where do you go?

(thanks to TurboNerd who is a bit of a ‘hunners’ fan, just writing that title has lodged a song in my head…) Ahem..

OK, so I post every competition, grant and juried exhibition I apply for right here, to make sure the two of you who read are worded up to take appropriate affirmative action. I was asked the other day (a realbody question, no less) what sources I use to get the info about applications I oughta make? At the time, the idea of having to scribble words rather than copy-and-paste links just seemed too daunting. I promised a post on the subject instead.

So, without further ado (as Flacco might say, “bugger the ado, we’ll go without the ado!”) here’s a list of the places I find grant/competition/exhibition info. Please feel free to email/comment with more suggestions.

NAVA has a grants page as well as monthly email updates (for which you must be a member – fees apply) which includes other opportunities.

Craft Australia sends out a regular email with an opportunities section which is free to sign up to.

Craft Victoria also sends out their Craft Almanac email with Industry Events and  Opportunities listed, but this is only for professional members. To get the full deal you need to sign up (fee applies). They also have their own application deadlines for shows in their gallery, which are listed on their site.

CaFE is a US based online Call For Entry portal that sends out regular emails for upcoming application deadlines. Appropriate competitions/exhibitions are few and far between for Australia-based jewellery artists, but I have become involved in shows through this site.

Klimt02 maintains a list of awards on their site. They also have an email list (unrestricted) but some information on the site is barred from non-members.

crafthaus online craft network has a blog which I regularly read (and a members only section of which I’m not a part, so there is more than just the blog to check out for entry/deadline info) that members add items to, some of which are upcoming competition deadlines. Brigitte Martin generally posts such info (and I’m not sure that she’s not the one in charge of the place. I should just join, I know…)

kit and caboodle, administered by the lovely Cate Salter, is another such network for jewellers and related types (galleries, organisations etc.) The main page is up to date with the blog posts and exhibition listings of its members, though I also subscribe to the rss stream of the site (which results in a LOT of messages, some useful, most not.)  It pays to snoop around there occasionally to see what galleries/organisations are up to.

Melbourne Jeweller also blogs a monthly calendar. Often this is exhibition related, but the odd competition link sneaks in. I must read many of the same blogs as her though, since by the time of her monthly posts I have normally already seen the competitions/exhibition opportunities featured.

And while I’m on the whole idea of RSS – I have a dedicated RSS reader from which I read many blogs daily. Between what’s said on many of them, and my email lists and some semi-regular searches (how I found out about Noosa, for example), I like to think I’m fairly well informed of upcoming opportunities.

Finally, the deadlines for the Australia Council and Arts Victoria are pretty concrete from year to year, so it pays to keep them in the back of your mind too. And in your bookmarks list.