START THE NIVEA ART AWARD

This exciting competition provides the opportunity for one talented artist to win R20 000 cash, a sponsored art studio and art materials for six months and a solo exhibition at KZNSA Gallery. In addition, the second and third prize winners will take home R10 000 and R5 000 cash respectively. At an awards ceremony to be held on 14 July 2009, the three winners will be announced and the cash prizes presented.

To qualify, artists must be over 18 years of age and should be at the early stage of their art career, having not yet won any previous prestigious art awards. For the first time, the competition is now open to all visual art mediums except video. To enter, artists should submit an entry form together with an art portfolio comprising no less than three A5 size photographs of their best existing artworks, as well as a short curriculum vitae of their art career.

From entries that come in from throughout KwaZulu-Natal, sixty artists will be short listed and will be required to submit one of their best artworks to KZNSA Gallery. A distinguished panel of judges will select twenty-five finalists from these sixty artworks. The twenty five finalists will each receive R1 500 from Beiersdorf to create a unique, commissioned artwork, within a three-month time frame. The artists are required to incorporate this year’s theme, “Beauty Is...” into their competition piece. All artworks will be unique interpretations of this theme and will be exhibited for sale at the final exhibition which runs from 14 July to 08 August 2009 at KZNSA Gallery.

Entry forms are available at most KwaZulu-Natal art galleries, or can be obtained by phoning 031 573 2154 or emailing nivea.art.award@beiersdorf.com
Students Phumzile Sithole (left) and Paige Sanders (right) from Vega School of Brand Communications seek advice from START THE NIVEA ART AWARD 2008 winner Bheki Khambule (centre)