It was fifteen years ago today …
I started Art Prizes in response to a simple problem: there were no comprehensive listings for artists looking for calls for entry. Fast forward to now: Art Prizes is a profitable business with a practical weekly rhythm. Its core work is keeping listings current and running client campaigns across the website and social media. The site's statistics, analytics and monthly newsletters offer plenty of scope for someone who'd enjoy that side of the business, but they are optional. The heart of Art Prizes remains its listings and the campaigns it delivers for prize organisers.
Some of the prizes advertising today have been with us since the launch of our website.
Read the Art Prizes Expression of Interest
Back to 2011: I thought I'd tackle the problem, so I designed and built the original website myself. The response was positive and, before long I could afford a programmer to help fix my mess and improve its functionality.
I also began visiting art prizes in person whenever I could. My travels took me from the Outback Art Prize in Winton, Central Queensland, to the Black Swan Prize for Portraiture, now known as The Lester Prize, in Perth.
I still visit art prizes. Just a couple of weeks ago, I met the organiser of the Urunga Small Sculpture Prize at Urunga on the mid-north coast of NSW. There is no better way to understand what art prizes mean to their organisers, artists and communities.
What began as an idea to fill a need has become an established Australian arts platform. Now is the right moment for a new owner to take Art Prizes into the future!
