World's Largest Art Prize Competition

[mwillustration]

hey all...
not sure if any of you have heard of this yet, but it's been a big deal in my town, since it's being held where i live.

http://ArtPrize.org

it's the largest art prize competition in the world with almost $500,000 worth of prizes available and is an international competition open to all mediums.

it has a unique set up, which might keep some from entering, but might interest some on this site.
the unique part is that it will be voted on by the public and each artist must host their piece in a "venue" located in Grand Rapids, MI. each artist must be there to set up and tear down though, which might keep some from entering in my opinion.

anyway, thought i'd throw it out there for any interested...

[mwillustration]

a breakdown of the monetary awards for those curious:

1st place: $250,000
2nd: $100,000
3rd: $50,000
4th: $7,000
5th: $7,000
6th: $7,000
7th: $7,000
8th: $7,000
9th: $7,000
10th: $7,000

[Brashen]

Then it's not really international now is it....

[TASmith]

This is what happens when moneyed interests get involved in the arts. The focus isn't so much to promote art as to promote the town. Say 1,000 artists make the trek to do this competition. 3 get large money sums. 7 get just enough cash to cover expenses and a bit left over. The other 990 artists get screwed. Imagine what they could do with that money if they put it in a local college, for art.

[mwillustration]

good points. the need to make the trek is really a downside to this that i didn't think about.
i think it is more about the town than about art in general unfortunately.
here are some of faq's if anyone's intereted: http://ArtPrize.org/faq

i probably won't enter myself, but thought i'd throw it out there if others were interested.
to me, these types of things usually go to more "fine art" type work anyway, but since it's voted on by the public, possibly a better chance for other types of work to get attention too.

[dbclemons]

I happened to come across their site this morning when the registration fee was $50, and it looks like they've now increased it to $100. There's also a line in the agreement that the venues themselves may charge additonal fees. Be sure and read all the fine print.

[mwillustration]

the $100 registration fee is if you want to be a venue, not for artists. for artists to enter it's $50. http://artprize.org/artist-apply

[dbclemons]

Sorry. My bad. I should follow my own "read the fine print" advice.