Art Interview, an online magazine devoted to exclusive interviews with artists, curators, and art dealers offers an online competition four times a year open to artists working in all types of medium.
The competition is entirely digital; artists can submit up to three images for a fee of €25. Every three months a first, second and third prize winner are chosen by a jury of recently interviewed artists from the magazine. Cash prizes are awarded, up to €10,000 for first place, €5,000 for second and €2000 for third. The cash prize amounts are determined by the number of applicants for that particular quarter.
Most recently, the 20th International Online Competition winners were announced: photography by Nic Lyons, egg tempera paintings on linen by Xiao Guo Hui and inkjet prints by Thomas Spradling took first, second and third, respectively. The selections were made from 405 original works submitted by artists from 135 countries. Six honorable mentions are also chosen, and their work is on display on the Art Interview website.
The competition, and the publication of Art Interview Online Magazine began in 2004. The Editor, Brendan Davis, realized there was a keen interest among emerging artists to hear artists such as Alex Katz, Eric Fischl, El Anatsui, and Tom Otterness talk about how they began their career, who helped them along the way, what advise they might give to younger artists. The current issue of Art Interview features interviews of Richard Deacon, Claire Morgan, Andreas Kocks, James Grashow and Jonathan Delachaux. The magazine is based in Berlin, Germany and an annual subscription costs €5.
Davis describes the genesis of the magazine:
“When I was an art student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I spent most of my time focusing on my creative process. But I realized that I was learning very little about real world practices or how to build an art career. I also was frustrated by SAIC’s lack of art history from the 1980s onward. So, I began reaching out to established artists and asking them questions that were pertinent to building a career in the arts.”
“Several years later, when I was working on a commission in my studio, one of my assistants began asking me questions about how to build a career as an artist. It rang a bell in my head. I realized that this information was still needed, so I decided to commit part of my time to fill this gap and give something back. I began reaching out to my contemporaries in the art world, and rather than keeping the information to myself, I packaged it in the form of Art Interview Online Magazine and began sharing it with the entire world.”
The next competition deadline is September 30, 2010. A third biennial exhibition of past competition winners is in the works, and will include around 75 participants. A suitable location is being sought in Berlin for the exhibition and dates are still to be finalized.
print