Juried Competition
February 22, 2008
Southwest Indian Art Fair (SWIAF) offers recognition and awards to artists
whose work is judged to be of exceptional merit. Each year an invited panel
of jurors reviews the goals of the fair and the protocols for judging the
entries. The goals of the jury process are to support excellence in the arts
and to offer all participating artists the opportunity for recognition by
leading professional figures.
Rules of Participation
Art works submitted for judging must meet the same criteria as all works
to be displayed and sold at the fair as well as some additional restrictions.
Please see the Information for Artists page
for details.
Selection of Jurors
Jurors are invited by a committee composed of ASM/SWIAF staff. Appointment
to the committee is at the discretion of the SWIAF Director. Recommendations
for prospective jurors are accepted year round.
Juror Qualifications
Jurors are invited on the basis of their experience and/or familiarity
with Southwest Indian Arts, their traditions and techniques. An effort is
made each year to weigh the selection of the jury panel so that the jurors are predominately Native Americans who are excellent artists and/or experts
in the field of Native American art. A non-native expert is also included
so as to broaden the perspective of the jury process and expose the competing
artists to other professional resources.
Children's work is conventionally judged by a separate juror whose background
can support an understanding of childhood development in the arts and the
role of Native American culture in their indigenous arts. The juror is selected
for having a commitment to and background in working with youth artists. In
recognition of the unique challenges that American Indian youth artists face
with their work, SWIAF seeks a juror with broad qualifications to judge their
work.
Purchase awards for Arizona State Museum are judged separately by knowledgeable
staff from ASM who can assess both quality in craft and the needs of ASM
Collections Division.
Jury Process
An orientation precedes each jury event. This pre-jury meeting encourages
a healthy exchange of ideas about the nature of jury processes and provides
an opportunity for jurors who have specialized knowledge of different areas
of craft to introduce their own perspectives regarding technical quality
and cultural criteria relevant to identifying excellence.
It is accepted that all jury processes are subjective in nature. Jurors
are valued for their individual professional perspectives. The jury
process is a silent vote designed to minimize personal, non-objective
beliefs from creating undue influence on other jurors. This is done to allow each
juror to make judgments based upon personal experience and not upon
the experience of others.
To assure a lack of interference, no artists, outside staff or members of the general
public are allowed to observe the jury process.
The Best of Show and the Awards of Excellence
Jurying is done by the full panel on a category by category basis.
The jury committee chair oversees the process. Pieces receiving a majority
of the judges' votes win the award. In the event of a lack of a majority vote
that clearly identifies a winning entry, an opportunity is given
to each juror to justify his or her respective vote. The jury then casts a second
round of votes. This process is repeated until the voting reflects a majority
choice for an award winner. In the case of an absolute tie, duplicate awards
may be given after authorization by the SWIAF director.
The Judge's Choice Awards
This award is also called the "Passion Award." Too often,
there is work that does not receive recognition because of the limited number
of awards available. Sometimes whole categories of work can go unrecognized
for lack of an available award. The Judge's Choice Awards are designed to
bring recognition to work that each juror, independently, feels is outstanding
and may have been overlooked.
The Purchase Awards
A special jury including one or more representatives of the Arizona State
Museum Collections Division selects the Purchase Awards. Pieces that win
Purchase Awards become part of the museum's permanent collections. The artist may choose whether a piece can be considered for a Purchase Award
when he or she enters it in competition. The winning pieces are chosen for their technique
and artistry as well as for the way in which they compare and contrast
with other items in our collections.
The Youth Awards
SWIAF seeks to reward young artists who address issues of craft and culture
with particular excellence. The special juror for these awards examines
the entries with an awareness of the Native cultural traditions and perspectives
that these young artists choose to bring to their work. Youth awards are
not divided into categories by media, so awards are given to the most outstanding
pieces overall.
At the completion of each jury category, comments are solicited regarding
all jurors' selections. These are documented for the benefit of all artists
competing in that category so that the ever-evolving criteria for excellence
by each jury panel can be made transparent. Jurors' comments are posted for
the public through the duration of the awards ceremony.
Winning entries are publicized in multiple venues that include the following
year's SWIAF entry materials and program of events. They are also displayed
in an online exhibition on this site (see links below).
Review
Cash and ribbon awards are offered based upon available community and institutional
support. Awards may vary from year to year.
At the close of each year's jurying, jurors are asked to review the process
for recommended changes for the upcoming year. Periodic surveys of the artists
entering the fair are also used to evaluate the effectiveness of the jury
process.
Return to the Southwest Indian Art Fair Main Page
Sculpture "Apache Mountain Spirit" by Upton S. Ethelbah, Jr.
Photo by Jannelle Weakly.
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