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All of our news, insights and inspirations in one place.
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Marketing your Award Effectively (even on shoestring budgets)
Without good marketing, no one will submit to your award/competition. Here are a few tips to increase exposure to your programme
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5 Creativity and Wellbeing tips
Let’s face it, we could all do better at taking care of ourselves. The pursuit of creativity is a journey which can be as thrilling as it is perilous…
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War Notes
Zealous Stories: Photography 2022 winner Mouneb Taim is a photojournalist who has covered life under siege in Douma, Eastern Ghouta, Idlib and Aleppo.
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Augmented Reality Murals
Zealous Stories: Design 2022 winner Luke Gray is a nomadic surrealist painter specialising in large scale paintings on walls and canvas.
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HOMEBOUND
Zealous Stories: Short Film 2022 winner Lucy Werrett is an award-winning director and photographer working across Bristol and London.
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Choosing the best tools for managing submissions
Taking submissions can be a breeze or a nightmare; the deciding factor is your tools. Here are our top tips in picking the right ones for your needs.
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The Cut of Your Gib
Zealous Stories: Painting 2022 winner Amy Dury is an artist based in Hove, specialising in oil painting.
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Supporting Growth Within Creative Communities
Now is such an important time to support one another. We’ve put together a list of organisations, individuals and collectives that pay an extraordinary amount of attention to fostering growth, equality and strength within the creative community.
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Maximising Engagement using Competitions
How to maximise engagement for your open call, create exposure for your brand, show support for your community & begin a meaningful dialogue.
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Imperfection I
Zealous Stories: Craft Winner, Carmen M. Castañeda is an artistic researcher and practitioner specialising in hand-embroidery techniques.
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Writing the perfect guidelines for your competition
Writing good guidelines can make or break your competition. This article covers best practices to guarantee candidates apply with the right content for your needs.
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Tippler and The Crow
Mason Matak is an illustrator based in Iran. His works have appeared on the pages of children’s books, beside Old Iranian folktales, as tattoos on people’s skin, and also exist online as NFTs.
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Burial Rites
Zealous Stories: Short Story winner, Yvette Naden, is an obsessive writer of poetry and prose.
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How to approach judges for competitions
Getting partners involved and securing high-level individuals to help you select winners is no easy task. But having someone recognisable on your panel is a big perk for candidates who want their work seen. Here are our top tips to appeal to judges you would like involved in your programme.
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Voice Like an Insect
Zealous Stories: Print winner, Angelica Trimble-Yanu, was born and raised in Oakland, California and is an enrolled member of the Oglála Lakȟóta Nation.
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Drawing up your schedule
Timing is everything – opening your submissions at the wrong time or for too long could negatively impact the number of candidates who apply. Find out more on what to watch out for when crafting the schedule of your programme.
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Terminal B
Zealous Stories: Digital Art winner, Nigel Goldsmith, is a visual artist focusing on environmental issues and the Anthropocene.
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Planning the selection process for your competition
Seeing submissions reach into the hundreds then into thousands is a real buzz. But that euphoria can quickly turn to dread if your process to select successful candidates isn’t built to cope.
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Performative Drawing
Zealous Stories: Performance winner, M. Lohrum, is an artist based in London and currently working across video, drawing and performance.
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10 Questions with Guy Armitage
This year, Zealous celebrates its 10th Anniversary. In recognition of this momentous occasion, we’ve interviewed founder and CEO, Guy Armitage, to find out more about the company’s past, present and future.
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Sharing Four Lessons from Running a Business
Ten years have gone by quickly, and we are still learning. After a decade of building Zealous, we thought we should share some of our top lessons.
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We Are Not Ourselves
Zealous Stories, Sculpture winner, Svetlana Ochkovskay lives and works in Portsmouth, UK. Her practice explores ideas of identity, belonging and otherness: encouraging new perceptions of the world by taking the audience to a visual other.
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Celebrating our 10th Anniversary!
