Celeste Prize

An international prize for contemporary arts and a network for art professionals

Celesteprize.com Premioceleste.it

Celeste Prize 2010, 2nd Edition

Submissions:
no later than midnight, Thursday 30 September 2010:

either by registering and making a direct upload - the fastest and cheapest method, or by mail - send a completed Application Form and all materials requested in Art.5 (B).

Art. 1 – AIM
The prize has been established to promote international contemporary art in the widest possible sense. There will be a final exhibition with 50 artworks, a final catalogue of circa 150 pages with circa 120 illustrated works of art and critical texts, as well as 6 prize awards totaling 40,000 €. The exhibition of finalist works, voting and awards will take place at the Invisible Dog, New York City, USA, in December 2010.

Art. 2 - ELIGIBILITY
The prize is open to any person practising art either as a professional full-time/part-time artist, student or self-taught artist from anywhere in the world. There is no age limit for applicants and the prize is open to all artists whatever their qualifications, whether or not he or she has experience of public or private exhibitions, critical acclaim, or collectors at a national or international level. The prize encourages participation by artists at every level.

Art. 3 – PRIZES
Excellence in content, contemporary aesthetic, technique, and material is sought in the selection of works for the final exhibition. Works of art submitted to the prize must have been completed in the last 24 months, and do not necessarily have to have been exhibited before. There is no special subject, title or theme required for participating works, they can range from being figurative to abstract, from conceptual to participatory in content and presentation.

(A) PAINTING PRIZE  8,000 €*
First prize 6,000 €, and 222 € to each of the other nine finalists.

Media Include: oil, acrylic, industrial paints, ink, vinyl, watercolour, graphite, pencil, printing of various forms, etc. The work can have any form of support: canvas, paper, cardboard, wood, plastic, metal, etc. Diptychs or triptychs are considered one work. The maximum size permitted in a two-dimensional format is 2,5 x 2,5 metres, including any framing (the latter is not necessary).

(B) PHOTOGRAPHY & DIGITAL GRAPHICS PRIZE  8,000 €*
First prize 6,000 €, and 222 € to each of the other nine finalists.

Media Include: works in 2D, including digital photography, traditional-analogue photography, net art, computer graphic modelling, software art or works in which several media are used, for example digital manipulations which include the use of painting or other forms of manual expression, polaroids, mobile phones, foto collages, etc. Diptychs or triptychs are considered one work. The maximum size permitted in a two-dimensional format is 2,5 x 2,5 metres, including any framing (the latter is not necessary).

C) VIDEO & ANIMATION PRIZE  8,000 €*
First prize 6,000 €, and 222 € to each of the other nine finalists.

Media Include: works on DVD in original, high quality, are requested for the finalist’s exhibition, while for prize entry and publication on the prize website, send or upload your video according to the parameters described below in Art. 6. (B) 3.

(D) INSTALLATION & SCULPTURE PRIZE  8,000 €*
First prize 6,000 €, and 222 € to each of the other nine finalists.

Media Include: works in 3D, installation, net art, sculpture or any non-media related performances (for live audiovisual performances select ‘Live Media Prize’ below) – all materials are accepted (organic or inorganic), as well as works with an interactive basis and/or connection to electricity, motorisation, light, sound or video. If an installation includes projection of a video the latter must be presented on DVD (Art. 6. (B) 3.). The maximum area size permitted for works is 5 x 5 metres. For information about installing works see website page 'Technical support' .

(E) LIVE MEDIA PRIZE & PERFORMANCE PRIZE  8,000 €*
First prize ‘Live Media’ 3,000 €, and 250 € to each of the four other finalists. The three runners-up in 'Live Media' will each receive a free copy of Modul8’s latest software.

First prize ‘Performance’ 3,000 €, and 250 € to each of the four other finalists.

