In 1980, the Graphic Artists Guild together with Designers Saturday (DS), a furniture manufacturers association, developed a competition to meet two goals: to produce high-quality art for the DS annual show and to provide a competition that was ethical and appropriate for professional artists. At the same time, the Guild was receiving complaints from artists around the country concerning the unethical nature of most contests that they were asked to enter.

The results of the experiment with DS were so successful that the Guild decided to see if other competitions and contests could be structured to accomplish the goals met by the DS model.

In an effort to gain a clearer picture of the competition scene nationwide, the Graphic Artists Guild Foundation, with a supporting grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, conducted a nationwide survey of art and design competition holders, as well as an informal poll of jurors and competition entrants.

This study resulted in the establishment of a list of guidelines for three types of art competitions: those held by art-related organizations/associations to award excellence in the field; those for which the winning entries are used for commercial purposes; and competitions held by nonprofit organizations where the winning entries are used for nonprofit purposes.

Among the findings of the surveys were that:

By far, the largest and most expensive competitions are those operated by associations ancillary to the advertising industry, such as art directors' clubs and industry trade magazines. The purpose of these competitions is to honor excellence within their own communities. While these competitions do not require that original art be submitted, the sponsoring organizations generally charge high entry fees for members and nonmembers alike. These competitions generally attract the highest volume of entrants.

Historically, contests or competitions requiring the submission of new, original work have attracted the fewest number of entries from professional artists. Most professional artists reported that they did not want or could not afford to take time from income-producing projects to create original work for a competition on a speculative basis. The most popular type of competition for this group is based on work already produced or published. In most cases, the process for selecting a jury for competitions appears to be quite good. However, jurors noted that often the criteria or process for judging the work is vague or poorly articulated.

Another abuse listed by professional artists concerning competitions is the requirement for all-rights transfers by all entrants to the competition holder.

In response to the data received from the competition study, the following guidelines were developed:

1. The call for entry shall define clearly all rules governing competition entries, specifications for work entered, any and all fees for entry and any and all rights to be transferred by any entrants to the competition holder.
2. Jurors for the competition shall be listed on the call for entry. No juror or employee of the organization holding the competition shall be eligible to enter the competition.
3. Criteria for jurying the entries and specifications for the artwork to be submitted in all rounds shall be defined clearly in the call for entry as a guide to both entrants and jurors.
4. Deadlines for notification and process for notification for acceptance or rejection of all entries shall be listed in the call for entry.
5. Any and all uses for any and all entries shall be listed clearly in the call for entries, with terms for any rights to be transferred.
6. For the first round, tearsheets, slides, photographs or other reproductions of existing work shall be requested in order to judge appropriateness of style, technique and proficiency of entrants. This round shall result in the choice of finalists. If samples from this round are not to be returned to the entrants, that fact shall be listed clearly in the call for entries.
7. If the competition ends in an exhibition, hanging or exhibition fees paid for by the entrants shall be listed in the call for entries.
8. After the first round, the jury may request original art for review. The competition holder shall insure all works against damage or loss until the work is returned to the artist. All original artwork shall be returned to the artist. Any fees charged to the artists for the return of artwork shall be listed in the call for entry.
9. Artwork shall not be altered in any way without the express permission of the artist.
10. All entries and rights to the artwork remain the property of the artist, unless a separate written transfer and payment for the original has been negotiated.
11. If work exhibited by the competition is for sale, any commission taken by the competition holder shall be listed in the call for entries.

These guidelines are simply meant to convey what the elements are of a fair competition. Their principal purpose is to enable competition holders and entrants to make their own independent judgments concerning the way fair competitions shold be run and whether and on what terms to participate in them.