It is humbling to see an idea I had ten years ago develop into a network of over 45,000 artists and arts organisations. And although we should use our anniversary to celebrate what we achieved, this feels only like the beginning! Here’s what to expect from our Anniversary year (and beyond).
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Establishing the perks for your competition
The only reason applicants will take the time to submit is that there’s something in it for them. Defining what’s in it for those selected, and understanding what you have available to you, could allow you to run a competition on a very tight budget, and still make a great success of it.
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Perfecting Your Artist Statement for Awards & Submissions
Having a clear and compelling artist statement is essential for grant applications, exhibitions, open calls and residency submissions. To ensure you communicate what matters, we’ve compiled a quick and easy guide to help you tackle the daunting task of putting words to your practice.
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Wee Muckers – Youth of Belfast
Zealous Stories: Photography winner, Toby binder, has been documenting the daily life of teenagers in British working-class communities for more than a decade. His winning series is a compelling exploration of young people in Northern Ireland, who often suffer the same problems, undeterred by which side of the border they reside.
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Streamlining what you ask for from candidates
Asking candidates for the correct information when they submit is a fine art.
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Creative Resources: Where to Get Your Grant
Every discipline comes with its own set of requirements and costs. It can be hard to filter through the plethora of opportunities to find the perfect one suited to your project and its needs. We’ve put together a selection of grant initiatives and competitions that stand out as being particularly suited to specific disciplines.
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From Lenses to Lighting
Zealous Stories: Design winner, Yair Neuman, is a London-based designer and entrepreneur, exploring sustainable design opportunities. Neuman’s Lens Light collection is a positive action to repurpose waste lenses from the eyewear sector into striking, sculptural lights.
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Defining the purpose of your programme
Purpose is powerful. It allows you to inspire people to take part and measure your goals effectively once your program ends. Without a clearly articulated purpose, marketing your offering and getting candidates to submit will be an uphill struggle.
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Discover how Global Health 50/50 doubled entries celebrating gender globally
Global Health 50/50 received above a thousand entries empowering them to celebrate the richer diversity of stories entered to their competition.
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See how SAF saved days of admin supporting their art prize run across Asia
Discover how the Sovereign Asian Foundation has grown the scope of their prize and increased exposure of artists across the Asia-Pacific region.
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Shadow Passage
Zealous Stories: Animation winner, Ali Aschman, is a visual artist working primarily in stop motion animation. Aschman’s tactile work is rooted in storytelling, but takes a non-linear and surreal approach, finding its own organic structure through an intuitive and often improvisational process.
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Mastering Online Networking
Networking is a skill that is critically important, but often nerve-wracking and tricky to navigate. Now more than ever, individuals have had to exercise their networking efforts online – but this doesn’t have to impact you negatively!
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7 Awards Platforms for the Creative Industries
Choosing the right process whilst taking entries could save you hundreds of hours of admin. To save you a little time we’ve compiled a list of the best submission platforms serving the creative eco-system at this time.
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Houses of Kadıköy
Zealous Stories: Painting winner, Edinburgh-based artist Emily Moore, creates arresting landscape paintings using an amalgamation of personal source images and experiences. Moore’s creative process allows her to recall each place and combine them to create new, anonymous landscapes.
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Founder Update 2021
Although we have been robbed of the fresh start we were promised at the start of 2021, we shouldn’t let that deter us from making the most of the year ahead. Here’s how Zealous plans to make the most of this year!
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Ghosts in the Graveyard
Zealous Stories: Craft winner, Linda Southwell, creates intricate porcelain sculptures based on plant and flower structures. She works from memory, developing flowers that are unique to her. Linda’s work celebrates her identity as a female artist and her fascination with the natural world.
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A Handcrafted Christmas
From unique handmade stocking-fillers to creative masterclasses, we have compiled a brilliant list of virtual market experiences, workshops, and Zealous makers for you to check out this Christmas (and beyond).