Media include: a live audio and video set, which includes the use of any form of software. Live sets can either be projected on screens or presented as a performance in a space which does not exceed 10 x 10 metres (or both of these together), as well as performances which include forms of participatory art. Duration of finalist performances is max 30 minutes. For the purposes of presentation on the prize website a showreel in video is required (see video Art. 6. (B) 3 for video formats). The showreel can be a recording of a live performance of the work, or a presentation in computer graphics, which will be the core of the candidate’s set if it is chosen for the final. For equipment provided by Celeste and how your work should be presented see website page 'Technical support' .

THE WINNERS
The winners in each prize category (see A to E) will be chosen by the 50 finalists themselves (10 finalists in each category, except for the Live Media & Performance Prize where there will be 5 Live Media finalists and 5 Performance finalists) via a democratic vote during the final exhibition in NYC (see Art. 5 – Voting & Artists’ final choices).
The 6 first prizes will be given directly at the awards ceremony to those artists whose works receive a majority of votes from the other finalists in each of the 5 prize categories.
All finalists' artworks, including those by first-prize winners, will remain after the awards ceremony property of the artists or of their legitimate owners.

*Celeste Prize is organized by an Italian non-profit cultural association and has by Italian Law to hand over to the Italian state 25% of finalists’ prize money for tax purposes. This sum will be withheld by the Organiser from each first prize winner and all finalists. A prize winner or finalist who is non-resident in Italy can request the Italian tax authorities to have his or her tax advance recredited in his/her country of residence, this is a suggestion and in no way represents a certainty guaranteed by Celeste Prize.

Art. 4 – SELECTIONS
Selection of the 50 finalists’ works and the 75 shortlisted works will be carried out and published online no later than 15 October 2010 by all jurors and a panel of 21 art critics and curators. Each juror and selector will publish online his or her 5 preferred works in each prize category. Artists of the 10 works which receive from selectors the highest number of preferences in each category will become finalists, and will be invited to bring their works to the final exhibition in NYC and vote themselves the prizes (see Art.5 – Voting & Artists’ final choices). Shortlisted works for the catalogue will be decided upon online in the same ‘public’ manner. In the event of their being an equal number of preferences among some of the chosen works for ‘finalist’ and ‘shortlisted’ artists, the jurors will decide which works are chosen.

(A) Selections for the 45 finalists in prize categories Painting, Photography, Installation & Sculpture Video & Animation, and Performance, and the 67 shortlisted artists by:

Jurors:
Julia Draganovic (Germany, Italy)
Mark Gisbourne (UK)

Selectors:
Paz Aburto Guevara (Germany, Chile)
Giuliana Altea (Italy)
Heather Anderson (Canada)
Jadwiga Charzynska (Poland),
Cecilia Freschini (China, Italy)
Fernando Galan (Spain)
Adrienne Goehler (Germany)
Gilberto González (Spain)
Vardit Gross (Israel)
Kati Kivinen (Finland)
Tasja Langenbach (Germany)
Renato Miracco (USA, Italy)
Julian Navarro (USA, Colombia)
Patricia Pulles (The Netherlands)
Asher Remy-Toledo (USA)
Manon Slome (USA, UK)
Yuliya Sorokina (Kazakhstan)
Fangling Tseng (Taiwan)
Jason Waite (UK, USA)

(B) Selections of the 5 finalists and the 8 shortlisted artists in the Live Media Prize category, selections by link:
Digicult, Marco Mancuso (Italy)
Eyebeam, Amanda Mc Donald Crowley (USA, Australia)
Forward Motion Theater, Eric Dunlap (USA)
Isadora, Mark Coniglio (USA), and artistic co-director of Troika Ranch
Mapping Festival, Justine Beaujouan (Switzerland)
Neural, Alessandro Ludovico (Italy)
Claudio Sinatti (Italy)

