By Patricia Frischer, coordinator, San Diego Visual Arts Network
I was thrilled that Kinsee Morlan of City Beat choose to write about the SD Art Prize and changes we are considering. She presents a fair and accurate reporting of our thoughts which you can read below. I was always surprised that there was not more controversy about this prize in San Diego and I am very glad to see an open discussion about it. Our intention was to shine a light and and even make some new local art stars and get a bit more attention for the high quality of art in our region. We added an mentoring aspect but collaboration, education and recognition were always the most important aspects of this project.
As we move forward with an experiment in smart device public voting, we hope to continue that push to create partnerships, to inform the public and to see our artist recognized in all their glory.
To that end, a number of the SD Art Prize artist recipients will be featured in Open Walls Project which is focusing on the SD Art Prize this year. These are large billboards (a bit larger than 10 by 22 feet) scattered through the city. The Open Walls is made possible by the presenting sponsors Art San Diego Contemporary Art Show and CBS Outdoor.
Rethinking the San Diego Art Prize: City Beat by Kinsee Morlan
Organizers are proposing big changes set to take effect next year
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| Patricia Frischer - Photo by Maurice Hewitt |
Most people who pay attention to the local art scene know about the San Diego Art Prize, but few truly understand it. The confusion and some ongoing complaints are driving organizers to propose major changes to what's become an important and mostly lauded institution over its nine-year history.
"You
know, it's always good to have something morph and become something
else—nothing should stay exactly the same forever," says Patricia
Frischer, coordinator of San Diego Visual Arts Network, the
volunteer-run nonprofit organization behind the prize.
The
Art Prize is an award given every year to two established artists and
two emerging artists. The four artists win modest grants, exhibitions,
educational materials, a write-up in the Art Prize catalog and a decent
amount of press. Each year, a special committee convenes to select the
two established artists, and each of those artists is then asked to
handpick an emerging artist to share the prize.
And
here's where things start to get wonky—the established artists are
given a list of names of emerging artists chosen by a nominating
committee made up of past Art Prize winners and arts professionals. The
list is called the "New Contemporaries," and the artists on it are
included in an annual exhibition. The established artists are encouraged
to go to the exhibition and they can either pick someone from the show
or completely ignore the list and award the Art Prize to any local
artist they want. Over the years, this piece of the Art Prize puzzle has
led to some grumblings, especially from the nominated emerging artists
who feel like they've been ignored in exchange for favoritism and even
nepotism, as was the case in 2013 when established artist James Hubbell
picked his own son, Brennan Hubbell.
"I
didn't see the point of having nominations only to [have the
established artists] not select any of the emerging artists nominated,"
says Andrea Chung, one of the dozen emerging artists named this year.
"[The San Diego Art Prize] is well-intentioned, but I didn't care for
the format."
Another
common criticism of the Art Prize is the categorization of artists. In
many cases, the artists nominated as emerging are just as accomplished
as the established artists. That was certainly an issue in 2009, when
longtime artist Richard Allen Morris picked his buddy, Tom Driscoll, to
share the prize. Driscoll's been making great art almost as long as
Morris.
"You know
what emerging is," says Dave Ghilarducci, an artist nominated in the
emerging category last year even though his credentials clearly indicate
that he's better described as established. "It's young up-and-comers or
someone just starting out. If there's a question, then the artist
probably isn't really emerging."
Frischer is currently addressing these concerns. She gave CityBeat
a first look at a draft of proposed changes, which includes eliminating
the established and emerging categories and instead just awarding four
artists the Art Prize. Past winners and arts professionals would
nominate the artists—similar to how nominations for emerging artists
work now. Frischer is also considering letting the public vote alongside
the Art Prize committee to select the four winners.
Other changes are proposed, but nothing will go into effect until next year.
A
total of almost $50,000 has ended up in the hands of area artists
thanks to the Art Prize. Interesting collaborations between the
established and emerging artists have taken place, too, and that's the
one aspect Frischer says she'll miss most if the proposed changes take
place.
"But you always have to sacrifice something," she says. "There's no such thing as a perfect situation."
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