2012 NICHE Awards Guidelines
The NICHE Awards competition is open to professional craft artists over the age of 21 who reside in America or Canada and are actively involved in the design and production of craftwork supplied to galleries and/or craft stores.
The NICHE Student Awards competition is open to any craft student residing in and attending an American or Canadian undergraduate, graduate or certificate arts program.
Submitted work must have been produced or introduced after August 31, 2010 to be eligible. Work previously submitted to the competition will not be accepted. Artists may enter as a student for up to one (1) year after graduation; however, work submitted must have been produced while an artist was still a student. Professionals may only submit work produced within the U.S. or Canada. Work produced in secondary studios within other countries may not be submitted.
NICHE magazine reserves the right to merge categories that do not accrue an appropriate number of applications.
The only way to enter the 2012 NICHE Awards or 2012 NICHE Student Awards is by completing an application online. Paper applications will not be accepted.
One application per artist is allowed. Each application allows for up to three pieces of work to be submitted; no more than two pieces may be submitted in the same category. The competition is judged on a per piece basis, not on an application basis. It is therefore possible to be up to a three-time winner. Artists may enter in either the professional division or student division, not in both. Entries must be submitted by the artist in the artist’s name, not in the name of a company or school.
No additional images showing detail will be accepted for jurying. The image photo submitted may be enlarged by the judges to see detail. Each image must be a separate piece of work and show the work in its entirety. Applicants may not enter an individual piece in more than one category.
Installation art will not be accepted in any category.
The cost to enter is $40 for professional, $20 for current Buyers Market exhibitors and $18 for students. The application fee can be paid by check or money order only. Note the applicants name with the payment. Please mail payments to:
NICHE Awards
3000 Chestnut Ave., Ste. 300
Baltimore MD 21211
Applicants will receive an email notification when their payment has been processed and their application is accepted.
Payments must be received no later than two weeks after the application deadline. Unpaid applications will be deleted from the competition.
NICHE magazine accepts only digital images for the 2012 NICHE Awards and 2012 NICHE Student Awards.
Images must be in JPEG format, 300 dpi and approximately 4×6 inches (1200×1800 pixels) in size. Images not meeting these standards will not be reviewed.
Artist renderings/sketches and digitally created images will not be accepted. The photo should represent a piece as it actually looks.
Images submitted are understood to be the property of the artist with the right to use them for unlimited publication. All photography credits (when applicable) must be submitted with the application.
All images submitted to the competition may be used by NICHE magazine in upcoming issues or for other promotional purposes.
SUGGESTIONS FOR APPLICANTS
- Apply for all protections necessary (e.g. copyright, patent or photographer’s release).
- Submit high-quality images with a plain background. Evenly distribute lighting from at least three light sources so that no shadows are cast. Hire a professional photographer to photograph your work whenever possible.
- Present fashions as worn by professional models.
- Photograph jewelry alone, not worn by a model.
Each image entry is judged individually. The judges’ scores are not cumulative per application, but reflect their decisions per individual image entry. Images are judged on the following:
- Technical excellence, both in surface design and form
- A distinct quality of unique, original and creative thought
- Market viability (professional entries only)
Decisions of the judges will be final. Notifications will be sent in November/December 2011. There is one winner per category as well as several finalists. The number of finalists per category is determined by the volume of submissions within that category.
Finalists receive an awards certificate, listing on the NICHE Awards website, listing in the Winter 2011 issue of NICHE magazine (professionals only) and a listing in the Buyers Market of American Craft (BMAC) February 2012 Buyers Guide (professionals & students).
Finalists are also invited to display their piece in a special exhibit at the February 2012 BMAC (artists are responsible for the drop off and pick up of their work). Participating in the display exposes finalists’ work to thousands of buyers from across the country.
Winners will be announced at a ceremony held during BMAC in February 2012. Winners will receive an awards certificate, trophy, listing on the NICHE Awards website and prominent listing in the Spring 2012 issue of NICHE magazine.
Information about the ceremony and special display will be included in the finalists’ promotional packets.
