Thursday

The West Prize Seeks Exciting New Artists

Billly and Steven Dufala: Ice Cream Truck / Tank

Emerging visual artists take note: the West Prize is again accepting applications. Now in its second year, the contemporary art prize is backed by $125,000 for the acquisition of new works.  Each of ten finalists will receive $10,000 for work to become part of the West Collection, and the winner receives an additional $25,000 award.

In it’s initial run last year, the international competition received over 3,600 applications.  All were reviewed by West Collection curator Paige West and her father Al West. The top prize went to the Dufala Brothers for their Ice Cream Truck / Tank–”a rebuilt Grummonds bread truck, outfitted as an attack vehicle that serves ice cream.” Nice choice!

Last year’s ten finalists included a number of artists with only minimal prior recognition outside their local area.  Artists were selected based on how they would fit, foster, challenge, and stretch the West Collection. Finalists showed a wide range of styles and artistic sensibilities, from pure painting to hybrid and mixed media work, in some cases drawing from crafts and design traditions.   Overall, themes of illusion and mixed or confused identity seemed predominant.

The West Collection is a large private collection dedicated to promoting young contemporary artists doing challenging and inventive work. It hosts installations and traveling exhibitions, and loans work to museums and university art galleries around the world.  The collection’s Versions of Reality exhibition was part of the NEXT emerging art fair in Chicago in May.

For visual artists who are doing something really new and interesting, and doing it very well, the West Prize seems like a great opportunity.  Entries are being accepted through November 1, 2009.  Before applying, have a good look at last year’s finalists, and at the broader set of contemporary artists represented in the West Collection.  You might want visit Paige West’s Art Addict blog as well.