Art. 5 – VOTING AWARDS
During the course of the final exhibition in NYC all 46 finalists exercise one vote of preference in each of the 5 prize categories (a vote in one’s own prize category is worth 2 points, while a vote in a prize category other than one’s own is worth 1 point). The voting will be confidential. No one may vote for themselves or in agreement with other finalists, to do so will result in disqualification. The voting slips will be named and checked by Celeste. Winners will be those artists who receive the highest number of preferences in their prize category. Voting for the Live Media Prize will take place in the evening of the same day after the 6 finalist Live Media sets will have been performed. Finalists qualified to vote can do so no later than 1pm on the day of the awards ceremony, either by visiting the exhibition and casting their vote or via email.
In the event of a tie in any prize section, the jury of critics will decide which artist shall be the winner.

Art. 6 – TERMS FOR ENTRY
Entry deadline is 30 September 2010. For applications sent via mail the date of the post mark must be no later than 30 September deadline.
There are two ways of submitting a work:

(A) DIRECT UPLOAD ON THE WEBSITE
- Fill in your personal details and those of your candidate artwork, upload the image and/or videos.
- Publish your prize entry immediately by becoming a ‘Prize Member’: pay your membership fee directly online in Celeste via credit card payment, or chose other methods of payment (see Art. 6. (B) 4.) If you chose to make a bank transger your work will be published only once the Organiser has checked that payment has been received.
- If you choose to submit a work by direct upload, not only is it cheaper and faster, it is not necessary to send the organiser copies of the application form or images of works by post.

‘Prize’ Member’ 2010 for 90 €*, includes:
- Two artworks of your choice in ‘Celeste Prize 2010.’
- Two artworks in ‘Expectations’, a multi-exhibition project organised by Celeste in Berlin and New York with a curatorial idea by Manon Slome.
- ‘Projects’ - unlimited use of this new area, where you can start up/or join real-world projects online.
- ‘Network’ – unlimited use of functions to reach Celeste’s 30,000+ members.

Each ‘Prize’ Member’ can submit a maximum of two works to the prize, either in the same category or in two different categories (you are not obliged to present two works to the prize).
*60 € for everyone who particpated in ‘Celeste prize 2009’, if they become ‘Prize Member 2010’ and pay before the expiry date of their ‘2009 membership’. Membership fees are not refundable.

(B) BY POST/ MAIL TO:
Associazione Culturale L’Albero Celeste,
Via Sangallo 23,
53036 Poggibonsi (Siena), Italy.
Send:
1. Fill in and sign a copy of the Application Form.
2. Send on CD a copy of your Curriculum Vitae or a short biography, preferably written in English, but other languages are also accepted.
3. Send an image of your candidate work(s), and upto 3 works for ‘Expectations’ on a CD/DVD, or as a positive photograph.

Image specifications for all works (except videos): send images of your works on a CD in JPG or TIF format. We advise a document size of 21x29 cm at 300 dpi. Or send a photograph in positive, minimum size 15x10cm, maximum 21x29cm (A4). Please indicate on the reverse of all photographs: name and surname, address, title of work, medium, dimensions (width x height) and year of execution.

Image specifications for videos, motion graphics, animation, and live media: send your video art work on CD-ROM or DVD, or upload on the website, in the following formats asf, asx, avi, divx, dv, dvx, m4v, mov, mp4, mpeg, mpg, qt, wmv, 3g2, 3gp, 3ivx and 3vx; speed or data rate 1800 kbits/sec (for regular video) or 5000 kbits/sec (for high definition); sizes: for publication on prize website 640x480 (for regular video), 1280x720 (for high definition) pixels; there is no duration limit but works cannot exceed 500MB. If your work is selected for exhibition you will be invited to send a copy of the original art work with its full quality characteristics. It is necessary to send a still-photograph taken from the video for reproduction in the 2010 Celeste Prize Catalogue (above for photo characteristics).

Art. 7 -  Methods of Payment:
All payments addressed to : ‘Associazione Culturale L’Albero Celeste’.

