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RTE Art Competition a 'farce'

  • 30-01-2011 9:30pm
    #1
    The Raven.
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,008 ✭✭✭


    Artists slam RTE competition as 'farce'

    AN art competition launched by RTE is getting a frosty reception from some of Ireland's top artists, with some calling it a "disgrace" and "a complete farce".

    The artists are angry that the prize for the ARTifact competition is that the three winning artists are asked to donate their entries, which RTE will then display somewhere in its Montrose headquarters.

    "They seem to be saying that 'artists love us so much that they'll do a piece of artwork for free for us to hang in the canteen in Montrose!' It's a bit arrogant," said artist and illustrator Annie West.

    The sculptor and caricaturist Allan Cavanagh said the competition was "a complete farce, absolutely outrageous" and said he would encourage artists and the public to enter mock pieces.

    "There's a perception out there that artists love their work so much that they can afford to do it for free and live off thin air.
    "But if I 'display' RTE in my living room by turning on the television, I have to pay for the right to do that. If RTE expects someone to give it a piece of their work, then it should pay them for it," he added.

    http://www.independent.ie/national-news/artists-slam-rte-competition-as-farce-2516799.html

    Fair play to these two artists for highlighting this disgraceful attitude towards artists by RTE. It is highly inappropriate to expect artists to hand over their work for free to decorate the walls of RTE, and refer to this as a 'prize'! It is an absolute con, and any artist who falls for it should think twice before submitting themselves to this degradation.

    Artists, like all other human beings, have a right to earn a living from their work. They too have to put food on the table and pay rent/mortgages etc.

    In light of the huge salaries in RTE, and the fees paid to guests on their shows, it speaks volumes about how they view artists in comparison. This is a gross insult to the visual artists in this country and RTE should be ashamed of themselves. Would they expect the services of solicitors, accountants or doctors for free? They certainly would NOT! So why should artists be treated differently?


Comments

  • #2
    Tiriel
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,182 ✭✭✭Tiriel


    Thank you for posting TheRaven. I hadn't noticed this in the media at all. It is a disgrace but alas is quite common in the competitions in the arts area in general. I'm aware of photography competitions where on entering you are waiving all rights to your image which is then used for tourism/marketing purposes in literature/the web etc. to make money for the people running the competition in the first place.

    The concept of "you shoud be glad to be having your image published" is something that the entrant just has to decide on - some may be happy with this, or may be happy with having their artwork hanging in a prominent place where people who have more money as you noted above, may be interested in purchasing works in the future.

    It does sicken me, but all I can say is that I hope entrants in these competitions are fully aware of their rights on entering.


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