The Chelsea International Fine Art Competition 2010

NOW OPEN

Agora Gallery is delighted to announce the opening of the 25th annual Chelsea International Fine Art Competition. Entries can be sent in from February 4, 2010 until March 14, 2010 when the submission process closes.

The competition is open to all international visual artists of 18 and above. Emerging, established and mid-level artists are all invited to enter their work. A variety of media is accepted, with the exceptions of video art, film, performance art, jewelry and crafts.

This year, entry is only through the online entry system and requires contact information, details about the artwork, and, of course, images of the artwork itself. Please remember to submit high quality images – even the best work cannot be properly appreciated if the image viewed is of poor quality.

As a result of the competition, 15-20 artists will be selected by the juror to take part in a contemporary art exhibition in the summer of 2010. The exhibition will take place in New York’s art district, Chelsea.

Six artists will win the prize of being able to place six images on online gallery Art-Mine, whilst one other will be awarded a page-long review in contemporary art magazine ARTisSpectrum, including two images of their work. There are also three cash prizes, of a total of $1,000.

The competition is judged every year by an independent juror. This year’s juror is Megan Fontanella, Assistant Curator at the famous Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. She engages in research for the museum, particularly focusing on areas of provenance and institutional history, and has also been involved with curating installations for the museum.

Agora Gallery is proud to sponsor this annual event, which encourages talented artists from around the world in their ambitions and provides them with an opportunity for greater exposure and publicity, as well as valuable professional experience.

Agora Gallery’s director, Angela Di Bello, speaks of the sponsorship of the competition as part of the gallery’s efforts to promote new talent and increase the possibilities open to artists who are considering breaking into the competitive New York market – an openness that benefits artists, galleries and the art world as a whole. “Carving a space for new talent is very much at the core of our business,” she says, speaking from her own considerable experience of the art scene.

In addition, 25% of Agora Gallery’s proceeds from the sale of artwork from the competition exhibition will be donated to local city charity Art Start, which brings art into the lives of underprivileged children through the volunteered time and effort of artists. Last year’s competition exhibition featured work by an Art Start student.