(Sur)prizes

The reality of being an artist in Brisbane usually means struggling to make ends meet or working a day job and trying to make art on the weekends. Life is particularly hard if you're not represented by a gallery. Or a painter. Or making public art for fat cat corporations.

When the big art prizes come up, it can feel like entering the lotto. It's nice to daydream for a moment what it would actually be like to win one. That said, most administrators are reluctant to tell you exactly how many applications there were for fear of reducing future interest and prestige. It can be disheartening to know the odds. Feedback is an extraordinarily rare occurrence and fees can vary from the ridiculous to the sublime.

So how much importance is placed on the work, compared to the artist behind it?

Rarely is an individual work stronger than the reputation behind it. With most prizes, it's naturally going to help if you already have an existing profile, if you've had other work out there in the public eye or if you know the judges. Do we sound cynical? We are. Cynicism set in some years ago, on discovering that the judge of a major local art prize was sleeping with the recipient. But enough about that.

Art prizes are a great way to get your work in front of industry professionals. We should have more of them, with greater focus on supporting our local and emerging artists. In entering a prize, you're paying for exposure and that has value in it's own right. Prizes give artists the recognition and funds they often so desperately need. It just pays to do your research first. The Brisbane art scene is so small that industry incest is rife. One day, you may just find that the judge looks suspiciously like your first cousin ;)