Review: 163rd Annual Exhibition of Society of Women Artists (2024)

The 163rd Annual Exhibition of the Society of Women Artists opened at the Mall Galleries on Wednesday.

The Red Wall in the West Gallery

[UPDATE: This blog post has been updated since first published as the online exhibition is now online - see below for links.]

It's listed as the "163rd Annual Open Exhibition" because the Society

• started as the Society of Female Artists in 1855
• started holding Annual Exhibitions in London since 1857
• became the Society of Lady Artists in 1869
• became the Society of Women Artists in 1899

Their annual exhibition is an International Open Exhibition and invites submissions from women artists around the world. An annual exhibition has been held every year except for 1941 to 1946 - due to the Second World war and 2020-2021 when Online Exhibitions were held due to the global pandemic.

There's a very interesting page about its history on their website

The society has had many notable artists among its members. Dame Laura Knight, the first woman Royal Academician, was elected president in 1932 and retained that office until she retired in 1968 to become a Patron.[9] Illustrator Mabel Lucie Atwell and Suzanne Lucas,[10] past President of the Society of Botanical Artists and the first woman president of Royal Miniature Society (now known as Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers), were also members. Current members include Daphne Todd, the first female President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters from 1994–2000 and winner of the BP Portrait Award 2010, portraitist June Mendoza, and Philomena Davidson, first woman President of the Royal British Society of Sculptors (now known as Royal Society of Sculptors).

SWA Annual Exhibition 2024

View of the West Gallery

I arrived late to the exhibition as it was an extremely hot day and there was a lot of walking involved in travelling from the Bankside Gallery where I had been to the Opening Day of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers to the Mall Galleries where the SWA Exhibition is being held until 29th June

If travelling to London to see either exhibition, I recommend you take the time to see both exhibitions - but you've only got until Saturday 29th June to see the SWA. 

There are demonstrations every day. On tomorrow and Saturday these are:

• Tessa Jane - Exploring Fragments of Time | Friday 28th June AM
• Kristine Nason - Narratives in oil and cold wax | Friday 28th June PM
• Elizabeth Nast - Depicting the ordinary in the urban landscape | Saturday 29th June AM
• Cathy Read - Dynamic cityscapes | Saturday 29th June PM

Main observations on the exhibition

This is an exhibition which:

• attracts over 3,000 entries via the open entry
• selects a large number of works for hanging or display in the exhibition - across all three galleries of the Mall Galleries
• aims to achieve a 50:50 ratio in relation to
• artwork exhibited by members
• artwork selected from the open entry
• AND in the way the artwork is exhibited

All the above is admirable and has resulted in some impressive exhibitions in the past - but less so this year.

As always with my helpful critique hat on and plainspeaking mode switched on, this is what I found

• they had over 3,000 entries to this open exhibition
• [UPDATE: they selected 239 artworks from non-members - which is way more than most art societies exhibiting at the Mall Galleries select]
• they hung/show some 490 artworks in total - which to my mind is far too many for the space
• there was no catalogue available yesterday when they attracted hordes to the opening - which is a very great pity because 
• the exhibition is not online on either the Mall Galleries website or the SWA website and that means no scope for online sales. 

[UPDATE: The exhibition is now available online - if you look at the thumbnail view you can see the artworks which have sold online (but not what price they sold for). You can also see

• artworks by SWA Members
• artworks by non-members]

You can however also see what it looks like in my photographs of the exhibition on my MaM Facebook Page. However I cannot say who did what because I have had no reference when I wrote this post!

• SWA Annual Exhibition 2024 | West Gallery
• SWA Annual Exhibition 2024 | East and North Galleries

This is the list of ALL artists selected for the exhibition (both members and open entry artists). However unlike last year you cannot click their names to see their work online. I'm not sure why not - but think this change is a mistake.  [UPDATE: The selection on the call for entries site is on a different URL to that for the online exhibition]

Two excellent botanical artworks hung in the wrong space.
The one at the bottom is by Toni Dade who has just won her second RHS Gold Medal
and is currently exhibiting at the Saatchi Gallery

I have to say while I liked some of the artwork - and there's a lot which is good, I did not love the exhibition. 

