There are a ton of calls for entries out there on this great big interwebs. Before you even read this, consider whether a entry-fee-bearing juried show is right for you (this is a post for another day, but give it thought in the mean time). If you decide you want to pursue these events, take a look at the shows you’re considering. Most of them are legitimate: i.e., they do what they promise to do. Some of them are worth your time. Others are legit but worthless, and some are just plain fraudulent.
Here are some guidelines to help you tell a worthless and/or fraudulent show from the worthwhile ones:
The Studio 414 photography contest is a great example to start with. I don’t know if this is true, but I hear tell that it is not a juried contest at all. No one gets the awards, but Studio 414 sure does collect all those $25 fees.
Now, I don’t know for certain if that is true. What I do know is this: It’s not really what it purports to be: a collection of curated photos that will bring you monetary prizes and notoriety. Here are the red flags that you should look for whenever you think about entering a show.
The site lists no contact timeline. Winners will be announced when?
There is zero mention of the jury panel. Who juries this? Is it the Studio 414 staff? A rotating panel of arts professionals?
Here is a biggy: Where do the photos go when they’re done? Nowhere. They don’t get displayed or hung. Maybe briefly on the contest’s site, but not in a gallery, not on a page devoted to the winners of the competition.
Here is the biggest biggy:Â There is a new competition every few weeks. Even disregarding all the suspicious things going on, a contest with this many deadlines a year will bring you no prestige.
The prizes? They’re weird. Sure, a camera sounds awesome, but that’s not what juried competitions typically give out. $500 for second place? In your dreams.
Now, I have entered plenty of legitimate competitions that had one or two of these qualities. But if it smells weird, it’s probably out to take your money. Again, just to be repetitive, this is the information that you want to see:
A defined timeline. They’d better not be pushing deadlines back. When will they be contacting winners? When will materials be returned? When can you expect to see your work on display? If the rules don’t hint at any of those, steer clear.
Jury bios. You want to see something like, “The Fancypants Annual Exhibition will be juried by Cat Rocketship, who has a degree in Awesome from Totally Rad U, and had curated exhibits at an amazing museum for 37 years.” One of the reasons you should choose a show is to get your work in front of a respectable curator.
Where the work will be displayed. Some shows are online-only, and that’s fine. But chosen works had better be on a big old page labeled THESE ARE THE WINNERS, HERE IS THEIR CONTACT INFO, PLEASE BUY THIS WORK for a determined amount of time. Even better if the actual pieces themselves are displayed at some far away gallery/storefront/underground tunnel. Why? Because the entire point of paying money to enter shows is to have other people see your work. Again, consider carefully whether this is the right choice for you to begin with.
Prizes: I have never seen one real competition who gave a way a non-cash prize. They best not be listing any cameras unless the competition is put on by Kodak.
A bonus factoid is a little history on the competition. How many years has it been running? How did it get its start? Who won last year?
Without most of the boxes checked, a show is just a ploy to get your money. They may as well be selling you a real estate seminar on an infomercial for all the good it’s doing your art.
There are so many juried competitions out there, and it can be hard to wade through them all. Everyone from individuals to galleries to arts publications puts them on, and no one entity can be ruled a good or a bad bet. Use these guidelines as a start to make sure you aren’t throwing money out the window.
