Prizes and Competitions
Keeping an eye on prizes and competitions for artists!
Arts Law maintains an ongoing watch of terms and conditions in prizes and competitions for artists in Australia and overseas and gives those terms and conditions a rating out of 5 stars. Click here for more about our star rating system.
Entrants should always weigh up Arts Law’s ratings against the prize and possible profile-raising which may result from being a finalist or winner.
Latest prize reviews
PRIZE REVIEW: Write Around the Murray Albury City Short Story Award
Arts Law was thrilled with the eagerness of the event organisers to engage with our…
PRIZE REVIEW: Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize 2024
Arts Law reached out to Woollahra Gallery regarding their competition's terms and conditions, and are…
PRIZE REVIEW: Brisbane Portrait Prize
This month, Arts Law has reviewed the terms and conditions of the Brisbane Portrait Prize…
Arts Law considers all terms and conditions and also the value of the prize in reviewing a competition. An example of how Arts Law’s 5 star rating system might be applied to a competition where the only terms giving rise to concern are those dealing with copyright and moral rights is as follows:
5 stars: copyright remains the property of the entrant; finalists/winners only grant a licence for a limited time for limited purposes; there is a positive undertaking to attribute the entrant for their work.
4 stars: copyright remains the property of the entrant; all entrants grant a licence for a limited time (5 years or less) for limited purposes; no agreement by entrants to infringement of their moral rights (“moral rights waiver”).
3 stars: copyright remains the property of the entrant; all entrants grant a worldwide licence for an unlimited period of time for limited purposes; there is no waiver or limited waiver of moral rights.
2 stars: copyright remains the property of the entrant; all entrants grant a non-exclusive, worldwide licence for an unlimited period of time for unlimited purposes; moral rights waiver.
1 star: copyright remains the property of all entrants except for finalists who must grant an assignment of copyright or grant an exclusive, worldwide licence for an extended period of time for unlimited purposes; moral rights waiver.
No stars: all entrants grant an assignment of copyright or an exclusive, worldwide licence for an unlimited period of time for unlimited purposes; moral rights waiver.
Unrateable: unable to locate / must enter to receive competition terms
However, a star rating may be higher or lower depending on the other terms and conditions.
If a prize or competition would like Arts Law to review its terms for fairness to artists and provide best practice advice concerning amendments to those terms, please email [email protected] or call 02 9356 2566.
Please note: Arts Law amended the rating system in May 2015. The rating system above applies to prizes and competitions rated by Arts Law with deadlines from May 2015 and onwards. Competitions with deadlines before May 2015 were reviewed using our previous rating system.
