What is a Juried Art Show?
You may hear the term “juried art show”, especially when it comes to Arts Huntsville events. Panoply Arts Festival, Monte Sano Art Festival, and the Christkindlmarket Huntsville are all three juried art shows.
But what does it mean? What are the benefits?
Let’s find out!
What is a juried art show?
In a juried art show, artists must apply to participate. There is almost always an application fee, plus submitted photos of artwork and booth setup. A panel of specially selected expert jurors or judges then go through each entry and select which artists will be offered a spot in the show.
Check out this example of what was required to enter this year’s Monte Sano Art Festival:
- Complete application
- Provide 6 photos of the art, however, 1 must be a booth photo
- Pay the application/jury fee
How does a juried art show work?
Arts Huntsville provides a transparent jury selection process. Here is an example of the information provided for the Monte Sano Art Festival –
- Average number of applications submitted each year: 240
- Average number of artists selected from the jury to participate in the event: 120
- Average number of exempt from jury artists who are invited to participate in the event: 0
- Vendors that are excluded/ineligible: Only art vendors. No food, candles, oils, etc.
- How images are viewed by jurors: Computer monitor
- Within a medium category, applications are sorted and viewed by: Random Order
- Jurors score applications using the following scale: 1 – 5
- Number of jurors scoring applications: 3
- The show organizes the jurors for a: Single jury panel that scores applications for all medium categories
- Jurors score Separately from various locations
- Am I allowed to observe the jury process? The jury process is closed
To summarize this process, jurors review applications in random order via a computer monitor and issue a score based on the criteria provided. It’s an anonymous process with judges only seeing the art photos and artist statement. Once the scores are in, Arts Huntsville will notify the artists of the outcome, create a waiting list, and move forward with booth assignments.
What are the benefits of a juried art show?
By having a selection process, you can be sure that the art show or festival will have a good balance of art mediums. The competitive nature of vying for one of a limited number of spots means that the art quality and displays will be excellent. It also means there won’t be 20 jewelry makers but only 2 painters.
A juried art show also ensures that serious art collectors can shop alongside the casual festival goer, and everyone should have a good shopping experience.
Visit a juried art show and see for yourself!
PS Not all juried shows require tickets. Monte Sano Art Festival and Christkindlmarket Huntsville are both free to attend.