different stages of an art competition
- A Making A Mark Guide: Analysing the cost of entering a juried art exhibition - Download my FREE spreadsheet which acts as a checklist and helps you to cost out your entry
- The Websites of Contemporary Painters in the UK - Get your website sorted BEFORE you enter a juried art competition or miss out on the traffic when the names of selected artists are announced!
- VAT for non-UK artists and UK exhibition organisers - About the recent changes around VAT thresholds in the UK for artists living outside the UK.
- How to frame and hang your art - which includes a section on Framing for art competitions & open exhibitions
No comments:
Post a Comment
COMMENTS HAVE BEEN CLOSED AGAIN because of too much spam.
My blog posts are always posted to my Making A Mark Facebook Page and you can comment there if you wish.
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.