Why Drawing Academy’s Art Competition is democratic

Question from Jean Chang

Dear Drawing Academy Team,

I have been getting your emails for quite some time, and I finally thought I might enter your competition to win the Drawing Academy classes, since to pay the actual cost is impossible for me.

I changed my mind about entering when I saw the manner in which the winners are chosen. It appears that the competition is really a “popularity” contest and not awarded based on unbiased judging by qualified judges.

I’m sure you have plenty of entries and won’t miss mine, but I just thought I would give some feedback on your judging process. I know many of my fellow artists feel the same way.

Thanks for listening
Jean Chang

Dear Jean,

Many thanks for your comment about the Drawing Academy Art Competition.

We are very open and honest by saying upfront that we do not “play favorites” and let public vote for the winners.

This is what democracy really means – letting people decide who should be elected as a president, or a winner in our case.

Any art jury, however professional, would mean only one thing – a closed group of people casting very personal opinions on participants’ entries, thus imposing biased views on artworks and stories.

Can we ask on what basis would you like this competition to be judged, keeping in mind that the prize is Drawing Course memberships?

If the best artists win, they already know how to draw, and the prize would be wasted.

If the worst artists win, then after a couple of cycles it would be a competition for who can submit the worst scribble instead of meaningful drawings.

If judged on the basis of who tells the most compelling story, it would turn into a “my life is worse than yours” competition.

So, if you have any better suggestions, we really would like to hear your proposition.

Also, at our personal discretion, in addition to three winners nominated by the public, we give extra nominations to people whom we think deserve to win the course, however biased they might be:

• //drawingacademy.com/drawing-academy-contest-winners
• //drawingacademy.com/art-competition-winners
• //drawingacademy.com/art-competition-winners-autumn-2014
• //drawingacademy.com/art-competition-winners-winter-2015
• //drawingacademy.com/art-competition-winners-spring-2015
• //drawingacademy.com/art-competition-winners-summer-2015
• //drawingacademy.com/art-competition-winners-autumn-2015
• //drawingacademy.com/art-competition-winners-winter-2016
• //drawingacademy.com/art-competition-winners-autumn-2017

There are also participants to whom we give the full Academy membership, but we do not publicly announce those nominations.

Such membership giveaways mean more work on our shoulders as we are personally supporting every Academy member, giving artwork critiques, answering art questions, and mentoring our students.

This support for every member (paid or won) is provided for a lifetime, and we give our personal time and money doing so.

Kind regards,
Drawing Academy Team

Hello,

Thank you so much for your very prompt reply to my email.

Your explanation has really opened my eyes to a different viewpoint. When I thought of an “art competition,” I thought of it as choosing who did the best work, using various criteria to decide that, and that is probably a good rationale for most art shows.

However, now that I think about it, you are not looking for the “best artist,” but more for someone who would have the potential to become a best artist someday, and then offering teaching to get them there. I hope I’m interpreting this correctly. On that basis, it makes absolutely perfect sense in how you are choosing the winners. I just had never thought of it in that way before.

I know in my own case, I have sold several paintings, and I’m told my portraits are really good, but unfortunately my process for getting there is very hard! My drawing skills are terrible, and I have to rely on measurement after measurement, taking hours, sometimes days, just to get a line drawing. It is here where I am thinking lessons could help me. It is so discouraging when I see my fellow artists turn out paintings in a matter of hours, but mine can take weeks or months. Here is my website so you can see my results. I also do photography, so just click on “ART” at the top menu, then there are submenus for portraits, etc. www.jeanachang.com

Thanks so much for your very clear explanation. I really appreciate your getting back to me so quickly and showing me your thought process for your lessons.

Jean Chang

To participate in the Competition, simply upload your artwork here »