• I think because this year there were just too many works which I'd have edited out (and they weren't just from the open entry). 
• I like the RA approach of "selected but not hung". By all means give yourself scope to hang as many as you need - but do not lose the big picture by hanging too many - including those which really should have been left out at the digital stage.

One benefit of the SWA approach to hanging is that they're not obliged to hang all submissions by members - which does give them some latitude. However I think they maybe need to be reviewing whether the notion that "a member's work should always be better than open entries" is a yardstick which might need to be exercised more in relation to selection.

I also observed

• lots of small artworks - which to me looked too crowded in the walls around where the tables and chairs are normally located. They were also hung much too high and much too low. If you cannot read the label easily, then you've got the hang wrong. When you select this many, you also need to very mindful of the space they need and allocate more space to allow people to READ THE LABELS EASILY! This was an issue which could have been neatly resolved by just taking more space for small artworks in the West Gallery.

one of the small works walls

• A very impactful red wall at the end of the West Gallery. However congregating all the artworks with red in one place did leave some of the other walls looking a tad  anaemic in places. Plus too much red in one space is quite hard on the eyes. Red draws the eye - but having lots of red has your eyes not knowing where to look next. I certainly didn't want to look at it for too long.

One of the walls featuring portraits and people in the North Gallery

I liked the fact paintings of groups were included
- there are far too few artists who can paint convincing groups
and these paintings by Anne Blankson Hemans were a great cultural statement

• the portrait / people section of the North Gallery impressed - a LOT. I particularly liked the diversity of styles and the imagination demonstrated by some artists in terms of how portraits and people can be painted. Hanging all the portraits together lends a coherence to the presentation and the impact of the artwork hung overall. I also saw  one very flowery wall and an animal corner. It's maybe worth thinking about whether the same approach might work for some landscapes and still lifes. If it was it was less evident.

One of the sculpture stands in the West Gallery

• as always, the exhibition includes a rich choice of scupture and 3D work done in various media. Some included subject matter on a female theme. However I was very impressed by some amazing bronze work by Jane Morgan ASWA

Strawberry Sunday by Jane Morgan
Bronze, painted in oils, lacquered

My recommendations for the next exhibition

I think my overall conclusion this year is that this exhibition "could do better" and indeed has in the past.

So I'm optimistic that, given I've delivered some critical comments in the past which led to an significant improvement, the following comments will be taken in a constructive way.

• don't have such a very SHORT exhibition - open for four days only is simply not worth the effort. This is not a "pop-up"! Exhibit every other year if you want to save money (as some now do) or find another venue for a smaller members only exhibition in the inbetween years if you want to maintain the "exhibits in London on an annual basis" record.
• do NOT omit the online version - most art societies exhibiting at the Mall Galleries are making sales before their exhibitions even open these days. 
• change your printer (and I'd very much suggest you do NOT pay the invoice for this year's catalogue - because non-delivery for a timed event is a major ****** and fails to fulfil the terms of the contract)
• focus on quality and curation. Try and be more discriminating and select fewer artworks - aim to hang/show no more than c. 400
• be much more discriminating about entries by members - some were very definitely not up to snuff - and it's not a nice task but sometimes members need to be told this. 
• stop hanging artwork too high or too low - it cannot be seen by visitors and the latter MUST BE ABLE TO READ THE LABELS or they will not sell
• nothing wrong with lots of small artworks - they tend to sell well if priced right - so allow these to have more space - at a reasonable eye level - to be seen and attract buyers
• consider having spaces clearly for landscapes or still life and see if you can achieve the same impact as is achieved for the area of portraits in the North Gallery
• if you want to hold annual exhibitions - particularly at the Mall Galleries which is not cheap - you MUST focus on the financials.
• Do encourage artwork in the affordable price ranges
• Provide guidance to artists about sale prices (I preach about this on a regular basis)
• Check high prices by size and calibre/background of the artist - you have some very good artists exhibiting - but not all are.
• Do NOT accept artwork with silly prices and no evidence that this had been achieved by this artist in the past
• ALWAYS hang quality artwork in quality places - so it gets noticed!
• be aware of the walls which are NOT normally used for hanging!!
  
