Best Juried Art Shows are everywhere and beneficial to aspiring and professional artists. Learn how to find art shows, apply for them, and win some of the top art contests

BY KAZAD

For many young art graduates, the first step into the professional art scene is through juried art shows. These shows are integral to a successful art career of many young and aspiring artists because of the amazing benefits they provide. In addition to exposure, juried art shows also provide opportunities for emerging artists to meet curators and gallery owners.  Interestingly, many aspiring artists do not understand the concept of juried art shows or what it takes to participate and win.  Therefore, the first place to start is answering the most fundamental question of all:

What are Juried Art Shows?

Juried art shows are art exhibitions featuring artworks by artists selected by a jury or judges. Jurors and judges mostly come from the art profession. They include artists, curators, gallery owners, collectors, and other knowledgeable members of the art profession. They are selected by the organizers of the show and sponsoring organizations to pick the best artworks and winners for a juried art contest. A general understanding is that participants in a jury show must be worthy to be part of juried exhibitions.

There are many juried art shows open to emerging artists every year.  These art contests set thousands of artists competing against each other to win coveted prizes.  Although there are many art competitions, a lot of artists go for the top fine art shows first.  The enormous financial benefits and exposure are factors that drive many artists towards these prestigious art contests.

Competition for these top exhibitions is fierce and only the best make it.  Preparations for these juried art competitions begin months in advance.  While expectations are high, many artists do not get into the top shows. As back up, they enter smaller shows with less financial benefit and exposure. Evidently, entering a juried art show is a stressful endeavor that costs time and money. Many of them require entry fees, and artists have to spend money to prepare materials to make their entries look good to the judges.

With the increasing number of juried art competitions, young artists are often overwhelmed and confused about where to start.  An important tip is to start by look for a juried art show near you. Here are a few states and cities with juried art shows

• California
• Arizona
• Atlanta GA
• Alabama
• Los Angeles
• Arkansas
• Boston
• DC
• Maryland
• Dallas

Juried Art Shows Near Me

When you are looking for a juried show to enter, it is better to start by looking for juried art shows near you. States across America have juried art shows for emerging and established artists. These art competitions are organized by art organizations and art groups with the objective of encouraging painters, sculptors, ceramists, and textile designers to show their creativity.  Every year, they put out a call for artists to enter their art contests. There are also juried art shows for photographers, crafters, and students. Depending on your interest and what you are looking for, the best way to start looking for a juried art exhibition is to search for juried art shows near you.  Here are a few examples of what you might find:

Online Juried Art Shows

Yes, there are Online juried art shows available to artists interested in online art shows. In fact, there are services that make it easy to enter for online juried shows.  One of them is online juried shows.   The site has a compilation of online art contests for artists, photographers, sculptors, and other art professionals.   Until recently, many artists preferred to have their works showed in the physical space. However, that has changed because of the coronavirus. Juried shows online have become more popular since the pandemic began. To avoid the spread of the coronavirus, organizers of juried art competitions are putting art contest winners’ artworks on display online. So, instead of going the White Cube to see their works, artists get to see their works online and share the sites with friends, families, and patrons.  

How to Get into a Juried Art Show

How do I get accepted to a juried show? This is one question I have been asked repeatedly. This is a valid question. Many young art graduates and emerging art professionals think it is easy to enter a juried art show. For this group, entering juried art shows is as simple as taking pictures of their artworks and submitting them. Well, that is not the case. In fact, to put it mildly, it is the recipe for failure.

So much work goes into the preparation for a juried art competition that some people start preparing months in advance. Perhaps the most important aspect of the preparation is how to make your work look professional in front of the jurors.  If you already have a body of work you are proud of you are one step into the game. Here are a few tips you must seriously consider if you are serious about getting into a juried art show.

Juried Art Show Rules

Juried art shows have rules that everyone entering the art competition must obey. Sadly, many artists do not read the rules. The consequences are that they get disqualified or miss out on rules that could have enhanced their chances to win.  Many young artists are particularly guilty of not reading the rules because of all the excitements that come with entering their works for an art competition. Our advice is for everyone to read Juried art show rules before sending in their entries.