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Making the perfect writing award application
Writing awards can be daunting, particularly for those new to the craft. To help you navigate the process, we asked three industry professionals: ‘what do you look for in a writing awards application?’ These firsthand insights will equip you with the knowledge that you need to take the plunge, and submit to that opportunity you’ve…
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Exhibiting at a City Takeover & 20 Micro Residencies
As part of their Leicester City takeover, UKNA listed two calls on Zealous. The first for artists wishing to showcase their work across the city, and the second offering 20 micro-residencies around the themes of sustainability, placemaking and common interest.
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Trends for Running Competitions in 2021
Much has changed in 2020. For that reason, we’ve compiled our top tips on things to take into consideration when planning & running a successful competition in 2021.
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Creative Resources: Self-Promotion
Many creatives shy away from self-promotion fearing they’ll be branded arrogant, but their fear is misplaced. If you don’t tell people about what you do – and why you do it – how will they know? If you want to create a sustainable business then you’re going to need customers, supporters and champions. Self-promotion will…
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Oasis
Zealous Stories Illustration winner, Jie Gao, is a London based visual artist and graphic designer. Her winning series, Oasis, uses digital art techniques to express deep-seated loneliness, as the main character gradually looses herself, paralysed by the modern world.
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Championing Swiss Artistic Talent in the UK
SCF uses Zealous to save time managing applications for its quarterly grants aimed at supporting Swiss artistic talents in the UK.
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Fairy Words
Zealous Stories: Short Story winner, Kate MacRitchie, grew up in a small town in the heart of Scotland – a place of Fingalian legend and high, windy fields. Her writing is driven by the shadow selves we keep secret, collective memory and the meeting of landscape and language.
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Creative Questions: How Do I Get My Name Out There?
We’re tackling those all-important questions asked by our creative community. In this article we explore: how to get your name out there. Three arts professionals share their wisdom to provide you with a series of valuable insights.
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September / October Highlights
It’s been a while! With museums, galleries and art spaces reopening to the public, you may want to dip your cultural toes back into the art world’s waters. If you’re struggling with what to check out first (both online and in person), here’s a list of 5 events to add to your cultural calendar for…
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Top sites to list your writing competition on
Boost submissions to your writing contests by listing them on these amazing sites.
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Creative Resources: Studio Spaces
The right studio space can enable artists to develop their practice, network with other creative practitioners and gain access to opportunities which stem from their environment. We have compiled a list of studio resources to help you find the perfect workspace to suit your needs.
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The Story of Miss Ruby Ribbon
Zealous Stories: Print winner, Rebecca Carrington, blends prints and embellishments into lively womenswear designs with an innovative twist. Her winning collection, ‘The story of Miss Ruby Ribbon’, is based on a playful narrative, inspired by her childhood and a tribute to her parrot Ruby.
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Creating Work and Stimulating Non-Digital Creativity
Cambridge City council set out to engage with their community during COVID. They used Zealous to accept submissions for a commission to provide work for local freelancers and engage with households in need.
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A Networked Performance
Zealous Stories: Digital Art winner, Francesca Fini, is an interdisciplinary artist focused on experimental cinema, installation and performance art. Conceived during lockdown, her winning work is a fascinating exploration of the deserted Italian squares.
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Creating opportunity in adversity
our months ago, the rules that governed society turned inside out. This left communities isolated, lead to freelancers losing their income and forced organisations to reinvent themselves. Cambridge City Council Supporting communities by commissioning talent With schools closed, parents working from home and the elderly under lockdown, families have either found themselves alone in isolation…
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The Power of Performance
Zealous Stories: Performance winner, Lanre Malaolu, is a director, choreographer, writer and performance artist based in London. Lanre’s work is an unflinching exploration of social and political worldviews, which aims to enhance, challenge and rouse conversation about our own ideals.
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Showcasing the work of under-represented writers
Creative Future switched to Zealous to manage submissions for their Writer’s Award. The UK’s only national writing competition for all under-represented writers who lack opportunities due to mental health issues, disability, health, or social circumstance.
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The Fragile Texture of our Desires
Zealous Stories: Sculpture winner, Camilla Hanney, is an Irish artist living and working in London. Camilla’s practice explores themes of time, sexuality, cultural identity and the corporeal. Her winning installation investigates both the fragility of the human condition and the complex nature of our desires.
