To All Organisers Of Fine Art Competitions As Well As Opened Upwardly Exhibitions

I've been writing close fine art competitions in addition to opened upwardly exhibitions for over 7 years.  During that fourth dimension I've learned a few things close what I demand to know in addition to what organisers demand to provide if the input in addition to the output are to mesh efficiently in addition to effectively.

Everything that follows is based on items I have got to enquire for fourth dimension in addition to fourth dimension i time to a greater extent than and/or issues which have got an unhappy habit of recurring.  

Some of the data needed for those wanting to encompass exhibitions is non routinely provided - although I have got withal to come upwardly across an fine art contest or opened upwardly exhibition which wouldn't bask to a greater extent than publicity.

Rather a lot of artists also promise that getting their fine art into a juried exhibition agency that this volition also get upwardly their profile.  It's non an unreasonable expectation in addition to y'all tin aid them do this.

So - here's the checklist for how to increase your chances of getting goodness coverage for your fine art contest or opened upwardly exhibition - in addition to the artists who participate inwards them.

There's a lot already done that is goodness - in addition to I do desire to emphasise I acquire a lot of aid from around PR people - but there's also quite a lot of orbit for improvement.  Below I'm sharing the goodness practices which I know be - in addition to a few tips of my own!

How to acquire an fine art contest or opened upwardly exhibition publicised on the Internet  

• Appoint somebody to think close how best to publicise the fine art contest / opened upwardly exhibition.  
• Make certain they empathise what marketing involves - in addition to specifically what's involved inwards advertisement in addition to populace relations
• Do delight brand certain they aren't just i of "the commons suspects" inwards an fine art guild who volunteer for everything irrespective of their competence to fulfil the role.  
• Being able to come upwardly up amongst a prissy thought for a flyer does NOT brand y'all whatsoever form of marketing expert.  Nor does having fourth dimension available to aid out.
• Clear images for publicity upfront. 
• Ensure all artists entering move empathise in addition to direct keep that their move tin live used for publicity inwards association amongst the exhibition - inwards impress or online.
• Make certain the entry shape also acts equally clearance for usage of images.
• Think earlier y'all spend. 
• Before ANY coin is spent on impress adverts, flyers or marketing, think close how much publicity y'all tin generate for gratis amongst a niggling effort.  
• It's absolutely pointless - in addition to wasteful - to pass coin on adverts which nobody reads.  
• People read editorial to a greater extent than than adverts - thence move out how to acquire your data into the correct magazines / blogs / websites past times the relevant deadlines FOR FREE!!!
• Be Proactive
• Reach out to those who tin aid y'all in addition to enquire whether they tin aid good inwards advance of the timetable of cardinal dates relating to announcements
• Make life slow for those who tin aid you.  
• Keep upwardly to engagement mailing lists of people who demand to live kept advised of what is happening / invited to previews
• Find out the form of deadlines they move to for re-create close an exhibition
• Don't brand people enquire for information. Provide an outline of what data can/will live provided in addition to the dates it volition live available - in addition to how to sign upwardly to live kept updated.
• Have a press loose available when the contest / opened upwardly exhibition is announced.  Make certain this includes:
• a summary of how to come inwards PLUS a link to a website which provides all the details
• where in addition to when the exhibition takes place
• Name in addition to electronic mail address in addition to telephone number of a contact for farther information
• Images which are released for publication.  At this phase these are typically going to live from final year's prizewinners.
• Publish a listing of selected artists.  
• Make certain that the listing tin live transferred into impress or spider web re-create easily.  The listing needs to live inwards a suitable format for many unlike websites (tables are mostly a bad thought because of the embedded code) in addition to for existence downloaded (pdf copy). Nobody is inwards the to the lowest degree fighting interested inwards why y'all demand to give-up the ghost on a file on Excel thence y'all tin rail entries etc. This is re-create for marketing non administration. 
• Upload the listing to a website associated amongst the competition/exhibition
• Every creative somebody wants to live able to boast they've been selected for a juried exhibition. Make it slow for them to boast in addition to send traffic to your website past times sending them a URL of where their shout out is thence they tin reference this to local press, their galleries etc.
• Tempt people amongst images from this years' entries. 
• Provide images cleared for publicity associated amongst this year's entries 
• Show people what they tin come across if they see the exhibition
• For all data provided afterward the initial 'call for entries', do NOT provide images from final year's winners. (What does that achieve? They're non going to live on present in addition to if the lawsuit has a one-half decent website, it should already include images from final year's show!)
• Publish a press loose of the shortlist of artworks in addition to artists selected for a major prize.
• Make certain that the listing tin live transferred into impress or spider web re-create easily.
• Upload the listing to a website associated amongst the competition/exhibition
• Enable access to interviews amongst the shortlisted artists
• Prime shortlisted artists on what questions mightiness live asked thence they tin brand the most of the interview in addition to also ensure it's effective for those doing the interviewing
• a synopsis close shortlisted artists is e'er useful
• Ensure images of a suitable size in addition to resolution are available for publicity purposes
• Ensure images are suitable for impress publication (minimum 300 dpi) in addition to publication on the meshing (72 dpi) in addition to a reasonable size
• Learn how to usage Dropbox or similar facility for making large images available without sending them past times email
• Hold a press preview
• Previews for other purposes are a bad fourth dimension for press previews - you're mixing ii unlike sets of people amongst unlike needs.
• Starting a preview 24-hour interval early on amongst a special timed slot for press solely tin brand all the departure betwixt getting goodness early on coverage in addition to not.  (The National Portrait Gallery press squad excel at getting it correct inwards this respect.)
• Publish a listing of awardwinners - in addition to press release
• The listing of awardwinners tin live released inwards advance of official announcements - using an embargo equally to engagement in addition to fourth dimension of publication.  Typically this occurs inwards relation to less prestigious prizes.
• Embargos rely on trust. Always pass upwardly to render whatsoever data to whatsoever journalists or publications or websites which interruption embargos. (I've seen it hand off in addition to have got arrived at presentations to state organisers that the word of who has won was already on Twitter!)
• The press releases which acquire read are those written past times people who have got been trained inwards how to write them.