Juried Art Application

It is not shocking that many artists do not properly fill out the applications for juried shows before sending in their submissions. It is important to provide all the necessary information so that your entry is rejected by the organizers of the event. Artists should pay attention to the questions and provide adequate answers. Some art competitions indicate the important information necessary for entries while some do not. Clearly, it is the artist’s responsibility to send complete information.

Describing Your Artwork

An important aspect of the juried art show application is artists describing their work. Many emerging artists and even professionals do not know how to describe or write about their artworks. Those who are still struggling or learning how to describe their works should read exhibition brochures or art auction catalogs. These materials are written by professionals and have amazing examples of how to write and describe artworks. 

It goes without saying that artists entering juried art shows must thoughtfully write and describe each work they are submitting. Using strong descriptive language will definitely help. Additionally, each description must include dimensions, medium, and unique aspects that can make a difference to the jury.   

Evidently, the requirements for juried art shows are different. However, it is important to follow the directions given by show organizers. While some want three art images, others require five. Some art contests require extensive artist’s biography, while others are more interested in your artworks. The important thing is to read the juried show rules and follow the requirements set forth in the rules. Yes, including filling out the application.

Juried Art Services

Many years ago, artists interested in entering juried art show have to submit slides. To select winners, jurors will assemble the slides in carousels and project images of artworks onto a big screen.  A major disadvantage was that jurors have to be at the same location to view entries and select winners. However, times have changed. The internet and development in technology have made entering art competitions very easy. These days, to enter for a juried art show, all artists have to do is to register on some websites and they may upload images of their artworks. Yes, it is for a fee.

Two of the notable websites that provide services for juried shows are Zapplication and JuriedArtServices. Once artists create free accounts, they can upload and create a database of digital images they can use to apply to various shows. It is pertinent for artists to familiarize themselves with the workings of these sites, including pricing and acceptable image formats. Also, artists should take the time to read the “Frequently Asked Questions” and “Image Preparations” sections of these websites to understand their requirements.

In addition to the services mentioned above, there are other smaller services websites where artists can upload their work and create a database of their digital images. They can easily enter art competitions using the image database. 

Hire a Professional Photography

The essence of entering a juried show is to present your artwork to jurors in the best way possible. Evidently, the only way to gain attention is to send the best photographs of your work. Often, many young artists do not submit photographs that adequately represent their works to the jurors. 

Except you are an experienced photographer with high-quality cameras, and a deep understanding of camera angles, lighting, special elements, and others, it is better to hire a professional photographer to take the pictures of your entries. One reason some young artists give for not hiring professional photographers to take pictures of their artwork is that it is too expensive.

While it may be expensive, having a professional photographer take pictures of your artwork has many benefits. Besides presenting your work in a proper light before the judges, it also shows seriousness and responsibility. More importantly, your work will appear better when printed in the show’s catalog or brochure.

There are several ways young artists can find good photographers for their artworks.  One way is to ask other artists in their area for a referral. They can even ask other artists on social media how they got a good photographer to take images of their work. You will be amazed by the number of responses you will get.   It makes a world of difference when artists present a good representation of their artwork to jurors because it could determine if you win or lose.

Why Can’t I Use My Phone or Tablet?

This is one question I have answered so many times for young artists planning to enter juried art shows. With the development in technology, the cameras on phones and tablets are becoming more and more powerful. From iPhones to Galaxy phones, the technology continues to improve. Additionally, technology companies are also developing powerful lenses to enhance the photograph taking capabilities of phones and tablets.  Although there is nothing wrong with taking photographs of your artworks with your high-end phones and tablets, it is important to remember that a lot goes into taking photographs of artworks. Besides lighting, there are color saturation and angles among many others.

There is nothing worse than submitting a photograph with uneven light or with objects like grass, books, etc. distracting from the artwork. Such representation presents the artist as unserious or perhaps does not have enough respect for his artwork.

