The Surf Coast Shire Community Calendar Competition will return with a refresh, in a bid to showcase more emerging local artists.
This year’s competition sees ‘child’ and ‘youth’ split into two separate categories.
Councillor Rose Hodge welcomed the updated eligibility criteria, which also requests that artwork is no larger than 600mm x 600mm and is ready to hang.
“All eligible entries in the competition are displayed at a community exhibition at Anglesea Art House,” Cr Hodge said.
“Last year’s exhibition received an extraordinary response, so much so, the curators almost ran out of wall space. We hope the revised criteria will open up more opportunities for artists, make for a wonderful exhibition, and showcase the winning pieces in the calendar in the best possible way.”
As part of criteria changes, artists who have appeared in the calendar in the past two years are not eligible to enter. This change seeks to ensure best possible access to the program and highlight a diverse range of community artists.
The Community Calendar Competition invites entries from Surf Coast Shire residents and ratepayers. All eligible entries will be on display at the Community Calendar Exhibition, launched at Anglesea Art Space on Friday 13 October at 6pm. The exhibition’s opening weekend is Saturday 14 October and Saturday 15 October. It then continues in October, open from Tuesday to Sunday.
A judging panel will select its 12 favourite works across the four categories – child, youth, open 2D and open 3D, while a People’s Choice vote will determine the piece that will be on the cover.
“I encourage eligible local artists to enter the competition,” Cr Hodge said. “It offers fantastic exposure for all entrants, who get a thrill out of being featured in an exhibition. It’s an even bigger thrill for the winners, to see their work in a publication that is distributed far and wide.
“I look forward to seeing which 13 works are selected to appear in the 2024 calendar.”
The 13 winning artists will receive a $300 cash prize and artist acknowledgment in the calendar.
Entries open Friday 18 August and close Friday 15 September at 5pm.
To view the full terms and conditions and to enter, visit surfcoast.vic.gov.au/calendarcomp.
