Art Festivals

Image Preparation for Jury

The following is a compilation of feedback from the directors and the judges for several National Slide Jury Sessions and from information gathered from a professional art show reviewer who was present at a jury session.

Quality of work
It is obvious to the judges that there is superior work submitted and it is also
obvious that some of the submissions are not of high quality. It is difficult for us to tell artists that their work just isn't good enough to get in. Especially when we are judging you by a slide copy of your work. As you visit other shows how does your work stack up against your competition? Ask to see other artists slides. Maybe someone in another category.

Quality of images
Artists are rated solely on their slides or electronic images. Are your images as good as can be? Slides should be exposed properly and it is preferable if the art is photographed against a clean background. Judges stated they prefer to see unframed artwork that fills the frame, unless you make the frames leave them out. Unbelievably, we are receiving slide submissions with cars in the background or artwork photographed on tent walls. This is a very bad idea. As the director of festivals I have seen the same slides from many artists for three years in a row; this should not be the case. Judges can be just as savvy and make deductions for slides that they had seen previously. Your work and your slides should be current. One
judge stated that they had seen the exact set of slides from more than one applicant while judging the past festivals. Do not be surprised if you do not get accepted to the show because you prepared your own images, many images presented to the jury are jawdroppingly good, especially in jewelry. If you don't send in the best possible slides of your work you have a lesser chance for acceptance.

Originality
The artists whose work is refreshingly unlike many of the other works that the judge
views, and of similar quality, will get more notice. It's important to them to see how your work differs from the other artists in your category. Although Palm Tree Motifs may sell well in Florida you have to realize that the judges want to see diverse subject matter in your images. You can lose count of the number of artists that sent in images of palm trees and beaches. Artists think because the show is in Florida they have a better chance of getting in if their work is of Florida scenes. Be original, the highest scores in each category were the most unique. Make your submissions different from what other artists are doing and show off your talent and technical abilities. It is also strongly recommended that you do not mimic the work of another artist, we do have a very solid idea of who does what.

Body of Work

Body of work. This is a term you need to know and where most artists go wrong when sending in their slides. THIS IS CRUCIAL TO GETTING INTO MOST OF THE TOP SHOWS IN THE COUNTRY. Almost every show director I have spoken with all agree they want to see a strong body of work. If you are a painter or photographer and you do landscapes and portraits, send in four landscapes or four portraits, maybe even two separate packets. Do not show how versatile you are by sending in two of each. To make it even more difficult, your landscapes should all be fairly similar. Do not send in a shot of the mountains, a shot of the desert and a close-up of some flowers. Have a theme%u2026 all southwest shots, all flower shots or all shots of waterfalls.

If you would like a personal critique of your slides email your images to the director at boulderbrookproductions@gmail.com and I will review and critique your work.

The attached image by John Petry is what you should shoot for.

A lot of this is unnecessary if you are using a digital jury system. In order to file your applications efficiently, festivals require you to provide a #10 Business sized envelope. All other envelopes whether they are 5×7, 8×10, or gift card sized do not fit into filing system so provide what is asked for. When handling so many applications in a year it is necessary to have a uniform filing system. Artists who send in packets that do not conform to the required size risk the mishandling of their packet, or perhaps even having them returned.

If the application requests an artist statement, keep it short, it is a staement not a biography.

Applying in two categories: when applying in two categories provide two full applications, two sets of different slides, and two sets of checks. In separate envelopes, this will avoid confusion. Some artists send one booth fee and ask that if accepted in two categories that they wish the check to go towards one booth in one of the categories and not in the other, which they wish to be returned. Confused? Sure.

When the application requests that the segment be trimmed along the dotted line, trim along the dotted line.

Write legibly especially your email address.
These may seem like some very minor problems but we have developed an efficient handling and filing system which helps to ensure that your work and packet is never lost in the shuffle nor damaged. If you conform to these requirements then you can be sure that we will handle your applications in a safe and professional way.