Nevertheless, if an artist is still cash-strapped and wants to take the image of his artworks himself, my advice is to go for it.  There are different editing tools young artists can use to make their work look good.  These tools can resize your photos, remove blemishes, correct redeye, tone down, or increase color saturation. While some are free, others are paid. Whichever editing tool you go with, make sure you invest time in understanding how they work. Here is a list of some editing tools:

• Pixlr
• GIMP
• Adobe Photoshop
• Paint.NET
• Affinity Photo
• Photopea
• Luminar
• Polarr
• Photoscape
• MediBang Paint
• photopea
• Pixelmator
• Adobe Photoshop Express

Arranging Your Images

After deciding which juried art show to enter and which works to submit, the next step is arranging your images. There are those who say that the manner in which artists arrange their artworks before sending them off does not matter. I beg to disagree: The truth is that is it matters.

Arranging your entries in a particular way can bring context and understanding to your entry. Moreover, work arrangement can influence how a juror looks at your images: is it individually or as a group?  The advice is to use the “juror preview” in your application software to determine what your images would look like when they get to the jurors. Will they be seen from left to right or stacked in a variety of ways? The “juror preview” section helps resolve these issues before submission.

Do I put my strongest work and images at the top or bottom of the group? This is a million-dollar question I get from many young artists. Almost everybody you ask has ideas of how artists should structure their entries for a juried art show, including which directions pieces should face and the interspersion of vertical and horizontal images.

Rule of Thumb

However, the rule of thumb is to put images of the strongest work at the end of the group. Here is why: Jurors often view each artist’s work initially from top to bottom and left to right.  Then, they go in reverse order from bottom to top and right to left.   This way, they can view the works in the opposite direction with the images of the strongest works first.  There are several benefits from structuring your entry with the strongest images at the bottom or the end.  Firstly, it draws the judges’ eyes to the rest of the work, and secondly, it forces them to take a second look at all the images.  

Although there is no exact science on how to structure your entry, however, the strategy explained above comes from direct experience and consultation with juries and judges of art competitions. 

Enter Your Best Work

It goes without saying that artists entering a juried art show would submit their best works.  Of course, that is not always the case.  To win, some artists explore different strategies including trying to create works the jury wants to see.  Others even try to mimic the artistic styles judge just to win favors. A word of caution: Jurors are not fools and can easily see through these shenanigans.

 It is important for artists to show their own work when entering a juried art show. Juries are more interested in self-expression, personality, and uniqueness of the artist.  Trying to trick jurors can lead to disqualification.  The important thing is to get jurors’ attention with the quality of your work. Many jurors expect artists to be daring, adventurous, and vulnerably. They want to see integrity when judging a work of art.  Therefore, it is important for artists entering juried art exhibitions to submit their best work.

Adhere to a Theme

 As expected, artists create artworks as they grow in their careers. The tendency is to submit pieces that represent their entire portfolio when entering juried art shows.  However, studies have shown that this may be a mistake. Instead of submitting works representing their entire collection, it is better for artists to focus on a theme from your collection.  A cohesive body of work would make a better impression on juries.

Expectations of Judges

If you are uncertain about what to enter for an art contest, a place to start is on the website of the organizer of the contest. The first step is to read through the rules and other information on the organizers’ website. It is possible to pick up keywords pointing to the theme and expectations of the judges. Additionally, you can also look through the collection of artworks that have been accepted in the past. Evaluate them and try to figure out the expectations of the organizers.

If your work fits into the concept and standard of the show, then you are in luck. All that is necessary to create a theme around the artworks you are sending.  However, if your work is outside their scope because they are looking for something new and different, it is better to look for other juried shows that fit your artistic expression and you have the possibility of winning. Of course, not all shows are very particular about theme or style; all they are interested in is creativity.  Suffice to say that a little research will save you a lot of time, headaches, and money.

How Do Juries Work?

Art show juries are mostly made up of art professionals. The manner in which entries are judged is based on the directives and criteria given by organizers of juried art competitions. Therefore, there is no uniformity in how juries do their work.  Sometimes, jurors look for works that fit a theme, while in others they focus on works that will appeal to their local patrons. 

While there are disparities in judging criteria for different juried shows, many shows claim to use the “blind juries.”  This means that judges are not supposed to know the artists whose works they are judging or allow their relationship with an artist to cloud their judgment. In other words, all entries to an art competition should be completely assessed based on quality and other criteria spelled out by the organizers.