1. The call for entry shall define clearly all rules governing competition entries, specifications for work entered, any and all fees for entry and any and all rights to be transferred by any entrants to the competition holder.
2. Jurors for the competition shall be listed on the call for entry. No juror or employee of the organization holding the competition shall be eligible to enter the competition.
3. Criteria for jurying the entries and specifications for the artwork to be submitted in all rounds shall be defined clearly in the call for entry as a guide to both entrants and jurors.
4. Deadlines for notification and process for notification for acceptance or rejection of all entries shall be listed in the call for entry.
5. Any and all uses for any and all entries shall be listed clearly in the call for entries, with terms for any rights to be transferred.
6. For the first round, tearsheets, slides, photographs or other reproductions of existing work shall be requested in order to judge appropriateness of style, technique and proficiency of entrants. This round shall result in the choice of finalists. If samples from this round are not to be returned to the entrants, that fact shall be listed clearly in the call for entries.
7. The number of finalists chosen after the first round should be small. The finalists shall then be required to submit sketches or comprehensive drawings for final judging.
8. Agreements shall be made with each artist working at the final stage, prior to the beginning of work (Graphic Artists Guild contracts or the equivalent can be used). The agreements shall include the nature of the artwork required, deadlines, credit line and copyright ownership for the artist, and the amount of the award.
9. Any work of finalists not received by the required deadline or not in the form required and agreed upon shall be disqualified. All rights to the artwork that has been disqualified shall remain with the artist.
10. The winners shall produce camera-ready or finished art according to the specifications listed in the call for entry. Artwork submitted shall not be altered in any way without the express permission of the artist.
11. The value of any award to the winners shall be at least commensurate with fair market value of the rights transferred. The first place winner shall receive an award that is significantly greater than that of other winners.
12. The competition holder shall insure original artwork in their possession against loss or damage until it is returned to the artist.

The call for entry shall define clearly all rules governing competition entries, specifications for work entered, any and all fees for entry and any and all rights to be transferred by any entrants to the competition holder.

1. Jurors for the competition shall be listed on the call for entry. No juror or employee of the organization holding the competition shall be eligible to enter the competition.
2. Criteria for jurying the entries and specifications for the artwork to be submitted in all rounds shall be defined clearly in the call for entry as a guide to both entrants and jurors.
3. Deadlines for notification and process for notification for acceptance or rejection of all entries shall be listed in the call for entry.
4. Any and all uses for any and all entries shall be listed clearly in the call for entries, with terms for any rights to be transferred.
5. For the first round, tearsheets, slides, photographs or other reproductions of existing work shall be requested in order to judge appropriateness of style, technique and proficiency of entrants. This round shall result in the choice of finalists. If samples from this round are not to be returned to the entrants, that fact shall be listed clearly in the call for entries.
6. The number of finalists chosen after the first round should be small. The finalists shall then be required to submit sketches or comprehensive drawings for final judging.
7. Agreements shall be made with each artist working at the final stage, prior to the beginning of work (Graphic Artists Guild contracts or the equivalent can be used). The agreements shall include the nature of the artwork required, deadlines, credit line and copyright ownership for the artist, and the amount of the award.
8. Any work of finalists not received by the required deadline or not in the form required and agreed upon shall be disqualified. All rights to the artwork that has been disqualified shall remain with the artist.
9. The winners shall produce camera-ready or finished art according to the specifications listed in the call for entry. Artwork submitted shall not be altered in any way without the express permission of the artist.
10. The value of the award should, if possible, be commensurate with the fair market price for the job. For non-profit competition holders, exceptions may be made depending on the budget and use of the artwork for the competition.
11. The competition holder shall insure original artwork in their possession against loss or damage until it is returned to the artist.

As a service to competition holders and entrants, the Graphic Artists Guild Foundation will review calls for entry to ascertain whether they meet the minimum standards listed in the guidelines above. If a competition holder meets these standards, they are eligible to carry the Graphic Artists Guild Foundation's Seal of Compliance for ethical competition calls for entry. A sliding fee scale for reviewing calls for entry is available to accommodate the budgets of both nonprofit and for-profit competitions.

This report produced by The Graphic Artists Guild with special thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts