11 September
Photo by Mike Petrucci on Unsplash

Portrait of a Senior Territorian Art Award 2018 Review

About

Arts Law regularly reviews the terms and conditions of competitions and rates them out of five stars. Our review looks broadly at the terms and conditions of a competition. In particular, we look closely at how a competition deals with an entrant’s copyright and moral rights, and consider this in light of the prize.  Entrants should always take into account the possible profile-raising which may result from being a finalist or winner.

By accepting the terms and conditions of a competition, entrants should be aware that they may be entering a legally binding contract.

For more information, see our free information sheet on competition conditions. Artists are welcome to contact Arts Law for legal advice on the terms of a competition. We also invite competition organisers to contact Arts Law for best practice assistance to make their terms and conditions fairer for artists.

Please note: Prior to February 2018, Arts Law’s rated out of five stars only the terms of a competition which dealt with copyright and moral rights using our previous rating systems. Arts Law’s competition reviews are now more holistic, such that our rating out of five stars now reflects a broad review of all the terms and conditions of the competition.

Review

We have reviewed the terms and conditions of the Portrait of a Senior Territorian Art Award 2018 in the Northern Territory. This competition is run by the NT Government and describes its aims as recognising outstanding artists and outstanding senior Territorians.

The deadline for this competition is 4:00pm Friday 21 September 2018 and entries are open to artists aged 17 and over living in the Northern Territory. 

Read the terms and conditions of this competition here.

Arts Law has rated this competition 3 out of 5 stars.

This is an annual portrait competition for artists resident in Northern Territory, for paintings featuring a subject that is aged 60 years or older and permanently resides in the Northern Territory. In 2018, the terms and conditions state: 'The Portrait of a Senior Territorian Art Award honours senior Territorians that have made a significant contribution to achieving the 40th Anniversary of Self Government in the NT.'

There are four prizes. First, the Acquisition Award, being a A$7,000 acquisitive prize. The winning entry becomes the property of the Northern Territory Government and to be eligible for this prize the artwork must be available for sale. If the artwork is priced over A$7,000 the artist must agree to receive only A$7,000. Next, there are non-acquisitive Second and Third Prize awards for $2,000 and $500 respectively. The Acquisition Award, Second Prize and Third Prize will be decided by a panel of judges. Finally, there is a A$1,000 non-acquisitive People’s Choice award selected by popular vote at the end of the exhibition.

This competition is run by the NT Government and describes its aims as recognising outstanding artists and outstanding senior Territorians.

While the terms are generally quite fair, they include a copyright licence in respect of artworks entered which lasts in perpetuity – that is, for the life of the copyright. This type of licence is not ideal because it is very broad and restricts the entering artist from exclusively licensing the copyright in their entered work at any time in the future, regardless of whether they win or not.

Otherwise, the balance of the terms are reasonably even handed though artists should seek advice about their individual situation and their entry into the competition if there are any concerns.

You can lodge a query with us here if you would like to obtain advice from Arts Law about this competition.

Further Information

Please email us at [email protected] to tell us about any competitions or prizes you think we should check. 

See more about Arts Law's campaign to improve competition terms and conditions in the Prizes and Competitions section.