(a) By credit card on www.celesteprize.com via PayPal *

(b) Electronic bank transfer payable to:

‘Associazione Culturale L’Albero Celeste’ * +

You can make this payment in two ways:

1. For payments coming from outside Europe:

Please pay into Celeste’s PayPal account -

Account name: Associazione Culturale L’Albero Celeste.
Email:info@premioceleste.it * +

2. For payments from European countries:

Use either 1. above, or make a normal bank to bank transfer:

Account name: Associazione Culturale L’Albero Celeste
Bank name: Banco Posta
Branch of Poggibonsi (SI), Italy.
IBAN: IT68 U076 0114 2000 0000 1701 509
Bic/Swift: BPPIITRRXXX * + 

+Send your entry fee in € Euro currency, net, without transfer fees or commissions payable by Celeste on reciept.
* You must include the following details when bank transfers are made:

1. Full artist name and family name

2. Which prize and/or ‘exhibitions’ you are entering.

Failure to do this could result in your membership not being accepted and therefore participation in Celeste Prize will remain pending.

The cost for a postal application, in which the Organiser uploads images of your artworks and texts, for a a maximum of two artworks in Celeste Prize and 3 other images of works chosen by you for ‘Expectations’, Celeste’s multi-exhibition project, is 130 €. For artists who particpated in ‘Celeste prize 2009’ and want to make a postal application, the ‘ 2010 Prize Member’ fee is 100 €, if they join and pay before the expiry date of their ‘2009 membership’. Membership fees are not refundable.

If you wish to receive a confirmation of receipt of your application please request this service from your post office when you send your application.

Art. 8 – TIMETABLE FOR SELECTIONS & EXHIBITION
(A) 30 September - last day for entries to Celeste Prize 2010.

(B) 15 October publication online of selectors’ choices for the 46 finalists and 75 shortlisted artists.

(C) 11-13 December final exhibition, live media performances and awards in New York, USA.

Art. 9 - TRANSPORT
Transport of the 50 finalist works and a related costs will be arranged and covered by the finalist artists themselves. Each finalist who does not receive first prize will receive a 222 € prize, while winners will receive the first prize money only (see Art. 3.)

Art. 10 - PUBLIC ONLINE VOTE
The Online Vote is entirely separate from the vote by selected finalists for 2010' Celeste Prize'. Online Vote winners will not have the right to vote for the Celeste prizes or be considered for voting by Celeste Prize finalists.

Voting is online for artworks entered in ‘Celeste Prize 2010’. Only artists who are participating in the Prize, and ‘Plus’ members of Celeste Network (critics, galleries, collectors , etc) , can vote works (‘Guest’ members are excluded from the vote).
Voting starts on 23 March and ends midnight 15 October 2010. See ‘Rules of Celeste Online Vote 2010’ on the website page ‘Online Vote 2010’. There is no prize money for the Online Vote winners. The 5 artworks which receive the highest  number of votes, in each of the 5 prize sections, will be invited to the finalists’ exhibition in New York and have their works published in the ‘Celeste Prize 2010 catalogue’.

Art. 11 – CATALOGUE
A copy of the 150 page catalogue with circa 120 illustrations and critical texts written by members of the selection panel will be available to every participating artist at a discount of list price, or to the public at list price (see website page 'Catalogue'). Copies of the catalogue can be collected at the finalists’ exhibition or requested by post. If catalogues are requested by post, postage and packing is to be paid in advance by the purchaser.

Art. 12 – ACCEPTANCES AND COPYRIGHT
(A) By ticking online Celeste Prize’s Terms & Conditions or signing the Application Form (the latter if prize submissions are made by post), artists accept all that these Terms & Conditions contain.

(B) Artists allow the Organiser, Steven Music, and Associazione Culturale L’Albero Celeste the right to use images of those art works submitted to create the prize catalogue, use in Celeste Prize archives and websites, and in any form of communication chosen by the Organiser and its franchised organisations.

