Improving Gender Representation in the Arts with a Prize

Only 3–5% of the artworks in major permanent collections in the west are made by women artists. Procreate Project wishes to challenge that by using Zealous to organise a competition celebrating artists [self-identifying] as women.

In brief

Hosted their last two prizes on Zealous

Procreate Project grew their art prize through Zealous by:

Simplifying the payment journey for candidates
Inviting high-level judges to score entries online
Selecting winners over multiple rounds

Supporting (Artist) Mothers

Only 3–5% of the artworks in major permanent collections in the west are made by women artists. Procreate Project seeks for more equal representation for artists [self-identifying] as women.

By organising a prize celebrating mothers, Procreate Project generates a dialogue focusing on an important theme, whilst directly supporting artists who are mothers/parents.

The 20 shortlisted artists are given a group show; with the overall winner being offered cash, mentorship and a month-long residency.

Growing the prize

Being efficient when accepting submissions, Procreate Projects unlock time to focus on marketing their prize. Zealous has supported them:

By simplifying the submissions process for candidates – Procreate Project has grown the number of applicants and increased funds going towards supporting their initiatives.
Making the judging process simple allows high-level individuals who are often time-poor to save hours scoring hundreds of submissions.
Selecting candidates across two rounds gives Procreate the tools to select entries being showcased in the group exhibition, and then select an overall winner. Automating result notifications to their shortlist.

It’s been a pleasure to work with Zealous. The system is easy and intuitive for participants, judges & administrators. The dashboard is clear and allowed me to quickly manage the entire process.

Paola Lucente
Procreate Project (Director)

Increased Exposure

Organising a prize allows Procreate Project to create dialogue focusing on the gender divide in the arts across their entire process – from announcing their submissions opening to exhibiting the winning entries.

Zealous unlocks their time so they can grow exposure to their prize and focus on what matters most to them, empowering artist mothers within the arts.