General Notes About Art Competitions

By Tim Slowinski

In my years of operating and managing galleries, I have organized many art competitions. Occasionally, I have received a phone call from a disgruntled artist who asks questions in an irritated manner about the competition. The artist may ask: "How many people enter this competition?" or, "Is this a rip off, how much money do you make?" In a case like this the artist is generally rude and belligerent, yet voices a valid concern. What the question really boils down to is this "What is an art competition, and why should I enter."

An art competition is basically two things. First it is a way for a gallery to gain exposure to a broad range of new artists and to mount an exhibition of the highest quality from the works submitted. Second it is a way for the gallery to raise operational funds from the entry fees. The competition is commonly used as a fund raiser primarily by nonprofit and artist run galleries. In an era of tight budgets and limited public funding, the competition is a lifesaver for many art institutions.

Most gallery owners are not making large profits from art competitions. The expense of operating an art gallery is very high. In my experience, the cost of promotion and exhibition for each competition consurnes up to 70% of all revenues brought in by entry fees. The monies remaining may be given as awards, or reinvested into the gallery and eventually consumed by gallery operational costs.

While it is true that the majority of artists who enter the competition will not be accepted to exhibit, this is no reason for artists to feel cheated if they are among those not chosen. The entry fee is not just a fee, but in fact a donation which contributes to the continuing existence of the gallery. It supports an exhibition space that will exhibit the works of countless artists who otherwise may never have the opportunity to show their works to the public.

Of course with any human endeavor there are exceptions to the rule. There are unscrupulous individuals who operate competitions purely as a profit making venture. These individuals do not have the best interest of the artist at heart, but use artists as a vehicle for self enrichment. To them the art competition is in fact, "a scam". Since your entry fee makes a contribution to the gallery's operational budget, you must decide whether or not the competition you enter is run by an organization worthy of your support. This is not difficult and can be determined by a simple phone call to the gallery. I suggest the following formula in deciding whether or not to enter a gallery competition:

1. The competition you enter should be held either by an artist owned, alternative exhibition space, an artist run co-operative, or a non for profit organization.
2. Do not enter competitions run by privately owned for-profit galleries.
3. Do not enter competitions run by galleries that rent linear feet of wall space to artists or that charge the artist exhibition fees if accepted to exhibit. An exception can be made here in the case of artist owned and co-operative galleries that require fees to cover operational expenses of mounting exhibitions.
4. Do not enter competitions run by organizations that do not own and operate a gallery, but only rent a space specifically for the purpose of showing the competition winners. Such shows may be mounted in warehouses or places where no one will ever see them.
5. Be wary of competitions, particularly privately run competitions, that offer very large cash awards. These awards are generally used to lure artists into entering the competition and in the end are not awarded as cash, but as phony services with a pseudo cash value of the prize amount.

Mainly, keep in mind that as artists we have all designated a part of our lives to the enrichment of human culture. In this sense we are all working together. To make a contribution to a gallery competition that enables some artists to show their works is a noble and worthwhile cause. However, we must remain aware that the nature of the capitalist society in which we live is one that encourages exploitation. While artists should participate in activities that are helpful to one another, we must remain wary of those who would use artists to help only themselves at our expense.

Finally, when entering a competition follow the prospectus carefully. Do not try to bend the rules. If the entry guidelines say send only four slides, send only four. Sending extra slides is not looked on favorably by the jurors. If there is a fee for a minimum number of slides and a charge for additional slides, send only the minimum - or at the most a few extra. Some artists spend a lot of money to send whole sheets of slides thinking that this will increase their chances - in fact this has the opposite effect. Also - the initial weeding out phase of any competition is done with a light box, not a projector. Make sure that your slides are well taken and easy to read when viewed in this manner.

Please Visit the Limner Gallery at www.slowart.com or e-mail Tim Slowinski at slowart@aol.com