Going into art: why do we need festivals and competitions?

Find like-minded people

It is logical that festivals and competitions attract only an interested audience. Immersion in a single art space and the very essence of the event seriously unites people. At such events, you can find friends, sponsors, like-minded people for joint creativity, curators who want to organize your exhibition, new contacts and make useful acquaintances.

Also, participants of art competitions and festivals in the process of the event itself or through the dissemination of information about it in the media can find a potential buyer. Serious art collectors have art dealers who carefully monitor the emergence of new names and the results of exhibitions, competitions and major industry holidays. So, for example, absolutely the whole world follows the Venice Biennale.

Tell the world about yourself and become more recognizable

By participating in an exposition or a festival, it is possible to get a very large sponsor and customer, for example, from the state. In Moscow since 2018, at the initiative of the mayor, the festival “Here and Now” has been held, actively supporting emerging Russian artists.

As curator Nikolai Palazhchenko notes, this is an amazing chance for a creator to meet a wider audience than in a museum or gallery.¹. This happened with the work of Sergei Shekhovtsov “Love and Pigeons” – the newlyweds and other guests of the park “Kuskovo” do not miss the opportunity to take a memorable photo with her.

The All-Russian Youth Art Festival “Youth of Russia”, organized by the Union of Artists of Russia with the use of a grant from the President of the Russian Federation provided by the Presidential Grants Fund, also helps to become more recognizable, immerse yourself in the creative process and go through a full-fledged educational program, and then participate in the exhibition.

There are festivals in every direction of art, but most organizers prefer to gather different creators on the site in order to expand the audience and create a special atmosphere. For example, the festival of landscape objects “Archstoyanie” combines sculpture, street art, music and painting.

The benefits from such events are not only material in the form of prizes, grants or new clients. Participation in competitions, biennials and festivals is very prestigious, it increases the cost of works, recognition and weight of the artist’s personality in the art world.

Each event is accompanied by a press release, which is always replicated by various publications, including foreign ones: they learn about you, you become interesting and in demand. An additional line about participation in a competition or a biennale can be decisive for the organizers of the exhibition – and they will choose you for serious merits and experience.

Exchange of experience and disclosure of trends

For the art sphere, as for any other, major events are an opportunity to exchange experiences and develop together. Art critics take festivals very seriously, because they show where art is moving, what changes have been made over a given period of time, which unites new artists and sculptors.

This is how Fashion Week works, which shows the direction of modern arts and crafts, trends and new values ​​that designers and fashion designers have chosen. It is also an exchange of experience, because the presentation of new products demonstrates the achievements of technology, changes in materials and technologies.

Festivals in any field of art are an opportunity for aspiring talent to see geniuses with their own eyes and communicate with masters. For example, to the organizing committee of the International Festival of Arts P.I. Tchaikovsky includes such great talents as Denis Matsuev, Dmitry Bertman, Evgeny Mironov, Vladimir Fedoseev, Alexander Tchaikovsky and Nikolai Tsiskaridze. There are also many dance festivals, for example, the International Ballet Festival in the Kremlin, Dance Open in St. Petersburg and other events are held annually.

They bring together experienced and novice artists, and also help to understand in which direction creativity is moving. Participation in festivals is prestigious and useful – what if your new mentor or sponsor turns out to be among the organizers or guests?

Any opportunities are important for the development of talent, and it’s a sin not to use them. Any event is a serious experience that affects the promotion, freedom of creativity and new ideas of self-expression. At a minimum, this is a new line in the resume, which increases the value of work, and at the most, a radical change in life and a new round of creativity.

¹ https://www.theartnewspaper.ru/posts/20211014-cpzb/