The Centenary 3D Art Challenge: Why You Should Enter

Most people know by now that we are accepting entries for the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge. This is similar in many respects to the 3D Open Art Challenges we did last year, except that this is a single round with an enormous L$550,000 prize pool, including a L$100,000 first place award. Because of the high stakes, we are accepting entries for three months, until 30 June 2012. Complete details are on this website.

Entries opened on 1 April and we've been getting submissions in a slow trickle. This was expected, since the stakes are so high and there is plenty of time to really perfect things. I certainly encourage that, but if you're thinking of submitting something, there may (or may not) be advantages to doing it sooner than later.

My expectation is that there will be a major influx of entries in the last weeks. Earlier entries will tend to have more careful placement in the gallery. Our first entry, Pravda Core's terracotta warriors, is a good example. Because it arrived early, we were able to cut a hole in the gallery floor to accommodate it. As things become crowded, later entries will have to be squeezed in wherever there is space and possibly placed on a second level if it comes to that. We always strive to place every piece to show it off to its best advantage. But there's just so much room. This entry would likely have had to be put on a platform.

The more significant reason to enter early is simply to have more time on display. Entries in the gallery now will be up at least another 3 months. As people come and come again, they will get to see your piece and be reminded of it. A quick impression is all most people get when visiting a gallery. But an evolving show provides incentive for people to return and see what's new and to become more familiar with the pieces they saw last time. Our traffic numbers will build over time, but altogether over 3 months, we could have a substantial total number of visitors. The longer you delay, the fewer people are likely to see your entry, and at the end it will be among a packed house of other distractions.

On the other hand, if you feel you have to choose between getting it done early and getting it done right, I would certainly recommend the latter.