The New Breed Art Competition
The New Breed Art Competition was established in 2016 by Bloemfontein law firm, PH Attorneys as a unique visual arts competition for Free State artists. Now in its eight year, the competition provides an excellent platform for Free State artists to showcase their talent and contemporary Free State art, and to benefit from the prizes and national exposure the competition provides.
The competition emerged from the firm’s shared passion for excellence and creativity which in turn demanded the recognition of these traits in other disciplines. So an art competition was born with art a universal medium through which boundaries and perceptions can be moved – of audience and artist alike - and challenging us to evolve. The New Breed Art Competition provides a platform for discovering and celebrating a new breed of artist, reminding us of the power of creativity.
As a Free State competition, the competition also celebrates our roots and affords an opportunity for Free State artists to showcase their talent and art and stake a claim for national recognition.
Public Choice Award
An innovative feature of the competition is the ability of the public to vote for their favourite competition artist with the artist getting the most votes at the close of the competition, receiving the Public Choice Award and R10,000 prize money. By creating the opportunity for the public to have its say as to who their favourite artist is, it creates greater opportunity for awareness, discussion, sharing and engagement.
Voting for your favourite artist
Once the selected entrants for the 2023 competition have been identified and the exhibition opens on 12 October 2023, any member of the public will be able to vote for their favourite competition artist by clicking on the VOTE button next to the artist’s profile or on any of the artist’s competition entries for 2023. Importantly, you can only vote once per artist, with a vote for the artist or any of his/her entries counting as a single vote towards that particular artist. You can however vote for more than one artist, but it’s again limited to one vote per artist. Voting closes on 9 November 2023.
Oliewenhuis Art Museum
The New Breed Art Competition is proudly presented in association with Oliewenhuis Art Museum. Oliewenhuis Art Museum will receive entries and host the public competition exhibition and award ceremony. Oliewenhuis Art Museum is a satellite of the National Museum, Bloemfontein, an agency of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.
The Art Bank Of South Africa
The New Breed Art Competition 2023 is also presented in association with the Art Bank of South Africa, a national programme of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, which is tasked with purchasing art from emerging South African artists. As a competition partner the Art Bank will be intimately involved in the competition providing artists selected to participate in the New Breed Art Competition Exhibition a valuable opportunity to gain exposure with this important national programme.
The Free State Art Collective
In addition, the New Breed Art Competition is presented in partnership with the Free State Art Collective. Artists selected to participate in the New Breed Art Competition Exhibition, including the final winners, automatically qualify for consideration and possible inclusion in the prestigious and exclusive Free State Art Collective, founded and headed up by Karen Brusch.
Rooistoel
For the first time ever, the competition will this year also introduce a brand-new award category for digital art. This award is proudly sponsored by Rooistoel, a multi-media production company from Bloemfontein, specialising in video productions for business growth.