I have just been having a conversation over email with another artist about paying to enter things.
I my head I have a very clear rule about this: I don't do it. On reflection I thought that there are some things I would pay to enter, these being competitions on the level of BSR and the Jerwood prizes.
We began by discussing Celeste, a fairly new prize that now has an online focus. It has various categories and costs 50 Euros to enter. Finalists are decided by selection commitee and finalists themselves decide how the prize money is awarded. The website does, usefully, have a pretty little pie chart showing how entry fees are spent:
http://www.celesteprize.com/prize/
25% – prizes, 10% website, 23% employment and 13% selectors fees and so on. So, to be simplistic about it – that means that as prizes total Eur40,000, therefore wages add up to Eur36,800 and the selectors will earn Eur20,800 between them with the website costing Eur16,000. That's a hell of a website!!
Rather than a competition for cutting edge contemporary art, this seems more like a game show format to me, much like Saatchi's upcoming TV show, which is a game show – right? In this model, artists, especially those who are inexperienced and might not know any better, are being used as a source of funding. Want to put on a show/festival/residency? I know; just get £35 off each person entering and it will pay for itself, plus we can employ ourselves for the duration, genius!
People – this is your money!! If you're going to spend it anyway, wouldn't it be better spent elsewhere, perhaps on some food, or even getting people together and sorting our your own project? I'm not saying the prize has no value; for the winners it has incredible value, and also for the finalists I expect. The website may generate opportunities for people adding their work to the entries too. But for the majority, those who the competition depends on for funding, it won't do much at all. Spend the entry fee on a subscription to a-n and axis instead, where you will be aligned with a much more desirable (and credible) crowd.
I also get fed-up trawling through res-artis, which a couple of years ago I used all the time. Now, although it is still an amazing resource for finding residencies, it also lists numerous places that seem like little more than posh bed and breakfasts around Europe, with studios attached. Not so much an application form as a booking form here. Much more time has to be spent weeding out opportunities that represent work rather than a nice hoiday.
We all know there is not enough funding out there and that other ways are needed to make art more self-sufficient, but to my mind, entry fees and dumbing down on quality to appeal to and use the masses are not it.
