Overture Awards Scholarship Competition

Visual Art Criteria

CATEGORIES:  Painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, textile design, jewelry, creative woodwork, pottery, graphic design, photography, video.

A portfolio is a collection of your best and most recent artwork that highlights your art experience. No matter how long you have been creating work, if you have a collection of your own art, then you have enough for a portfolio. 

Allow plenty of time to choose the work for your portfolio or to create it.  It is very difficult to produce good art when you are under pressure.  This should be a thoughtful process.  The judges are looking for an artistic statement expressed by your entire body of work, which means to go beyond the basic classroom assignments.

The Overture Awards requires at least six but not more than eight pieces of your own work.  These need not all be in the same medium. Work copied from another artist's work or photographs is not permitted.

Competitors will be primarily judged on, but not limited to, the following:

·         Command of medium

·         Originality/creativity

·         Technique: use of color, texture, perspective

·         Composition

PORTFOLIO PREPARATION

Presentation of your portfolio is important!  Be sure to make your submission as professional as possible.  The following criteria apply to the Regional, Semi-Final and Final Competitions unless otherwise noted:

·     Present your work in a professional portfolio that will adequately protect your work.  Cardboard cases are available at a small cost.  Label it on the outside with your name and the name of your school. 

·     Include with your portfolio a cover sheet (required) with the title, size, medium and a brief description of each piece.  You can download a copy from the Overture Awards website (www.cincinnatiarts.org/overture_competition) or get one from your Coordinator.

·     The size limit for all pieces is 30” x 40”, not including mat.

·     2-D artwork, except for stretched canvases, should be matted (preferably white or off-white), not framed.  Be sure the mat is clean and unbent.

·     Label all work on the back (putting a name on the front detracts the viewer’s eye from the piece itself) with your name, school and the corresponding cover sheet number. 

·     Label the top of each piece on the back so that it will be viewed correctly.

·     For the Regional Competition, work that is unavailable due to another competition or

exhibition may also be submitted as photographs on a CD in .jpg, .tiff, or .gif format.  Provide more than one view.  Photos must be marked with a corresponding number on the cover sheet and clearly marked as a photograph of artwork and not a photographic submission. 

·     Video submissions:

·  Time limit: 1.5 to 5 minutes in length

·  If the piece is longer, select 5 minutes of it and include a one-page synopsis that states where

   the segment occurs.

·  Must be in DVD format.

·    3-D work

·  For the Regional Competition, 3-D work should be submitted as photographs on a CD in .jpg,

   tiff, or .gif format.  Provide more than one view.  Photos must be marked with a corresponding

   number on the cover sheet and clearly marked as a photograph of artwork and not a

   photographic submission. 

·  For the Semi-Final and Final Competitions, you must submit your original work.