Eligibility

The Sheridan Prize for Art Contest (the “Contest”) is open to artists ages 18 and older currently residing, employed, or enrolled in a post-secondary educational art institution in one of the nine counties of the San Francisco Bay Area: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma as well as Sacramento and Santa Cruz counties. Submitting a work to the Contest constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Contest Rules and to the Sponsor and the Jurors’ decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Contest. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein. The Sponsor and the Jurors reserve the right to verify the eligibility of winners.

Communications

Any questions regarding the rules of the Contest may be sent to sheridanprizeforart@yahoo.com. A Contest participant attempting to influence the outcome of the contest by communication to the Sponsor, or any of the members of the jury, will be disqualified.

Sponsor

The Contest Sponsor is John Sheridan, an individual fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media, a California nonprofit public benefit corporation.

Selection of Winners

Each category will have one winner, and several honorable mentions. The submissions for categories A-J will be judged by a jury of 10 artists. Each category will be independently judged by a separate member of the jury. No members of the jury may submit an artwork for the purposes of the Contest. The juror’s decision in each of the relevant categories will be final.

The winner for the Artist’s Choice category will be selected by a VOTE of all artists who submitted at least one artwork for the Contest. Each artist will only receive one vote, using the Rank Choice Voting method. Submission of more than one artwork for the Contest will not result in the artist receiving additional votes. The vote will be conducted within the Contest website itself on the page the participating artist uses to upload and pay for their participation beginning November 2, 2023. The voting period will close on the end of day of November 16, 2023, and votes received following this date will not be counted. It is recommended that artists make their vote as soon as they are alerted that the voting is active.

The winner for the People’s Choice Category will be selected by popular decision of visitors who have signed up at the Contest’s official website at sheridanprizeforart.com. Each person visiting the official website who has signed up will receive one vote upon login and may select a participant using the Rank Choice Voting method. The voting period for the People’s Choice category will begin on November 2, 2023 (or as soon as voting becomes active), and will close on November 16, 2023. All votes may be cast as soon as voting is activated, but no votes will be counted after voting closes on November 16. The winners and honorable mentions for all categories will be announced at the end of day on November 17, 2023 or the following day.

Prizes

Each category of the Contest will have one winner, who will receive a five hundred-dollar ($500) prize. In addition to the monetary prize, the winning artwork in each category will be displayed on the official Contest website, along with the name of the artwork, the winning artist’s name, and a short essay describing the artwork, written by the art critic Harry Roche or by John Sheridan. Each category of the Contest will also have several honorable mentions that will each receive a one hundred-dollar ($100) prize. The artworks selected for an honorable mention will be displayed on the official Contest website along with the name of the artwork and the artist’s name but will not have an essay describing the artwork.

The Contest winners and honorable mentions will be announced and displayed on the official Contest website at end of day on November 17, 2023 or the following day. The Contest winners and honorable mentions will receive their prizes within fourteen (14) business days of the winners’ announcement. Contest winners will receive their prize via either mailed check or PayPal, as specified by the participant as they prefer.

Intellectual Property and Representation and Warranties

Representation and Warranties – By submitting an artwork to the Contest, each participant represents and warrants that the artwork is original to the participant and does not infringe the work of any third parties. In the event that a submitted artwork does infringe the rights of a third party, the participant that submitted the artwork will indemnify the Contest and the Sponsor against all damages arising from the infringing artwork.

Intellectual Property – ALL SUBMITTED ARTWORK SHALL REMAIN THE PROPERTY OF THE PARTICIPANT THAT SUBMITTED IT. BY SUBMITTING AN ARTWORK FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE CONTEST, EACH PARTICIPANT HEREBY GRANTS A LICENSE TO DISPLAY THE ARTWORK FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE CONTEST, INCLUDING PROMOTION OF THE CONTEST. NO SUBMITTED ARTWORK WILL BE SOLD OR MONETIZED IN ANY FORMAT BY THE CONTEST.

