A new education resource has been developed for our Paul Guest Prize.

Download the education resource

View the Paul Guest Prize and then research aspects of the preparation and presentation of the exhibition with reference to: The classification of gallery/exhibition space, for example, public or commercial gallery, alternative art space or online exhibition.

Bendigo Art Gallery is a public art space, owned and operated by the City of Greater Bendigo (local government) and retaining an independent Board of Management who oversees investment of funds for acquisition.

The Paul Guest Prize has been project managed by one of our curators, Jessica Bridgfoot. This particular prize is exclusive to Bendigo Art Gallery. The Paul Guest Prize is a non-acquisitive cash prize of $15,000 which is held every two years, highlighting contemporary drawing practice in Australia. The Prize was initiated by former Family Court Judge and Olympic rower, the Honourable Paul Guest QC and encourages artists from across Australia to engage with the important medium of drawing and to create challenging and unique art works.

Preparation
The prize requires a considerable amount of administration work. While the exhibition itself began in June, the process commenced in February, 2018. The following steps briefly outline the process:

• Develop timeline
• Decide upon and invite a potential judge; Roger Butler was chosen for 2018
• Liaise with a Graphic Designer to create online entry form
• Receive entries up until closing. Generally we get more than 300 entries in total
• Collate entries/ images for pre-selection
• Pre-select 45-50 finalists from total entries; this is done by viewing a slide show of the digital images by the Judge, the Curator and the Patron (Paul Guest)
• Notify all artists of outcome
• Confirm with finalists their intention to participate
• Organise opening event (official speakers, technical requirements, catering, staff)
• Organise delivery date of finalists’ works through International Art Services (Artists must organise their own transport but they are also welcome to deliver their work in person)
• Arrange layout in exhibition space taking into account works with special requirements such as power
• Technical team to hang works and finalise lighting
• Judging
• Arrange the prize money
• Opening and announcement; a Press Release is sent out to the media, embargoed until 6.30pm on the night of the opening.
• Liaise with publicist and media