What art becomes award worthy ?

Nothing in art jurying seems absolute. I think the jurors like what they like. Not necessarily what is well designed and worthy.

I’ve been a juror for photography competitions in the past, and honestly, I found it often had less to do with the actual merits of the art, and much more to do with the jurors themselves and whatever trends are currently circulating in the art world. Neither of those things feels especially meaningful once removed from that very narrow context.

In my experience, some jurors start seeing themselves as arbiters of taste, and occasionally get a little drunk on that tiny bit of power. I think it’s much harder, but also much more honest, to try to approach each artwork from the perspective of the artist and what they were attempting to communicate, rather than judging it based on how neatly it fits into current contemporary art narratives.

That’s probably just my own gripes showing. And not all juried competitions are equal. But I do think artists sometimes give these outcomes far more weight than they deserve, when in reality the results can come down to something as random as who’s on the panel, what mood they’re in that day, or whether the work happens to align with current tastes.

@Michele Izzo i mean, do they go for content or message? Or technical