Monday, April 5, 2010

How to Choose a Right Juried Show


Ball Jar and Marbles, 9 x 12, oil on board selected for the Salon International exhibit

There are a lot of juried art shows out there. It's always frustrating to have your beautifully executed traditional painting rejected from a show and find that only 'avant garde' or abstracts were chosen. I like to minimize that chance by doing some research before entering a  show.

Lots of shows have the previous year's exhibit online. You can get an idea of the style of work that is accepted. Even when they change jurors each year they still usually stick with the same type of work. 

If the show isn't online, Google the name of the show and you should find artist's blog and websites that were accepted and perhaps won awards at the show. See what kind of work they do.

Being a representational painter, I also avoid shows where All Mediums are accepted. All mediums include fiber art, installation art, videos, etc. These shows usually only choose 'Cutting Edge'. Not right for me but it might be right for you.

Find out who the juror is. If they are the curator for a modern art museum and you do traditional work you may want to pass on that show. 

And my favorite way to find shows is to view a show online (like Salon International) and find the artists that do similar work to mine, look at their website or blog and see what other shows they enter. That can be time consuming but it's always pleasurable looking at good art.

Do you have any way that you like to choose shows?

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