International Awards for Art Criticism (IAAC) 3

The third edition of these Awards for an exhibition review, in English or Chinese, will be open for submissions from May 25 to September 25.

These annual Awards are now fully global. They are open to candidates from anywhere in the world, writing in Chinese or English about any contemporary art exhibition held between September 20, 2015 and September 20, 2016. 

(1) Three cash prizes will be awarded, as follows:
–First prize: 6,000 euro plus a short visit to Shanghai for an essay, in English or Chinese 
–Joint second prize: 2,000 euro for an essay in Chinese                       
–Joint second prize: 2,000 euro for an essay in English

(2) Around 20 of the shortlisted essays (10 in English and 10 in Chinese) will be published in the original languages and in translation

The Awards, which are judged anonymously, aim to support independent critical coverage of contemporary art, away from the immediate pressures of the market, media and private patronage. They seek to stimulate good writing, critical thinking, dialogue and research in China, the UK and worldwide. There is no age limit, and the Awards are open to all. The objectivity of the selection process is underpinned, both by the recognised professionalism of the Chinese and English-speaking jury members and by the strict anonymity of the judging process.

How to apply
Submissions should be no longer than 1,500 words in English or 2,000 Chinese characters in length. Where possible, but only if relevant, please include with your submission a maximum of three images of the exhibition you are writing about, all cleared for publication. Entries must be submitted as a single PDF file no greater than 4MB—i.e. an "optimised" pdf. The entire email should not be more than 5MB and include an entry form downloaded from the website. Publishing rights of all texts must be assigned to the IAAC, regardless of whether or not they have been previously published. All entries will initially be sorted and shortlisted by the organisers and academic partners in China and the UK, then translated into Chinese (for English-language submissions) or English (for Chinese-language submissions).


Enquiries and submissions should be addressed, as follows:

Chinese-language: Shanghai 21st Century Minsheng Art Museum, 1929 ShiboDadao, 200126, Shanghai, T +86 21 61820539, iaac@21msms.com

English-language: School of Fine Art, Royal College of Art, 20 Howie Street, London, SW11 4AS, T +44 (0)20 7590 4423, iaac@rca.ac.uk


The Awards will be adjudicated mid-November 2016 by a jury of five internationally recognised critics, curators and art historians, as follows: 

Ute Meta Bauer, Director, NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore 
Brian Dillon, author, Reader in Critical Writing, Royal College of Art and UK Editor of Cabinet magazine, New York
David Elliott, independent curator and writer, Berlin, London, Belgrade, Hong Kong 
Philip Tinari, Director, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing
Cao Yiqiang, Dean, China Academy of Arts, Hangzhou and Chief Editor of New Art


The Awards are hosted by the Board of the not-for-profit International Awards for Art Criticism Ltd. and organised by the Shanghai 21st Minsheng Art Museum (M21) and Anxin Trust Co. Ltd.-Artemis. They are held in partnership with the Royal College of Art, London, the world's number one ranked university of art and design, and in association with the International Association of Art Critics (AICA), based in Paris, with its 64 sections and approx. 4,600 members, worldwide. The principal sponsors are China Minsheng Banking Cooperation Ltd., the Shanghai Minsheng Art Foundation and the Anxin Trust Co. Ltd., China.

Board members of the IAAC: Henry Meyric Hughes (chair), Lewis Biggs, Juan Cruz, Ling Min; with an organising committee, incl. Gan Zhiyi and Gao Chao.

The IAAC 2 publication, designed by Stinsensqueeze, will come out at the end of June; it will take a digital format & will be printed and distributed in China.

Submission deadline: September 25, 2016

Shanghai 21st Century Minsheng Art Museum
1929 ShiboDadao
200126, Shanghai

T +86 2161820539

School of Fine Art, Royal College of Art
20 Howie Street
London, SW11 4AS

T: +44 (0)20 7590 4423
iaac@rca.ac.uk

www.iaac-m21.org