
Choosing the Right Art Contest to Showcase your Work
There are hundreds if not thousands of art competitions hosted annually across the globe. Some of the contests are held at local level while others are regional with some even allowing for submissions at an international level. To spice the deal, these competitions comes laden with an immense lot of categories for your consideration. There are drawing contests, painting, sculpting, and many more. You work will be evaluated by your peers, a jury or simply critiqued.
Before you enter
Due to the artistic variety in free art competitions out there, by the time you decide to enter, you need to put a lot of thought into it. This almost comes automatically for most people. No one really enjoys being put on the spotlight to be actively criticized by a bunch of strangers. The goal is to get the most out of the contest experience right from the moment you enter right to the end. For many people, it really does not matter whether they win or not as long as the experience adds some value to them. There are a few factors that you must keep in mind so that you select not only the best category for your art but also the right competition:
- Read the fine print
There are stipulations that you may not be listed in announcement and if noted in the announcement it is usually at the very bottom in small print. The fine print will highlight things such as how to submit your work, deadlines of the submission, who can submit work. You may not be able to submit work to a local competition in Ivory Coast while you are in Indiana. Reading the terms and conditions is always a good idea before taking any other step. It also protects you as an artist. There are some competitions that require you to surrender your rights to the work. Imagine working on a piece of art for two years only for someone else to claim it as their own because you did not see that tiny clause in the print.
- Follow instructions
This does not need much explanation. Aside from the overall competition instructions, categories have their specific requirements. If you are asked to use only one color, then it must be only that one color asked for otherwise you will get your work rejected. Due to the huge number of submissions in free art competitions, failure to follow instructions means the work you put in so much effort into is disqualified without a second thought.
- Who is judging your work?
To get your work viewed by curators, gallerists, artists, and editors who can impact your career positively then you need to ensure that you research the judges or jury members of the art competition. This will often give you an idea as to the kind of work you can submit.
- Free must be free
There are contests that claim to be free but then they come later and ask for royalties or a cut from whatever you make. Even worse, as abovementioned, some might ask you to surrender your rights. Art competitions that claim to be free must be simply that. Do not pay a dime.