The wait is over. Entries for the 2021 New Breed Art Competition are now officially open, offering new and emerging Free State artists the opportunity to enter and stand the chance of being discovered as a new breed artist.
Now in its fifth year, this visual arts competition is presented by Phatshoane Henney Attorneys, in association with Oliewenhuis Art Museum, the Free State Art Collective and the Art Bank of South Africa, allowing for even greater exposure and benefit to entrants to the competition.
The New Breed Art Competition offers R100 000 in prize money - with R50 000 to be awarded to the winner, R20 000 to the runner-up and R10 000 each to two Merit Award winners. Prominent artists Usha Seejarim and Wessel van Huyssteen, along with Nonto Msomi, Project Manager for the Art Bank of South Africa, are tasked with discovering and awarding this year's finalists, and eventually the prestigious winners. Another R10 000 will also be awarded to the Public Choice Award winner. The Public Choice Award allows the public to vote for their favourite artist on the official competition website (www.newbreedart.co.za) and thereby determine the winner thereof.
This year, an exciting medium is now also allowed to be entered, namely digital/video art, which is sure to introduce a variety of exciting, new entrants to the competition. As always, in addition to digital/video art, a diversity of mediums are encouraged for entry such as photography, sculpture, textiles, paintings, drawings, and even graphic art. Imporantly, all entered works must have been completed between 1 January 2020 and 13 September 2021, and older works will be disqualified.
Entries take place from 13 to 19 September 2021 at Oliewenhuis Art Museum in Bloemfontein, between the hours of 10:00 and 16:00 daily. To enter, a complete entry (a work, a completed and signed entry form and supporting information) must be submitted. All entries are subject to strict terms, conditions and rules of participation, which can all be found in the entry form.
Artists selected for the Competition Exhibition at Oliewenhuis Art Museum, will be notified by 29 September. The Competition Exhibition will stretch from 5 October to 14 November. The final winners are to be announced on 4 November 2021. Click here to download the entry form.