For most budding Indian artists, being showcased in a reputed gallery or winning a place in art competitions online is like hitting a jackpot. They desperately try to unlock the mystery around how their works will ‘fit’ in the galleries or what goes on behind the judging curtain! It’s like a secret door that only a chosen few can walk through!
Why Should Contemporary Indian Artists Care About the Jurying Process?
Let’s start with the story of Jitish Kallat, a name well known in the contemporary Indian art fraternity. He once spoke about his struggles in the early years, getting snubbed while presenting his work to skeptical curators. A show at the prestigious Chemould Prescott Road Gallery, Mumbai, turned back the clock! It gave him the visibility he was desperately looking for. The show happened to be the game-changer for Kallat and took his journey from a local stage to the global arena.
Are you someone taking a shot in the dark – wondering how Indian galleries decide which artists make the cut? How do the jurors decide on the best works?
This blog will try to pull back the curtain—talking about the selection process, sharing some valuable insights from eminent Indian art galleries, and sharing the artist selection criteria of one of the leading online galleries like TERAVARNA. So, stay tuned, if you are a fresher, art student, or a practicing professional looking for gallery representation!
Why Artist–Gallery Relationships Count
Most Indian art galleries select artists through relationships, maybe from previous connections or trust. Without the right network, talent alone won’t get you there! Some of the galleries assess in terms of genre, price point, and originality. They look for compatibility with their gallery showcase, to ensure quality, or whether the art gallery submissions are priced within the range already represented with them.
Behind the Jurying Process: What Really Happens!
Who are the jurors? Usually the curators, critics, and gallery directors are involved in the jurying process for most of the contemporary galleries in India, like National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Jehangir Art Gallery, Experimenter, and more.
These art curators in India mostly seek uniqueness of the work, technical skill, market fit, and storytelling capacity of the artists/creators as some of the judging criteria.
Let’s trace our steps back to know how portfolios are reviewed from start to selection:
Step 1: Making a call to artists and defining the criteria for artwork requirement (theme, media preference, size or price ranges, deadlines, file formats, video links, artist statements, etc.)
Step 2: Checking of the basic compliance – whether the files are compatible, image specifications match, fees are paid (for art competitions online), other eligibility criteria matched. Works that do not comply with the standards are disqualified.
Step 3: Blind Review for Art Gallery Submissions – the submissions are stored in a standardized format. Sometimes, jurors keep the artists’ names hidden to make an unbiased first round of jurying.
Step 4: Quick Look at Submissions – Jurors batch the entries, flagging them as a first-pass, based on quality of the works, coherence with the theme, etc.
Step 5: Scoring by Category – Each portfolio is put under a batch based on innovative ideas, technical skill, and consistency. After getting batched, the low scorers are cut, and the rest move forward.
Step 6: Strong Portfolios are Judged – Best of the lot are judged according to the themes, compatibility with the existing gallery works, balance of variety, style, and perspective.
Step 7: Practicality Check (for physical galleries) – the review panel decides whether the artwork is feasible to showcase, re: shipping, fragility, insurance, framing, size, and timeline of the exhibition – to make sure these factors don’t block the display!
Step 8: Reviewers also check for marketability, whether the artwork would be compatible with other contemporary Indian art for sale that intrigues the viewers and the collectors frequenting the gallery.
Step 9: Final Works are Shortlisted – Based on scores and the curator’s decision (professionalism, uniqueness, and installation readiness).
Step 10: Background Check for the Artist to be Showcased – Jurors explore the CV, artist statement, website, past work, and collaboration records, if the artwork is meant for a long-term showcase.
Step 11: Final Approval of the Works – Judges give the final nod to the artists and selected artists get the acceptance message. Virtual platforms like TERAVARNA send notifications to winners. The winners’ list gets published on the official website.
Step 12: Onboarding of Artworks for Physical Galleries – Artists then provide labels, packing details, shipping info, sign agreements, etc.
Insights from International Art Competitions Online
While most Indian art galleries still bank on personal networks regarding selections, virtual or global art galleries like TERAVARNA maintain a more structured jury process.
What Makes TERAVARNA’s Jury Process More Transparent to Artists?
TERAVARNA art gallery maintains clear communications with artists regarding the artwork submission criteria and art curation process. The jurors prefer blind reviews, and transparent scoring. TERAVARNA India, emerging as one of the best online art galleries in India follows the same framework of jurying and curation for contemporary artists.
Good news for artists—more and more Indian galleries have started adopting these international practices to ensure fairness and wider representation.
Tips to Prepare Your Art for Selection: Dos and Don’ts
- Build a strong portfolio that resonates with a compelling artist statement.
- Use high-resolution and clutter-free images for submission.
- Curate your artwork like a professional presentation.
- Avoid low light or poor-quality snaps of your artwork.
- Do not mix weaker works with your strongest ones.
- Include short descriptions of your artwork.
- Don’t make your artist statement lengthy; keep it short and focused.
Work on your portfolio aesthetically and tell a good story about your art. Or, if you wish to go the extra mile, you can provide any support material for your artistry (past exhibition history, publication, brochures, etc.) – it will give you the extra points and let you stand out from the clutter. Remember, a clear, cohesive portfolio is your strongest calling card.
What Lies Ahead for the Future of Artist Selection in India
“Fair jurying gives every artist an equal chance, regardless of connections.”
With the world going immensely virtual, conventional jurying is giving way to online judging panels. Now, the artist selection criteria are becoming more inclusive and globally connected with worldwide artists participating on digital art platforms like TERAVARNA. These platforms democratize the process, right from taking in entries to winners’ announcement. This indeed means better prospects for emerging artists in India beyond traditional networks.
Step Up, Stand Out: Watch Your Art Go Global Today!
While reviewing, Indian art galleries consider a number of things and prioritize selection depending on their own particular needs and personalities. So, don’t lose heart or get hung up easily as jurying is not a barrier, it puts every artist on a level playing field where talent and creativity rule the game. So, trust the process and think beyond borders.
If you haven’t browsed the artistic ventures of the TERAVARNA gallery yet, take your time to explore. Join any of our art competitions online, or online painting competition, to not only showcase your skill, but to be a part of the vibrant brigade of painters, sculptors, installation, and multimedia artists, photographers from all corners of the globe – because when it comes to transparent jurying, nothing quite matches TERAVARNA’s structured approach.
Why wait then! Work on your portfolio today.
Take a leap, submit that piece you’ve been sitting on, and go global in no time!