Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize Q&A with Conrad Carvalho and Lucy O’Meara
With the deadline for Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize on the 31st of January fast approaching, MADE IN BED made sure to listen closely to the AEAP team’s Q&A session earlier this week. Read on to find out more on the application process, the prize and what the judges will be looking for as answered this past Wednesday by the Panel Chairman, Conrad Carvalho, and the Marketing Director, Lucy O’Meara.
Key recommendations regarding the application process:
Apply as early as you can! The team checks every entry and will email you if there are any problems to resolve. No changes can be made after the deadline.
Three things the judges are looking for:
1. Interesting and relevant themes.
2. Skill with your medium and thrive to further develop your skills.
3. Emerging artist status and future potential.
Make an effort to annotate your artwork! As there are so many applications received for the prize, the judges are unable to dedicate extensive time to understanding each individual work. By including bullet points and descriptions in the artwork commentary sections for each work favourably helps in the judging process and gives clues and guidance to the judges to understand your work better.
Can you be creative with your artist statement?
As much as judges like to read the statements, there are certain things they are looking for:
1. Statements have to be succinct and contain less than 250 words. They don’t necessarily have to be written as a full text, they can be in the form of bullet points or notes.
2. Mentioning key personal facts are recommended, especially where you are from and whether or not you are a self-taught artist.
3. However, make sure that this text revolves more around your artwork rather than around you. It should educate and guide the reader in appreciating your art.
4. Avoid complicated art historical terms unless they are really relevant to your work. (See Tabish Khan on art speak and how to avoid it here)
5. The clearer the statement the stronger it appears to the judges.
While being creative about your work is of a great advantage on social media as means of self-promotion, being creative is not useful for this submission-type of artist statement. It needs to be informative and has to guide the viewer to what to look for and think about.
Would you encourage different theme submissions or keep it to one theme?
Different theme submissions are welcomed and encouraged. There is a greater chance that something may end up catching the judges’ eye if you submit a more diverse selection of work.
Do you have to have an art education to be able to apply for Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize?
AEAP does not assess artists on their school and educational background. Moreover, while most prizes seem to be focused on art graduates, AEAP accepts a great variety of individuals from art professionals, to career changers and people who currently view art as a hobby. The important thing is to be able to show dedication and will to learn, develop your skill and grow as an artist.
Is it advantageous to have already been chosen for other prizes or opportunities?
If you have won a significant prize and your artistic career is rapidly gaining success, this will be considered and AEAP may not decide you are “emerging” enough; you may have already been “discovered”. Ashurst’s prize wants to have a meaningful impact on the careers of artists that need it, and some of you are already very good at developing your career.
How important are artwork titles?
Titles are important, and giving a work a title or not has its own interpretations! Applicants must title their works to complete the entry form, even if it’s a code or generic (e.g. “Untitled No4”) just to help when mentioning and referencing the work.
Why is there a charge for artworks which have not been selected?
AEAP is not just a prize, but also a platform that promotes everyone that enters and offers artists necessary media exposure to be recognised by gallery directors, collectors and potential dealers. They also offer great career development talks and content aimed at helping artists future prospects in the artworld. Furthermore, AEAP offers a number of great discounts, such as 20% from Cass Art, and believes these to be of greater value than the supplementary fee paid for works that are not accepted. Finally, the prize is run by real people, and there are staff members answering your queries and emails, writing comments on social media, creating content to support your careers, installing and curating exhibitions and much more.
Since there are numerous opportunities available for artists to choose from, including some that are free, artists are encouraged to thoroughly assess the worthiness of paying entry fees for each opportunity. AEAP team recommends you to look carefully at what is being offered, at the trustworthiness of each opportunity, at judges, at social media audiences, and most importantly, if you fit with them before selecting.
Have any artists that have won the prize gone on to have a successful career?
Over the 7 years that the prize has been running, it has not been a long-enough period of time for artists to find fame. However, one of the prominent examples is the 2018 Prize Winner, Stephen Doyle, whose works have been exhibited in China, in the museum in Ireland and other destinations around the world. One of the Ashurst’s short-listed artists was represented by a dealer at PAD London, LAPADA and London Art Fair. He now has six dealers and six galleries representing his work around the UK and has numerous projects globally. Other short-listed artists have gone on to win other major prizes, including BP Portrait Award for painting, attracted invitations to exhibit at Saatchi Gallery in London as well as internationally and have come to achieve a great success.
What should new artists be focusing on if they want to make art as their career?
Social media is extremely important to the development of artists’ careers, especially today where it’s never been easier to self-represent. Building a following and a brand online is a great way of getting attention from gallery directors and dealers, and worth the long-term investment of your time and effort. It is recommended not to chase art world professionals, but allow them to discover you by building a strong social network presence. It is equally important to always develop your practice, engage with “viewers”, and work on your skill.
To listen to the full Q&A please visit @theartprize on Instagram
Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize deadline is midnight on the 31st of January! Apply by filling in the entry form here!
We wish all applicants the best of luck!
Valerie Gridneva
Head of Emerging Artists, MADE IN BED