Blind Juries

In theory, the “blind juries” rule is good. However, it is difficult to apply in the practical sense because the top high-end art community is small.   To ensure a pragmatic approach to judging, some competition organizers have rules to disrupt the relationship between artists and juries. As a preventive measure, some art contest organizers remove the name of artists when judging entries to forestall favoritism. This approach is prevalent in local juried art shows where it is certain for jurors to know the artists in an art competition.

To make judging easy, organizers of juried shows have various ways of selecting show winners. For some shows, jurors sit in a room and spend days looking at works projected on a large screen. The first step is to select the best entries and weed out the ones that do not qualify for the next round. The next stage is to remove even more entries. The third stage is when the final selections are made. Often, the section process goes on for several days.  The process is tedious but rewarding for the judges and winners.

For some shows, jurors work independently. These jurors can be in any part of the world. Thanks to technology that makes this possible. All they have to do is look at the entries on their computer screens and grade the works in front of them based on a scale. Grading the work goes through different stages and artists with the highest grades are more likely to get into the juried show.

Objectives of the Jury Process

The objective of the jury process is to make sure that only the best artworks appear in a juried show.  In most cases, juried art shows boost their reputation on the qualities and standard of works they present. This allows them to attract top artists that further increase the status of the show among artists, patrons, promoters, and collectors. Although every show would like to boast about successful outings, only very have achieved this standing in the juried art show world.

The Judging Process

Judging a juried art show is not as easy as many people may think. It is difficult, time-consuming and requires a lot of patience. When judging a show, jurors go through hundreds of images. They view the images several times over before making selections.  Only the works that grab jurors’ attention make the cut.  Therefore, it is important for artists to submit their best artworks and quality photographs. There must be something unique in your work that captivates jurors to make them want to take a second look.

The first impression is very important. It is after making that first impression that the juror pays attention to the design, composition, technique, and the technical skills explored in creating the work. Some jurors even pay attention to the risk artists took in creating their artworks.

 More artworks are cut with every selection process until the jury is satisfied with its selection. The main objective of a juried art show is to present the best works to the art audience. Only the artworks that make the best impression on the jurors get in the show.

The Award Process

After the selection processes are over, the next stage is to pick winners of the awards.  To select winners, the jury gets to see the original artworks on display.  In addition to selecting winners, jurors also get to select the best of show.

Several factors inform the selection of winners for the juried art show. Besides looking for the wow factors, jurors also look at surface treatment, style, composition, and finishing.  Some jurors even sought to identify what the works communicate. 

Selecting the Best of Show

Best of Show is often selected during the exhibition. Some people refer to the Best of Show as the best of the best because it is picked from the top winning works. While some art competitions leave the selection of the Best of Show to jurors, others engage viewers in making the selection. Viewers are presented with the criteria, and they vote on the Best of Show. The artist whose work wins the Best of Show gets an extra financial award or a one-man exhibition.  

Are Juried Art Shows Worth It?

If you look at the benefits, the answer is yes. For many emerging artists, juried art shows are the first steps in the art world. Juried art shows provide art exhibition opportunities for emerging artists.  In addition to getting their work evaluated by professionals in their field, young artists also get the opportunity to show their works if they make it to the final rounds.

Even if they do not win the overall prize, getting their works in front of a larger audience, including curators, gallery owners, and collectors is an important step in their artistic career. Their artworks are also featured in exhibition catalogs, which they can present to collectors, galleries, and museums.  Yes, they get to include their achievements on their resumes. But not only emerging artists benefit from juried shows. Even professional artists do.  Besides winning awards, they also get the chance to brag about the quality of their works to curators, gallery owners, and collectors.

Apparently, there are artists who see juried art shows as a waste of time. The complaint is that they are distracting and time-consuming. Some people even contend that art competitions provide a false sense of hope and confidence. Nevertheless, it is a well-established fact that many young artists benefit from entering art shows. Even those who have been very critical of juried shows built their artistic career by participating in juried art shows. Here are some benefits of participating in juried art shows:

• You’ll build your credibility
• You’ll build your visibility
• Your artwork and portfolio will remain current
• You are pragmatic and honestly judge your own art

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