  

REFERENCE

See my blog posts below for more about past exhibitions

• Review: 162nd Annual Exhibition of Society of Women Artists (2023)
• Society of Women Artists - Online Annual Exhibition 2021
• Review: Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2019
• Review: Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2018
• VIDEO Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2017 - which highlights pieces which caught my attention
• Review: Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2017 - which highlights changes made to the exhibition
• Review: Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2016
• Review - Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2015

Review: NEAC Annual Exhibition 2024

This review is rather later and shorter than I would have hoped for. However the Private View for the Annual Exhibition 2024 of the New English Art Club (NEAC) last Wednesday evening was the evening before my annual RHS Botanical Art Show Marathon started - from which I've still not surfaced. But I am having a break!

I arrived at the Mall Galleries just before 6pm and managed to get in and race around to get photos of the exhibition before the hordes arrived. Twenty minutes later the place was full!! By the time we got to the opening speeches and the awards the West Gallery was packed and standing room only overflowed to the messanine level - from where I took this photo (below)

Gyles Brandreth delivering an excellent speech to open the exhibition

I've uploaded the photos to albums attached to my Making A Mark Facebook page and you can see them there:

• NEAC Annual Exhibition East Gallery
• NEAC Annual Exhibition 2024 - North Gallery
• NEAC Annual Exhibition 2024: West Gallery

You can also see it online on the Mall Galleries website - and even buy artwork online!

This is also an exhibition which is timed to coincide with the opening of the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. If you're coming up to London to see the latter, then it's very easy to walk down to the Mall and visit the NEAC exhibition too. They make a very good pair of exhibitions to see in one day.

However this one finishes at 5pm on Saturday 22nd June.

The exhibition is open daily from 10am to 5pm until 22 Jun 2024.The Mall, London SW1. 

Admission £5, Free for Friends of Mall Galleries, Friends of the NEAC, and under 25s.
Concessions available. See the Mall Galleries website for full details.

East Gallery from the stairs

The clash with my Botanical Art Marathon with the RHS Gold Winners meant that I haven't had time to go back and see the exhibition again, which I often do when the exhibition is very crowded at the PV. Simply because there is no space to stand back and look at the artwork and no time to reflect on which pieces keep calling to you. So another look when it's much quieter is usually very helpful - but that hasn't happened this year.

Which makes this a difficult review to write.

I did however note one thing while at the PV - and that was how many people I was used to seeing were not there. The whole demographic of people attending the PV has changed quite radically from what it has been for many years. I learned later that the PV was clashing with the service/memorial for June Mendoza (who died recently) and that might well account for a lot of the faces which were missing.

However it did serve to remind me that I've been coming to these exhibitions on a regular basis for nearly 20 years since I took early retirement. I'm now a lot older than I was when I started and I've written more than a few memorial pieces for artists who have died in the last few years.

The PV felt to me as if there was a bit of a sea change was in the offing. The art looked a bit different and the people looked a bit different.

• So far as the art was concerned, it's more because art I'm very used to seeing is simply not there any more (eg due to the passing of artists like Ken Howard, Tom Coates, Bob Brown) - and yet I was overjoyed to see 3 artworks by 104 year old Diane Armfield in the North Gallery. I love her drawings of sheep!

Three artworks by Diana Armfield RA HNEAC PS

• So far as the people are concerned, I saw a lot of younger artists receiving awards - which is good and augurs well for the future

You can see the artwork which won the Prizes and Awards for 2024 on the NEAC website. They chose a number of the artworks which kept catching my eye as I walked around.

There are 409 artworks in the exhibition:

• I saw some large imposing paintings - including one by the new President Patrick Cullen
• I also saw a lot of much smaller paintings - and both members and non-members seem to have adjusted to the fact that we are not out of the woods yet in terms of the economy and making art more affordable is a good idea. At least those who gave their artwork more affordable artworks did - as these were the ones which were selling

If you go through the online view of the exhibition you can see the prices of artwork which has sold. 

• There are still more than a few artists who have not yet adjusted to the new economic climate. 
• If they're selling at those prices at their own galleries, then good luck to them. 
• If they're not, then I recommend they study the sale prices.

I'll finish with a few artworks which caught my eye.

