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It is said that a picture speaks a thousand words, and though photography can capture a moment, art can share an entire experience, a unique and personal way of seeing and sharing the world.
Welcome to the first ever BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year Award. At the magazine, we encourage our readers to connect with the natural world in any way that’s meaningful to them – be it through photography, poetry, nature or travel writing – and many of our prestigious competitions have run for years. Now, we are pleased to launch a new award for all wildlife artists and illustrators.
Thousands of years ago, our ancestors expressed their relationship with the natural world in cave paintings. Today, we continue to represent – and share – our experience of wildlife through art. And with myriad different mediums, everyone can express their interpretation of nature in a personal way.
Our competition is open to both professional and amateur artists, and it’s free to enter. There are 14 different categories (see below), so there’s plenty of opportunity to demonstrate your skill, style and creativity – and, most importantly, your passion for wildlife.
Each category will have a winner chosen by our panel of expert judges, and their artwork will be displayed with the annual exhibition of the Marwell International Wildlife Art Society and published in BBC Wildlife in August 2009. Plus, the overall winner will be awarded the title ‘BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year 2009’ and will win a place on the 2010 Festival of Wildlife in Brazil (see far right).
So, don’t just sit there... get outdoors and show us what you can do.
THE CATEGORIES
» British mammals (behaviour and portraits)
» British birds (behaviour and portraits)
» All other British wildlife (behaviour and portraits)
» The wonder of plants (British and worldwide)
» Beneath the water (marine and freshwater)
» Animals in their environment (British and worldwide)
» Dusk to dawn
» World mammals (behaviour and portraits)
» World birds (behaviour and portraits)
» All other world wildlife (behaviour and portraits)
» Black and white nature (pencil, lino cuts, etchings, wood block etc)
» Visions of nature (innovative, creative impressions of wildlife)
» Frozen planet (please note, entries must feature animal life)
» Endangered species (entries must feature species listed by the IUCN as ‘endangered’ or worse)
All entries must be received by 28 Feb 2009
THE JUDGES
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Pip McGarry
Pip is the founder and chairman of the Marwell International Wildlife Art Society (MIWAS) and has been a successful professional wildlife artist for many years. |
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Sophie Stafford
Sophie is the Editor of BBC Wildlife and works closely with artists and illustrators. “It’s a real skill to capture the character and movement of mammals”, she says. |
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Chris Breen
Chris founded and now manages Wildlife Worldwide. Wildlife conservation is at the top of his list, and he says “working alongside wildlife artists helps us achieve this goal.” |
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Chris Rose
Chris has been painting wildlife for over 25 years. He is a leading member of the Society of Wildlife Artists and a governor of the Federation of British Artists. |
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Brandon Lindberg
Brandon has worked at Christie’s auction house for 15 years. He heads their Sporting and Wildlife Art auctions and is an Associate Director in the British and Irish Art department. |
THE PRIZES
» Join the Festival of Wildlife 2010 in Brazil
In 2010, the overall winner will join the 7th Annual Festival of Wildlife in the heart of the Brazilian Pantanal, one of the world’s largest wetlands. Home to 1,000 species of bird, 400 species of fish, 300 species of mammal and 480 species of reptile, it’s an artist’s paradise! At the Festival, you will be joined by top naturalists, wildlife photographers and artists, who will help you search for jaguars, hyacinth macaws and other wildlife. Learn about local conservation projects and improve your photographic and painting skills in the comfort of some of Brazil’s top ecolodges. For more information, visit www.festivalofwildlife.com
» See your art exhibited at marwell international art society
The overall and category winners will have their work exhibited at the prestigious annual exhibition of the Marwell International Wildlife Art Society (MIWAS) in August 2009, in a special display alongside 170 other artists and sculptors. The awards will be presented on the opening night of the exhibition.
» The overall winner will also be displayed at the annual exhibition of the Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) at The Mall Galleries, London, in September 2009.
» Have your art published in BBC Wildlife magazine
All the category winners will be published in a special feature in the August 2009 issue of BBC Wildlife (on sale 9 July). Since we’re always looking for new talent, some of the winners may even be offered a commission.
