The Benefits of Art Competitions
If you’re creating incredible artwork but struggling to gain exposure, art competitions are a fantastic opportunity for publicity. Not to mention the potential cash prizes involved, which can allow you to acquire an extra financial boost towards your creative endeavors. There are so many benefits to submitting your artwork to competitions––prestige and awards being compelling ones for sure. However, there’s so much more to participating in competitions, whether you win or not.
Art competitions are an excellent opportunity to grow as an artist and build a successful and fulfilling art career. Many competitions aim to inspire creatives worldwide to pursue a life and career in the arts and to help artists’ careers grow through funding and increased exposure of their work to galleries, collectors, and media, globally. There are competitions for artists of every skill level, style, and medium, from world-renowned fine arts contests and international competitions to small, local shows and inspiring digital art challenges. These opportunities provide artists of all backgrounds with significant exposure to a larger audience.
At TheArtList, it’s our goal to connect visual artists and photographers with the highest quality calls-for-entry and other outstanding art opportunities. Helping artists achieve their creative goals and dreams is what gets us up in the morning! Whether you’re an emerging artist or have long been involved in the art world, participating in art competitions provides opportunities on several levels. Keep reading to learn more.
The Benefits of Art Competitions
Building Confidence
Entering an art competition can be a strong start in proving to yourself that you can be serious about your work. It also shows that you are willing to put effort into your career and that you think your art deserves to be recognized more widely. Reaching this stage is crucial to developing your successful career as an artist.
Regularly entering art competitions is also a powerful way to fuel your passion and inspire yourself to improve your skillset continuously. The confidence artists can build in putting together a worthy entry is invaluable in the art world.
An Opportunity to Evaluate Your Work
Art students are often encouraged to enter art and design competitions. In addition to local, national, and international competitions, many schools and universities hold art competitions of their own so that students can showcase their work, learn how to present artwork on a professional level, and practice considering their art from an outside perspective. After graduation, however, many artists leave competitions behind. But, for the same reasons that art competitions are beneficial in school, participating in contests is also helpful to all professional artists.
When entering an art competition at any level, you’re forced to evaluate your work objectively––and self-reflection is critical in a fulfilling career in the art world.
Motivation & Inspiration
Joining an art competition can make you challenge yourself and inspire you to work harder; after all, you are your own best competition. In the race of delivering the very best piece to an art call, you may very well end up painting, drawing, shooting, or sculpting your most extraordinary work yet. Taking part in an art competition can also motivate you to step outside of your comfort zone and try something entirely new that you haven’t ever thought of doing before.
You’ll also have the opportunity to see what other artists are producing, which can help inspire you in your own work.
Greater Exposure & Networking Opportunities
When participating in an art competition, you may, quite literally, be walking into a world of opportunities. If your work is accepted, it will be displayed along with your name, title of work, and link to your website and social media pages. Contestants will have the opportunity to show their work to the general public, art lovers, and critics.
Some competitions may present you to elite judges that are industry insiders and experts. International competitions provide exposure for artists worldwide, in areas where they may not have an opportunity to be seen otherwise. Other calls-for-entry might hold promotional events, regularly post social media updates to their followers, send email newsletters to their network, and so on. And then, of course, there’s the actual event and the awards ceremony where the contestants are invited. These events are excellent opportunities to meet fellow creatives and expand your network.
Online art competitions and juried shows offer incredible opportunities for networking and gaining exposure as well. Contestants can get in touch with the judges for comments and critique, which can help artists improve their craft.
Building a Strong, Up-to-Date Portfolio
Maintaining an updated, professional portfolio is something that many creatives struggle with. However, entering a competition introduces you to specific goals and deadlines, which will help motivate you to have high-quality photos taken of your latest artwork.
Remember: as a professional artist, having an up-to-date portfolio is crucial. You never know when a great opportunity will arise on your artistic journey.
Being Published
Winners of art competitions are often published and featured in various publications, including magazines, newspapers, and online. At times, you may even be contacted by journalists for an interview. Seeing your work being shared on social media and featured in publications can give you a strong sense of satisfaction, accomplishment, and joy. You’ll also have the opportunity to make a name for yourself, promote your work, and connect with prospective buyers and galleries.
To capitalize on all of this publicity, make sure you have your own artist website to promote your work and grow your fanbase, especially if you’re hoping to establish a career in a creative field.
Final Thoughts
As you’re participating in art competitions, try not to focus on winning but to appreciate the value of what you achieved through each competition. Remember, if your work isn’t selected, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t remarkable or that you aren’t talented enough. Submissions can be rejected for many reasons that have nothing to do with your artistic skill or ability. The important thing is to keep going and get your work out there. Continue researching competitions and submitting your entries. And most of all, remember to be bold, be courageous, be curious, and create art. Whether or not you end up winning each contest, there is no better way to get to know your work and get involved in the art world than by staying active in the art community. Get your work out there! We believe in you!
At TheArtList, we’re passionate about helping artists thrive in their careers. In our Art Marketing 101 series, we’ll walk you through step-by-step how to make the best online portfolio to showcase your artwork and market your work and personal brand. Subscribe to our Artist & Photographer Mailing List so you won’t miss any upcoming blog posts. You’ll also receive our monthly newsletter showcasing our Artist of the Month contest winners and art calls delivered directly to your inbox!
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