I'll start with a painting of a still life / interior which I've never ever seen before - and yet the inside of a tidy organised fridge makes an excellent subject for this really effective painting by Bernadette Timko. You never know it might become a meme! This absolutely bounced off the wall as I eyeballed it and submerged everything near it. That might because I'm a bit of a foodie and I do like a well organised fridge - but I think it might be to do with very good painting!

Fridge Still Life
BERNADETT TIMKO
Oil on board, 34x32cm (36x34cm framed)
£800 SOLD

On the subject of food, I was very pleased to see Felicity House had two more of her excellent compilation paintings associated with making a meal.

179 - Kitchen Composite and 177 - Cashel Blue & Pears
FELICITY HOUSE NEAC PS
Both: Pastel, 37x52cm (48x63cm framed) Both: £850

I was, as always, very taken with the egg tempera landscape paintings of Ruth Stage - particularly the one at the bottom which had the most persuasive clear warm water.

349 - Boating Central Park and 350 - Clear Waters
RUTH STAGE NEAC
Both: Egg tempera, 45x60cm (49x64cm framed)
Both: £1,900

I really liked this next painting a lot. It reminded me very much of the project which Michael Landy undertook to draw all the weeds seen on the streets of London. His etchings are now preserved as the Nourishment (series), 2002-3 in the archive of Tate Britain. I've visited to see them in person and they are amazing. I very much think he's also got scope for a series here.

295 - Not Forgotten
AIDAN POTTS
Watercolour, 51x36cm (62x47cm framed)
£1,500

James Crittendon had a standout work among some excellent monochrome drawings and fine art prints in the North Gallery. 

104 - Old Olive Tree 2

JAMES CRITTENDEN PS

Etching and drypoint, 71x50cm (86x64cm framed)

£595

I very much recommend that those who prefer drawings and prints to paintings make time to linger long in the North Gallery.

Prints in the North Gallery

Lest we forget: Karin Jurick

There's just a few artists who are highlighted in my calendar - to remember the anniversary of their death. Karin Jurick is one such.

Karin Jurick died three years ago on the 16th June 2021 age 60.  It was a very big shock - we'd known each other for about 14 years and I still miss her.

While we were not close friends - she lived in Georgia in the US and I live in London - she was very much a blogging chum. She and I started blogging more or less at the same time. I followed her and she followed me and we built our followings together. We were both fans of each other's blogs and we conversed via email from time to time - when time allowed! Like very many people all over the world I used to follow all her blog posts and paintings - particularly those of artists with paintings in galleries - which you can still see on her blog.

She was also a regular featured artist in my annual Making A Mark Awards (see below) - as I adored her paintings of people with paintings.

I can do no better than refer you to the blog post I wrote back in June after I found out about her death About Karin Jurick (d. 2021)

These are links to Karin Jurick and her artwork

• https://karinjurick.blogspot.com/
• https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/atlanta/name/karin-jurick-obituary?id=20696548
• https://www.invaluable.com/artist/jurick-karin-pe3a96j8r6/sold-at-auction-prices/
• https://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/karin-jurick-1074

Contemporary British Portrait Painters - Biennial Exhibition 2024

Anybody who is 

• EITHER aspiring to either become a contemporary portrait painter 
• OR wanting to commission a contemporary portrait from one of the leading portrait painters in the UK 

would do well to visit the latest exhibition of the artist collective known as the Contemporary British Portrait Painters.

Most of the artists in the CBPP 2024 exhibition

Their biennial exhibition is currently being held - until 15th June 2024 - downstairs at The Department Store, 248 Ferndale Road, Brixton SW9 8FR.  

The 2024 Exhibition by Contemporary British Portrait Painters
is at The Department Store in Brixton

I highly recommend a visit as it's one of the best exhibitions about contemporary portraiture that I've seen of late.

• it has a young fresh "contemporary" feel to it
• none of the portraits resemble "a stuffed shirt"
• the paintings are hung extremely well (curated by a team led by Lucy Stopford). I got to the point where I became very much focused on how easy it was to "read a wall" and started to admire the thought which had gone into the design and how they were hung on each wall
• there's a LOT of excellent portrait paintings - in various styles and media and approaches - and in various sizes.