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The Rules
1 Entries The competition is open to all artists aged 18 or over, amateur or professional, other than employees of BBC Worldwide, Bristol Magazines Ltd and Wildlife Worldwide, and their immediate families.
2 Maximum five entries per person.
3 No artwork may be entered in more than one category.
4 The artwork must not have won any prize in any other competition anywhere in the world, or been previously published.
5 The artwork must have been created within the past year and be your own original work.
6 You must be the sole author and owner of the copyright of all artwork entered, OR if your work is copied from a photograph(s) that is/are not your own, you must have sole permission in writing from the copyright owner to use his/her work. Copies of published photographs or paintings are not eligible. Source material or proof of permission to use must be made available on request by the judges. BBC Wildlife does not accept any liability in the publication of unlawfully reproduced art.
7 All artwork must feature natural subjects: domestic and feral animals will not be accepted, nor will cultivated plants. Wild mammals, birds, freshwater and marine life, invertebrates and wildflowers are acceptable subjects.
8 Any medium and all styles from classic and contemporary to impressionist and abstract can be used.
9 The artwork must be two-dimensional only. Diptychs, triptychs and box canvases are not admissible.
10 The artwork must not exceed 40 x 40 inches in size for exhibiting at Marwell.
11 No allowances will be made for poorly scanned entries. BBC Worldwide takes no responsibility for corrupted or late entries. Scans of artwork will not be returned.
12 To enter, the artwork must be uploaded to our website at www.bbcwildlifemagazine.com by the closing date of 28 February 2009. All entries must be accompanied by an online entry form.
13 Email addresses may be used by BBC Worldwide for marketing, unless you opt out. For conditions, see p117.
14 Copyright The entry of any artwork to the competition constitutes a grant to BBC Worldwide of the non-exclusive right to reproduce it for any purpose in connection with the competition at any time in any media.
15 The winners consent to the use of their artwork, name and/or photograph in any publicity carried out by BBC Worldwide, without further compensation.
16 The judging The artwork will be judged by an independent panel appointed by BBC Wildlife. We reserve the right to change the advertised judges.
17 The judges’ decision on all matters relating to the competition is final. No correspondence will be entered into.
18 BBC Wildlife reserves the right to withhold prizes if, in the opinion of the judges, the quality of entries falls below the standard required.
19 The first round of judging will take place in March. The best images in each category will be shortlisted for the final round of judging in May. Entrants will be notified by 30 April 2009. Artwork must be framed and delivered to Marwell Hall for final judging. The category winners and overall winner will be selected from this shortlist.
20 Category winners will remain at the Hall; unsuccessful entrants will be asked to remove their artwork.
21 The prizes The category winners will be published in the August 2009 issue of BBC Wildlife (on sale 9 July) and displayed at the Marwell International Wildlife Art Society exhibition in August 2009.
22 Category winners can sell their artwork at the Marwell exhibition at a standard commission rate of 27%.
23 Following exhibition, category winners will be responsible for ensuring that any unsold artwork is collected from Marwell Hall on the evening of 30 August 2009
by arrangement.
24 The overall ‘BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year’ wins a place for one person on the 7th Annual Festival of Wildlife in Brazil, which will take place in September 2010 (exact dates TBC), run by Wildlife Worldwide. There are no holiday or cash alternatives and the award cannot be transferred.
25 Wildlife Worldwide reserves the right to substitute another holiday in the event of unavailability, for whatever reason, of the advertised trip.
26 The overall winning picture will be displayed at the annual exhibition of the Society of Wildlife Artists at The Mall Galleries, London, from 22 September–5 October 2009. The work must be framed and delivered to the Mall Galleries between 14–18 September 2009, and can be sold at a standard commission rate of 40%. If unsold, it should be collected from The Mall Galleries on 8 October 2009. |
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 COMPETITIONS |
| Win an eight-day Kenyan safari We have one place on a fabulous Kenyan wildlife safari (worth more than £1,000) to give away, courtesy of Intrepid Travel. Enter here |
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