MOTIVATING AND BRAVE!

Our workshop last night was a resounding success - even if I do say so myself - thanks to a great presentation by Jonathan and contributions from a lovely group of people.  Comments received include: "Valuable overview with great tips.  Motivating and brave" "Great to have the perspective of the selectors" "Really well presented with humour".

Jonathan led the group through a checklist for making more successful applications, covering a range of topics.  This is just a flavour of what was covered:

Strategies

Set your strategy and decide how many applications you are going to make per year or how many you can afford to make - as entry fees for competitions or open exhibitions can be expensive.  It may seem a chore, but each application is an opportunity to get your work seen by selectors.

Eligibility

Check the criteria.  Don’t waste your time or money applying for something if you are not eligible or don’t meet the criteria.  And continue to check the criteria as you put your application together to make sure everything you are sending meets the requirements.

Documentation

Lots of information was covered here as this is the most important part of your application.  This is how you demonstrate what your practice is to someone who doesn’t know you or your work.  It should give a sense of your practice as a whole – tailored to meet the requirements of whatever opportunity you are applying for.  And you should only be submitting new or recent work!

Of particular importance are the images you submit – this is an art in itself as your images are likely to be viewed by selectors for just a few seconds.  In fact this is such an important issue that we are planning another workshop on photographing your work! Make sure you follow the guidelines though and if they have asked for 3 images, only send 3!  And if you are sending them on a disc do check the disc and make sure it opens.  Files which can’t be opened will just be discarded and all your hard work will have been in vain.

Selection

Your statement is also important as it could be what sways the decision from a maybe to a yes or no.  In the selection process most applications will be maybe's with just a few definite yes’s and no’s.  To make a decision when the selectors are not in agreement they will often look at the artist’s statement.  So your statement needs to be clear, concise and specifically tailored to the opportunity – if they say 200 words, they mean it!  Aim to show critical engagement but most importantly be sincere and give the story of your own research practice.  Judging by the comments we received, writing a good statement seems to be something that lots of artists find challenging so look out for future arc events when we hope to cover how to write about your work.  

Your CV is not as critical in the selection process, as it will probably only be reviewed once the selection has been made.  However, make sure yours is kept up to date and then tailor it to each opportunity.

Outlook

Be realistic -  a hit rate of 1 success in 10 is good!   So its important that you give yourself plenty of time to prepare your application and improve  your chances of success.  And don’t take rejection personally!  You may not have been selected for one opportunity but there could be another one just around the corner that’s just right for you.

And don’t forget, if you are struggling with any aspect of this process, you can always book a one to one surgery and review your documentation with Jonathan.

Just email arc@aspex.

 Phyl

PS:  For further tips and information on making applications a-n's Knowledge Bank has a  range of practical guides: http://www.a-n.co.uk/knowledge_bank/topic/77173
and ArtQuest has a section on Presentation and Documentation:
http://www.artquest.org.uk/showing-and-selling/presentation-documentation.htm