One of the walls

Another wall - with an underlying palette

You can see nearly 40 of the photos I took at the Private View on Friday night on my Making A Mark Facebook Page in this album Contemporary British Portrait Painters Exhibition 2024.

The Private View was also an excellent event. It was very relaxed and great fun!

• I don't think I've ever seen quite so many artists talking to one another about being a portrait artist! 
• It's very clear that this is a collective with a really strong sense of community - with a lot of people making active contributions to its wellbeing.

Altogether - a very energising event and exhibition both in terms of the portraiture and the people.

About the British Contemporary Portrait Painters

Small contemporary portrait paintings - includes paintings by
(top left) Ian Goldsmith (Founder)
(top right) Lucy Stopford (Curator)

This independent artist collective was founded in 2018 by Ian Goldsmith. It 

• aims to represent the best in contemporary British portraiture and 
• encourage its practitioners to find their voice and tell their portrait story.

I think it is also aiming to redefine what portraiture is about and what it looks like - in today's society.

Membership is by invitation only. 

Current members include:

• past winners of the BP Portrait Award eg Miriam Escofet, Susanne du Toit - and lots selected for past exhibitions of (what I'm now calling) The Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery
• past winners of the Portrait Artist of the Year competition eg Duncan Shoosmith, Curtis Holder, Wendy Barratt - and others who did well in the competition

Past Winners of Portrait Artist of the Year

(left to right) 2017: Samira Addo; 2018: Duncan Shoosmith; 2020: 

Curtis Holder; 2023: Morag Caister; 2024: Wendy Barratt

• leading members - as in past Presidents and current Officers etc - of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters eg Alastair Adams, Simon Davis 
• people who led the portrait painting 'charge' during the Pandemic eg Tom Croft
• plus other artists recognised as leading exponents of contemporary portrait painting

For me, the people below include a lot of artists whose names I know well and/or artists I've met before at various exhibitions.

Artists in the 2024 Exhibition by the Contemporary British Portrait Painters

There's a few people I'd suggest also need to be invited, but other than that the only gap in what they are promoting and displaying are those who draw rather than paint - except they have got Curtis Holder! 

Maybe time for a rethink of the emphasis on painting as opposed to portrait artists?

REFERENCE

• Website https://www.thecbpp.org/
• Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/cbpp.org/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecbpp

If you'd like to subscribe to this blog, there's a link to how to do in the side column on the right.

How to subscribe to "Making A Mark" - and get an email in your inbox

Would you like to get an email to your inbox every time a post is published on Making A Mark?

Earlier this year, I wrote about how the changes in the rules by Google regarding bulk emails sent by gmail were going to have a major impact on my blogging. I speculated at the time about giving up blogging altogether - as I originally built my audience entirely via the RSS feed.

See ALERT ALL SUBSCRIBERS: Blogging Service may be interrupted OR subscription mailing service changed

To cut a long story short since I only use gmail and have done for the last two decades, I wasn't about to give up on my very reliable, very efficient gmail service.

Instead:

• I gave up on Mailerlite which said I could no longer use a gmail address for my RSS Feed to Email sent to subscriber inboxes.
• I also continued to post regularly to my Making A Mark Facebook Page when a post was published - and all the conversations which used to take place in comments now take place there.
• ...and looked around for alternative arrangements - and was absolutely horrified at the prices being charged for people with as many subscribers as I have!

In the end I've settled on using Follow.it - which is not perfect. Mainly because it's got adverts which I dislike intensely but I have no choice about these for a free service. I may well upgrade - but this in part depends on how many subscribers I get. Believe me offering a subscription service does not come cheap for the more sophisticated versions!

However Follow.It works - and that's the main thing.

• I'm using it for my botanical art and artists website news blog - and have had no reports of any problems.
• it's been set up in the side column of this blog for a few days - and it seems as if people are starting to subscribing without any prompting and without any problems

So if you want to subscribe - or even resubscribe - to Making A Mark can I suggest you complete the form below (or the one in the side column to the right). 

What you have to do to subscribe follows....

Shortlist for The Portrait Award 2024

The Portrait Award 2024 at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG)in London received 1,647 entries from 62 countries.  

