IAAC International Awards for Art Criticism | in English or Chinese

IAAC International Awards for Art Criticism: call for new annual international Awards for Art Criticism, open to candidates of any age from anywhere in the world, writing in Chinese or English about any contemporary art exhibition held between 30 September 2013 and 30 September 2014.

China Minsheng Bank / Shanghai 21st Century Minsheng Art Museum / International Association of Art Critics / Royal College of Art, London announce the IAAC International Awards for Art Criticism, open to candidates around the world writing in Chinese or English.

Deadline 15th October, 2014

The First Prize consists of a cash award of 50,000 RMB (6,000 Euros) and a fully funded two-week residency in Shanghai or London, in spring 2015. The two Second Prizes – one each, for an essay in Chinese and in English – will consist of a fully funded travel bursary for a two-week residency in Shanghai or London around the same time.

The Awards aim to support independent critical coverage of contemporary art, away from the immediate pressures of the market, media and private patronage. They seek to stimulate good writing, critical thinking, dialogue and research in China, the UK and wider afield. There is no age limit, and the Awards are open to all. The objectivity of the selection process is underpinned, both by the recognised professionalism of the Chinese and English-speaking jury members and by the strict anonymity of the judging process.

The Awards will be hosted by an International Board, adjudicated by an international jury and organised by the Shanghai 21st Century Minsheng Art Museum (opening in November 2014). The Awards will be held in partnership with the Royal College of Art, London, the world most influential postgraduate institution of art and design, and in association with the UK Section of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA). The principal sponsors are the Minsheng Banking Corporation Ltd.

How to apply

Entrants are required to submit a piece of critical writing about a contemporary art exhibition held anywhere in the world between 30 September 2013 and 30 September 2014. The start and end dates of the exhibition may fall outside of these dates but the exhibition must have been open to the public at some stage during the stated dates.

Submissions should be no longer than 2,000 words or 1,500 Chinese characters in length and may be accompanied by a maximum of three images, that are cleared for publication, Entries must be submitted as a single PDF file no greater than 4MB - i.e an 'optimised' pdf. The entire email should not be more than 5MB. Copyright of all texts must be assigned to the IAAC, regardless of whether or not they have been previously published. All entries will initially be sorted and shortlisted by the organisers and academic partners in China and the UK, then translated into Chinese (for English-language submissions) or English (for Chinese-language submissions).

The final adjudication will be in English, at a meeting of the combined panel of Chinese and English-speaking experts on 22 November 2014 in Shanghai, and announced to the media immediately afterwards. Up to 30 entries from the final shortlist, including the award-winning entries, will be published in the original languages and in translation, both in hard copy and online. Award Winners will be invited to take part in a public presentation, discussion and evaluation of the event in Shanghai, in spring 2015, when the terms of the 2015 Awards will also be announced.

Note: if you have any problems opening the link, you can check full submission details on Re-title