Irish American Arts Awards - Recognize, Encourage, Celebrate

The Awards Frequently Asked Questions

PLEASE SEE THE RULES OF ENTRY FOR THE DETAILED TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF ENTRY.

In any case of divergence between the Rules of Entry and the FAQ, the Rules of Entry should be considered the authoritative word.

Please read through the full Rules of Entry slowly SEVERAL times to fully understand them.

What is the purpose of the Awards?

To recognize, encourage and celebrate the excellent and exciting contemporary visual art produced by members of the 80 million strong Irish Diaspora worldwide.

Who is eligible to enter?

To qualify for entry, an entrant must have at least one great great grandparent, one great grand parent, one grand parent or one parent born on the island of Ireland, be born on the island of Ireland or be a current citizen of the Republic of Ireland or a resident of Northern Ireland for the duration of the competition.

You can live in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or any country anywhere in the world and still be eligible for entry.

If an entrant is short-listed, the Awards must receive proof of eligibility within 30 days of the announcement of the short-list. (Acceptable means of proof of eligibility include certified copies of birth certificates and passports. Alternative proofs of eligibility may be considered at the discretion of the Executive Board of the Irish American Arts Awards, but must be easily verifiable in the time available and definitively conclusive) Proof of age must also be submitted at that time.

What categories of art are covered?

Artists may submit details of their recent (within the last five years) contemporary visual artworks in support of their entry, including paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures and new media (including contemporary art videos and photography work).

The Awards do NOT cover architecture, dance, literature, video and photography not of a contemporary art nature (i.e. journalistic or documentary), film or stage acting and music.

There will be two age categories for all submissions; one for entrants under age 35 and one for entrants who are aged 35 and over. An entrant's age will be determined by the entrant's age as of 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 2007 Eastern Daylight Time.

Are the Awards for artworks or artists?

Artists. Details of the artworks are submitted in support of the artist's entry, together with the artist's artistic resume.

What are the judging criteria?

The judging panel will judge the entries based on factors that may include originality, concept, design, the technical skill exhibited in the execution of the artwork, and the overall impact of the piece on the viewer.

What Awards will be handed out?

Each category will have a main prize of $15,000; subsidiary awards are planned.

Could the prizes awarded be more or less than the mentioned $15,000 prizes?

It is theoretically possible that no serious entries are received, that the judges decide that no one who has entered deserves the award or that some catastrophe, man-made or natural, occurs and that the prize is therefore not awarded. It is however far more likely that the opposite happens, that the IAAA decides that it is in the fortunate position of being able to award more prizes than originally announced.

How do I enter?

From March 17th 2007 until May 18th 2007 there will be an entry form available on this website. Entrants must fully complete the form and upload two file images of their entered artwork in jpg format. Each jpg file must not exceed 0.5Mb in size.

I am an established artist. Why should I enter?

We look to established artists to lead the way and show what is possible for aspiring artists. In return the Irish American Arts Awards seek to give you recognition for your talent and attainment, to enhance your reputation amongst those who know of your work and to draw attention to you and your work amongst those who have not yet had the opportunity to learn of what you do.

I am an artist at the beginning of my career. Why should I enter?

Part of the raison d'être for the Awards is to encourage and 'discover' high quality contemporary visual artists of Irish ancestry. Even if your skills are not at such a level that you feel could win a world-wide award, we would welcome your entry as we also seek to highlight notable entries and thereby enhance the prospects and recognition of developing artists.

Will it cost to enter?

A handling charge of US$25 is payable for every entry. This is to help offset the costs of the competition and to discourage spurious or 'joke' entries.

My credit card was just rejected by the site. What do I do now?

We have found that nearly all cases of this result from transposing two or more digits in the entry of the card number. Please start again – you may well find that it works.

I am having difficulty uploading images of my artworks

Please contact our webmaster at webmaster@irishamericanartsawards.org.

What rights in my artwork do I surrender?

All entrants grant permission for the Awards executive committee to use the submitted jpg images for promotional purposes, as per the Rules of Entry. Images of submitted artworks may be utilized in the promotion of the Awards and to encourage entries. Remember, we are not here to exploit you; we are here to recognize what you do, encourage you to do more and the public to seek out your work, and to generally celebrate our collective fortune at coming from such a creative gene pool!

All entrants may agree that if they are short-listed one piece submitted at the short-list stage may be auctioned or otherwise disposed of by the Awards with half of the net proceeds donated to a charity of the Awards' choice and half being passed to the artist. This is optional and will not affect any matter relating to the judging. The reason for this is that one of the reasons for the Awards is to raise funds for charity.

Do the artworks have to be created solely for the Awards?

No. But at least one must be available for shipping to the USA if the artist is short-listed, and all other terms and conditions of these rules apply.

When will I be able to enter?

You can enter from March 17th 2007 onwards.

When must I have my entry in by?

May 18th, 2007.

What happens then?

The entries will be assessed and a short-list prepared.

When will the shortlist be announced?

The short-list will be announced on June 5th 2007. Full details will be placed on this website and released to the press and other media.

What happens after the short-list is announced?

All short-listed entrants are responsible for shipping their entries to the Awards storage facility in New York, New York, USA, to arrive within 45 days of the announcement of the short-list, and for insuring their entries during the shipping process. Help will be given as much as possible to reimburse shipping and insurance costs but the artist is ultimately responsible. It isn't possible for the Awards to write a ‘blank check' for any and all shipping and insurance costs in advance.

If short-listed, a form provided by the Awards Executive Board must be signed in hard copy by the entrant to certify the originality of the piece, to accompany the entered artwork to New York.

If short-listed, the names of the image filenames submitted should be written on the back UPPER RIGHT HAND CORNER of the artwork, unless it is a sculpture, in which case they should be securely affixed to its base.

Short-Listed entrants will be invited to attend the Awards Dinner to be held annually in New York City, New York, USA.

When and where will the winners be announced?

The winners will be announced at the Awards Dinner, to be held in Manhattan in September 2007 (precise details will be announced closer to the time). Details of winners will also be released to the news media.

Who are the judges?

The judging panel is chaired by Enrique Juncosa, the Director of the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin. Other members of the judging panel are detailed on our website.

Can I attend the awards dinner?

Tickets for the Awards dinner will be available for purchase through this website closer to the event.

Where will any money raised by the awards go?

Monies will go to support the Awards and to recognize, encourage and support contemporary visual art by those of Irish ancestry across the world.  Worthy charitable causes may be chosen from time to time to be supported by the Awards.

The Irish American Arts Awards has applied for 501(c)(3) status and is a Not-For-Profit company registered in the state of New York.