This is the latest 'edition' of this very prestigious art competition's history at the NPG which dates back to 1980. During that time it has had over 40,000 entries from more than 100 countries and the exhibition has been seen by over 6 million people.

That said, having looked back at some of my previous posts (a number of which have focused on the numbers) there have been fewer entries this year. However, I think that's hardly surprising for an art competition attempting a relaunch with a new name after a three year break (due to the three year refurbishment of the NPG)!

Given the length of time since the last Portrait Award, this post covers:

• What is The Portrait Award? - a brief history plus a reference to past sponsors, past and past winners and their commissions
• The Portrait Awards 2024 - for the latest version of this very popular and prestigious portrait competition
• The Shortlisted Artists - who they are and what the shortlisted portraits look like
• The Judges - and how these have changed over the years....
• The Exhibition - dates and access and future blog posts!

The Portrait Award 2024: Shortlisted Portraits
- see more below

What is "The Portrait Award"?

If you're wondering exactly which competition this is it's important to know that the sponsorship has changed.

It is now called, as from 2023/24 "The Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award" i.e. the sponsorship changed to being an international law firm. (see my post NEW! Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award 2024 REPLACES BP Portrait Award (November 21, 2023)

Previous Sponsors

The award has had three sponsors to date:

• Imperial Tobacco (1980-82) - this was a competition which was set up with the specific aim of encouraging more young painters to take up portraiture. 
• The 1982 winner was Humphrey Ocean
• John Player & Sons (1983-89) - all entrants had to be under 40 and the entries had to be painted in oils or acrylic from life. 
• Winners during this era included Alison Watt OBE FRSE RSA and Tai-Shan Schierenberg
• BP (1990-2020) - the under 40 age group requirement was dropped in 2007. Winners included: James Lloyd, Stuart Pearson Wright, Benjamin Sullivan and Miriam Escofet
• after which the NPG was closed for three years for substantial refurbishment - reopening last summer.

which I covered in Winners of the National Portrait Gallery's Portrait Award + Commissions (January 17th 2023) which LISTS:

• ALL the artists who have ever won the Portrait Award organised by the National Portrait Gallery in London
• PLUS a link to ALL the commissions offered as part of their First Prize.
  

Each of these might be regarded as seeking to improve both brand recognition and reputation by sponsoring prestigious art institutions and awards. It's a fact of life everywhere you go. However, the nature of the sponsorship triggered lots of protests in latter years - including the refusal of prizes.

From my practical perspective, "short and snappy" is a requirement for the title of a competition which is referenced a lot.  (eg Australia has "The Archibald"). I cannot even remember all the names of the new sponsor (I kid you not!), let alone which order they come in so, as previously indicated, I am just going to call it "The Portrait Award" or "The Herbert". 

The Portrait Awards 2024

The new Portraits Awards are reduced by one - there is now no third prize:

• First Prize: £35,000 The prizewinning portrait will need to be retained by the Gallery for up to six months after the tour of the exhibition so that it can be displayed at the National Portrait Gallery (please note this is at the Gallery’s discretion). 
• Second Prize: £12,000 Third Prize: £10,000 
• Young Artist Award: £9,000 All selected artists aged between 18 and 30 will automatically be considered for both the Young Artist Award and the Portrait Award, but an individual cannot win both.  
• To be eligible for the Young Artist Award, artists must be 30 years of age or under as of 1 January 2023.

The Shortlisted Artists

The major change this year - with the new Portrait Award - is that only three artists have been shortlisted. 

Hitherto it has always been four - for the First, Second and Third places and the Young Artist Award - but it appears that the Third Prize has been ditched. Also no sign of a Travel Award...

Three artists have been shortlisted for the prestigious Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award 2024.

• Zizi (2023) by Isabella Watling
• Jacqueline with Still Life (2020) by Antony Williams
• Lying (2020) by Catherine Chambers

So we have:

• two women and one man
• two are in their early 30s and one is in his 50s (my guess - since their ages have unusually not been listed)
• one very large painting and two paintings of a very similar size
• two portraits painted in 2020 - possibly for the last exhibition - which never happened?
• one Portrait Award stalwart, one by an artist who has been selected before and one by an artist selected for the first time.

I'm going to use my standard profile analysis for the information below - which I think other artists find helpful in seeing who gets selected