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Commissioning exciting new talent for a conference
Capcon infused their conference with creativity by commissioning two multidisciplinary artists to create work to be enjoyed by their audience.
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Embracing Creativity as an Agent of Change
How long will it take before we return to normality? Is the world of yesterday really the world that we want for tomorrow? And in this period of change, how do we make sure we are able to cope with so much uncertainty, both as individuals and businesses?
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Exploring the Rocky Outcrops
Zealous Stories: Mixed Media winner, Alysia Webster, is a visual artist based in Northern England. Alysia’s energetic work aims to recreate the feeling of being immersed in the landscape, and the ever-changing weather against the unyielding mass of the mountains.
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Helping a student prize support the talent of tomorrow
Zealous helped Pavilion Books give the chance for young creatives to get their foot in the door.
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English Journey
Zealous Stories Photography winner, John Angerson, explores the different languages of documentary photography, focusing on how specific communities form, shift and develop. John sets out to report England as it really is, and was; embracing the spirit of English novelist J. B. Priestley.
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Creating purpose in isolation
This is our time to prove that arts organisations are there for them even in the most adverse of times. Here’s how running a competition can help support our communities now in isolation, give our team a shared purpose and ensure, that when our doors open once again, our audiences return to us and our…
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Part 2: Building Relationships with Art Spaces
We’re tackling those all-important questions asked by our creative community. In this article we explore: how to build and maintain a relationship with art spaces (more specifically galleries). Two arts professionals share their wisdom to provide you with more valuable insights.
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Creating Multicultural Dialogue with a Residency
Egde of Arabia set out to create cultural dialogue between the Middle East and the western world, they turned to Zealous to help then to gather submissions for their residency.
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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.
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Creative Questions: Building Relationships with Art Spaces
Part 1: We’re tackling those all-important questions asked by our creative community. In this article we explore: how to build and maintain a relationship with art spaces. Three arts professionals share their wisdom to provide you with a series of valuable insights.
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Generating community engagement with a photography competition
Firstsite built relationships with the communities surrounding them with a photography competition capturing the “Essence of Essex”. Zealous supported them, and their judges, to save time managing thousands of entries.
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Woodpecker
Zealous Stories: Design winner, Rihards Vitols, is driven by the desire to design speculative devices for different environments. He utilises scientific methodology to explore the relationship between nature and technology.
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Building inclusivity into your call out
Inclusion is often mentioned, but difficult to get right across all of your processes. Here is a brief guide on what to watch out for when running a call out.
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March Must-sees
Looking to soak up some culture? We’ve rounded up five exhibitions for you to check out this February / March. Featuring nostalgic ceramics, modern craft, sketching workshops and much more.
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The Dictionary
Zealous Stories: Animation winner, Xiaoying Liang, is a graphic designer whose work destabalises, stretches and interrogates the boundaries of day-to-day objects created by their dictionary definitions. Xiaoying playfully questions the authority of the dictionary, defining her practice through this project of self-discovery.
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Here’s to 2020
As a nation we may not agree with choices that were made in 2019 – but a new decade is upon us and there has been no better time to learn from the past and focus on building a future in a society we wish to live in. That’s exactly what we’re working on, and…
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11 Life Lessons If You’re A Creative
Being a creative can be tough. For all the time you spend doing what you love, you’ve got to put in the same number of hours trying to get others’ attention and making the money you need to sustain yourself. These lessons will help you along the way.
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Forces of Nature
Contemporary landscape painter, Tori Tipton, explores our emotional response and attitudes towards the natural environment. Her work is an amalgamation of recollections, observations and experiences. Amidst these ambivalent forces of nature, one can retreat from civilization and reconnect with the earth.
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6 Books To Read In 2020
The winter break is the perfect time to reflect on the past year and prepare for the challenges of 2020. It’s also a time of frantic Christmas gift buying, where the stresses of inspiration, finances and expectations collide; leaving us clueless on what to get people. To kill two birds with one stone, I’ve compiled…
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A Crafty Christmas
Get into the festive spirit this December and explore the array of Christmas markets and winter fairs that the UK has to offer! Whether you’re looking for gift inspiration, or simply want to indulge in mince pies and mulled wine – you’re sure to find something to enjoy from this month’s top picks.
