The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 49 No 2 July 2010

Ceramics Competitions
Why enter a ceramics
competition?
Ed itor Vicki Grima posed this question to a few ceramic artists who have been
known to enter a competition or two. Here are their answers;
Stephen Benwell
Entering art competitions is a vital part of
being an artist. Exhibiting may not be the initial
reason for beg inning the work but it is the
natural end to the process. Exhibiting work as
often as possible gives a sense of wellbeing to
an artist.
Entering a competition has the potential for
disappointment at being rejected or elation at
being accepted. It becomes a roller coaster of
emotions. If selected. the experience will confirm
the direction we have taken, or, if not selected,
then it may prompt us to criticise our own work.
Application skills for entering competitions
need to be honed. Each time that a disk, an
entry form and the usual fee are sent off,
something has been achieved.
The opening night of a competition is a time
to connect w ith the community of ceramic artists
and receive the occasional compliment, all of
which is good for pressing on with the solitary
life of the studio.
Merran Esson
It's great to win an award. It gives one a
well deserved pat on the back, and if you are
searching for part-time work or a new gallery,
then awards carry some credibility. If you are
struggling financially, then the money is a
bonus. The other reasons include exhibition
opportunities, possibly a cata logue (you need
good images), exposure for new work, peer
review and to be part of a specific judge's
curatorial placement of your work. For emerging
artists it is a good opportunity to get some
work 'out there ' and to start to have your work
recognised by the public. Of course there are the
many rejections that can come too. My advice
is to always make sure you have good images.
It's important to remember that most awards are
selected from images.
John Mawhinney
The greatest benefit in entering a ceramic
competition is that it allows you to see how your
work stands up against the work of your peers; it
can validate your practice and is a cost effective
method of presenting your work to a larger
international audience.
With the acceptance of digital images for
inclusion in competition exhibitions and relatively
inexpensive entry fees it is easy to benefit from
the numerous opportunities that ceramics
competitions can offer. Having my work in high
profile competitions has led to approaches from
galleries to show my work and to articles being
written in ceramics journals.
Being accepted into competitions looks good
on your CV and is beneficial when applying for
grants or employment. It's also good for the ego,
if only for a little while. It is important to enter
competitions with the thought that 'it's only a
competition' and 'not w inning' doesn't mean
you and your works are not va lid. Best of all, if
you are fortunate to win there are substantial
prize monies.
Avital Sheffer
Confronting, unpredictable, t ime consuming
and costly, with miniscule odds of ever winning
anything - often frustrating, why enter then?
Outside the embrace of a hosting gallery or
the protective wings of a sympathetic cura tor,
attempting an art competition is a brave act of
THE 10URNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS IULY 2010 63