(C) All photographic material, CDs, DVDs, CVs and any texts or catalogues submitted for the prize will not be returned, but archived by the Organiser.

(D) Those persons who upload text, images, or videos onto the prize website, and/or those persons who upload on behalf of participating artists, are personally responsible for the texts and for the visual content of the uploaded images. The Organiser reserves the right to remove any defamatory images or texts, he considers defamatory, unless these are motivated in writing by the artist. Artworks uploaded and presented to ‘Celeste Prize 2010’ and personal webpage relating to the artist will remain visible online and in use as described in (B) above, as part of the complete visual documentation of each prize submission and cannot be removed.

(E) Applicants to the prize authorise the Organiser Steven Music and the Associazione Culturale L’Albero Celeste and all those persons charged with working for them to handle personal data and images of creative work submitted to Celeste Prize, according to Italian Law - Legge 675/96 (the so-called ‘Privacy Law’) and successive amendments to it, D.lgs 196/2003 (Codice Privacy), for the purposes of insertion of information in databases and website. Any controversies will be argued and settled in the Italian legal forum. Personal data, images of creative work, or films and videos taken by the Organiser during the course of any event organised by Celeste, might be used by the Organiser to promote artists, other contemporary art events, web promotion, communications, and marketing without necessarily seeking another written consent from third parties.

(F) The Organiser retains the right to change the Terms & Conditions should the need arise.
‘Celeste Prize 2010’ – 2nd Edition
is organised by Steven Music and Associazione Culturale L’Albero Celeste,
Via Sangallo 23, 53036 Poggibonsi (Siena), Italy.
Tel / Fax: +39 0577 939425
info [@] celesteprize [.] com www.celesteprize.com

In media partnership with Modul8 (Germany).
'Celeste Prize 2009' catalogue will be published by ZEL Edizioni (Italy).



APPLICATION FORM 2010
2ND Edition CELESTE PRIZE 2010

If you wish to enter the prize by post complete and sign the Application Form and send it with all materials requested in Art.5 (B) of the Terms & Conditions.

1. I wish to apply to Celeste Prize 2010:

Name and Family name/Surname_________________________

Male/female__________________________________________

Postal address________________________________________

Place & date of birth (city & nation)_____________________

Place of work/study (city & nation)_______________________

Email and website_____________________________________

Telephone number/cell._________________________________

Academic studies: name & location of institution and degree

___________________________________________________

Art gallery representation (name, city & nation)____________

2. With the following artwork:

Title________________________________________________

Measurement (width x height x depth in cm)________________

Medium_____________________________________________

Support_____________________________________________

Year of execution______________________________________

If the work is a video, name author of musical credits_________

3. I wish to enter the following prize category(ies)

(make a cross beside) :

Painting Prize

Photography & Digital Graphics Prize

Video & Animation Prize

Installation & Sculpture Prize

Live Media & Performance Prize

4. I have attached the following documentation listed in Art. 5 (B) of terms & conditions:

Signed and completed Application Form, photographic or video materials, CV, receipt confirming payment of 130 € ‘Prize’ member
application fees in which the Organiser uploads my candidate work, etc.

5. Voting the prize winners
If I am chosen as a finalist I accept to vote one finalist work in each of the five prize categories.

6. Acceptances
1) I accept selections made by the members of the selection panel.
2) I accept the decision to award prizes to those artists receiving a majority of votes.
3) I accept the selections made for catalogue illustration.
4) I have read & accept the ‘Terms & Conditions of 2010 Celeste Prize’.

Signed_________________________________

Date___________________________________


Send Postal Applications to:


‘Celeste Prize’, Associazione Culturale L’Albero Celeste,
Via Sangallo 23, 53036 Poggibonsi (Siena), Italy.
T & F +39 0577 939425,
E: info [@] celesteprize [.] com W: http://www.celesteprize.com/