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Valuing Your Work
We all know how much milk, coffee and sugar are worth, yet why does the creative industry struggle to value its goods, and why does it feel we’re working harder and making less? (Spoiler – It’s very much down to our ability to value ourselves).
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Creative Questions: Curating a Festival
Completing an application can be daunting; particularly when it comes to arts festivals that are often on the look out for new and engaging work. To help you navigate the process, we asked three festival organisers: what do you look for in an application when curating your festival?
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The Language of Making
Zealous Stories: Craft winner, Steven Edwards, aims to share the material / maker relationship with the viewer by creating work that emphasizes implied movement. Fascinated by process-led making, he uses traditional techniques to explore unanticipated outcomes.
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Creative Questions: Finding a Balance
When creating work for specific clients, you may find yourself asking – how do I form a balance between my creativity and client briefs? Here’s what four artists who have long grappled with this issue had to say.
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Writing Engaging Guidelines
Writing clear guidelines can make or break your competition. A lack of information could lead to the wrong content being submitted, too much, and candidates may skip it. Here are a few lessons we’ve learnt from hosting open calls.
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Unmissable Shows for October / November
From digital art festivals to printmaking demonstrations, there’s plenty to see this October / November. To save you time sifting through the abundance of events, we’ve compiled a list of unmissable shows to enhance your cultural calendar.
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Dones d’Aigua
Zealous Stories: Illustration winner, Sonia Alins, is focused on the creation of art with a poetic narrative. Sonia’s aim, is that through the relationship between the figures and aquatic medium, the viewer can experience the soul, emotion and energy of the character.
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Your September Schedule
We know it can be difficult to keep up with the countless cultural events happening around the UK. To help you out, we’ve compiled 4 must-see shows for your September schedule.
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How Love Loses Itself
On a quest to rediscover her creativity, Zealous Stories: Short Story winner, Catherine Sleeman, is an experimental writer and dancer. Catherine is interested in the connection that can be formed between words and movement. Her work, Chemistry, delves into the intricacies of a married couple’s complex relationship.
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Creative Questions: Approaching a Gallery
We’re tackling those all-important questions frequently asked by our creative community. In this article we investigate: what is the best way to approach a gallery? We spoke to five gallery professionals who have drawn on their own knowledge and experience to provide you with a series of valuable insights.
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The Art of Engaging & Placemaking
This short guide highlights steps to better engage with your communities (team, stakeholders, clients, residents) through creative commissions.
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August Summer Schedule
With summer In full swing, why not take the time to check out what the art world has to offer? Here’s a look at five current displays that are sure to keep your month interesting!
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Creative Questions: Stand Out Submissions
In this article, we tackle one of the most frequently asked questions from our creative community – “How do I make my work stand out when applying to opportunities?” Here’s what five industry professionals, directly involved with running or judging art competitions, had to say in response.
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A Search for Structure
Zealous Stories: Print winner, Carol Wyss, adopts the human skeleton as the framework through which she examines the relationship of human structures to their surroundings. Through her methodical search for what holds things together, Carol broadens the possibilities for interpretation.
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Our Top Picks for July
If you’re looking to add some creativity to your summer schedule, look no further! From plein air painting to award winning illustrations, here are four exhibitions that are sure to keep you busy this July.
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The best sites to list your art competition on
Getting your art competition seen by as many people as possible is always key to bringing in more submissions. Taking a little time to list it on external sites is always a great way to increase exposure. To save you time here are the top sites you can market your call on. (Updated Jan 6th…
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Dirt: A Graphic Novel
Artist and Illustrator Lewis Darley is the winner of the Cass Art Award and the Batsford Prize 2019. His winning project “Dirt” is a graphic novel which explores the whimsical tale of Percy and Sue as they navigate a series of unusual predicaments.