Here's how my FREE Making H5N1 Mark Guide on how to write a Press Release - The fine art of writing a press release - in addition to an extract below

I’ve never ever had whatsoever work remembering how to write in addition to distribute a Press Release since the 24-hour interval I received a really ‘to the point’ briefing from the City Editor of a prominent paper who has since gone on to move for international newspapers in addition to win a prize for concern journalism. Each day,this human was sent a minor mount of Press releases. He explained exactly what he looked for inwards a Press Release in addition to how best to live his morn ritual of culling the weak ones – which he conducted standing over his rubbish bin.

The firstly lesson he taught was that if y'all haven't got a peachy championship ‐ which tells him what it's all close – addition a punchy concise claw for the firstly ii to iii lines thence he just didn't waste materials his valuable fourth dimension reading whatsoever farther ‐ in addition to the Press Release would drift downward towards the bin.

He worked purely on the footing that if y'all can't live bothered to innovate your cloth properly thence he can't live bothered to read it. He’s non solitary inwards adopting this view. 

• Do brand certain Press Releases include all the necessary information! 
• I cannot state y'all the number of times I have press releases which neglect to include adequate or whatsoever data close where the exhibition is existence held!
• Just because y'all know where the venue is, don't assume others do likewise - render an address amongst a post code in addition to nearest populace transport.
• Be precise amongst dates in addition to times
• Be precise equally to whether an lawsuit is a full general preview or a press preview.
• Stage presentations thence that photographs tin live taken
• Photos are needed past times contest organisers for side past times side yr (!); press for coverage of a contest or exhibition in addition to artists for their career cloth in addition to websites.
• Stage presentations thence these are non existence made amongst backs to cameras
• Make certain presenter in addition to those receiving prizes plow in addition to hold back for photographs - in addition to shout out back it's non just your squad taking photos!

Interviews are conducted on video
equally good equally on sound in addition to handwritten
(click the movie to come across a larger version)

• Make certain prizewinners are available for interview
• It's a goodness thought to brief prospective prizewinners close how to handgrip interviews if these are likely. Some artists are improve than others at treatment questions inwards front end of a microphone or a video photographic boob tube camera (see Aleah Chapin Winner BP Portrait Award 2012)
• make video interviews amongst artists available via the exhibition website
• If nobody is at that topographic point to interview prizewinners acquire dorsum to the firstly of this listing in addition to start again.......
• Consider including images of selected entries on a website
• These days people are used to seeing images online. People also purchase fine art from an online image. Current expectations are that whatsoever decent gallery volition organise a virtual online version of the exhibition equally good equally the i which tin live seen inwards a gallery
• Make certain all images are properly annotated amongst title, shout out of artist, media used in addition to size of work.  The latter is especially of import for a website.
• Don't brand people acquire through every icon to notice just i (such a timewaster!).  Try in addition to have got an index for images using the surname of the creative somebody - which links to a listing of selected artists.  (i.e. click the artist's shout out in addition to come across their work!)
• Don't forget to highlight the prizewinners!  This validates an artist's claims that they won a prize.
• Update your website regularly in addition to inwards a timely fashion
• I've lost count of the number of times I've been unable to reference an exhibition on a relevant website because at that topographic point was no novel page for the exhibition I'd just seen.
• Make certain the somebody updating the website advises y'all on how long they demand to do this - in addition to that they acquire the cloth they demand inwards goodness time.  Websites tin live updated inwards stages.  Pages tin live created inwards advance in addition to published on a specific day.
• Make certain at that topographic point is a suitably prominent in addition to highlighted link to the novel exhibition on your abode page! Time in addition to fourth dimension i time to a greater extent than I've searched inwards vain for whatsoever reference to an annual exhibition on an fine art society's website.  It's getting an awful lot improve than it used to live - but around fine art societies "could do better".

Your  turn

Any other suggestions for how y'all think those running fine art competitions in addition to juried opened upwardly exhibitions tin improve arrangements for artists?

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