Publicity Release

BY SUBMITTING AN ARTWORK TO THE CONTEST, A PARTICIPANT GRANTS TO THE SPONSOR AND THE CONTEST THE RIGHT AND PERMISSION TO PRINT, PUBLISH, BROADCAST, AND USE, WORLDWIDE IN ANY MEDIA NOW KNOWN OR HEREAFTER DEVELOPED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE WORLD WIDE WEB, AT ANY TIME OR TIMES, EACH WINNER’S NAME, PICTURE, LIKENESS [IF PROVIDED BY THE PARTICIPANT], [THE ARTIST’S STATEMENT] AND BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION [IF PROVIDED BY THE PARTICIPANT] FOR ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES OF THE CONTEST, WITHOUT ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION, COMPENSATION, PERMISSION, OR NOTIFICATION.

Fees and Fundraising

All participant fees will go towards supporting the Contest. The Sponsor will not derive any monetary benefit from the Contest. Partial fundraising is performed via the website located at the Donate Page and at the Buy Art Here Page. A percentage of all print sales on the Buy Art Here Page will be used to support the Contest. The Sponsor will not derive any monetary benefit from print sales from the Buy Art Here Page. No artist whose work is featured on the Buy Art Here Page may submit artwork for the Contest.

General Conditions

The Sponsor reserves the right to not accept any artwork that is deemed offensive or illegal in the Sponsor’s sole discretion. The Contest supports the free speech of all artists, but artwork that may threaten the integrity of the Contest will not be accepted. In the event that an artwork is not accepted, the participant’s ten-dollar ($10) fee for that artwork will be returned. Any participant whose artwork is returned will be allowed to submit a substitute artwork, as long as the total number of the participant’s artworks accepted by the Contest does not exceed eight (8). The Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Contest if any fraud, technical failures, or any other factor beyond the Sponsor’s reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Contest, as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion. The Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, damaged, stolen, or illegible entries; lost, interrupted, or unavailable network, server, or other connections or miscommunications. Proof of sending or submission of entry will not be deemed proof of receipt by the Sponsor. The Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

Governing Law

The Contest and all agreements therein are governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of California.

Arbitration

Any dispute or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or an alleged breach thereof, shall be resolved through binding arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association. If the Parties are unable to agree on such an arbitrator, one will be appointed by the American Arbitration Association. The prevailing Party in any such arbitration shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred in connection with the arbitration.

Official Rules and Winners List

A copy of the official rules may be found at: https://sheridanprizeforart.com or email sheridanprizeforart@yahoo.com with the subject line “The Sheridan Prize for Art Official Contest Rules” by September 7, 2023.

Services

Each member of the jury (“Jury Member”) will judge a separate category of the Contest. John Sheridan (the “Sponsor”) will confirm with each Jury Member the specific category that they will be responsible for. Upon logging into the official website, https://sheridanprizeforart.com, a Jury Member will be able to view their assigned category and the submitted artwork that they are responsible for. The Jury Members will judge each submitted artwork in their category to the best of their ability and on the merits of the artwork. Each Jury Member will select one (1) winner from their assigned category, and the appropriate number of honorable mentions which may vary from category to category. Please confirm with the Sponsor how many honorable mentions are appropriate for your category. The Jury Member may review each submitted artwork in their assigned category beginning at end of day on November 1, 2023, and will send their decision regarding the chosen winner and honorable mentions to the sponsor no later than end of day on November 15, 2023.

Moral/Ethical Considerations

If a Jury Member feels that a particular artwork in their selected category is morally or ethically objectionable, the Jury Member will notify the Sponsor immediately.

No Outside Communications

The Jury Member will not, under any circumstances, communicate with any Contest participants regarding the contest prior to any announcement of the final winner or honorable mentions. If a Jury Member has any question about the rules of the Contest, or a particular artwork, they are directed to contact the Sponsor.

Image

Each Jury Member will send one (1) photo of themselves and a professional CV or resume for display on the official website of the Contest at https://sheridanprizeforart.com. Jury Members are directed to remove any live links from the CV for their own protection, to prevent participating artists from attempting to reach the juror through the Contest’s website. EACH JURY MEMBER HEREBY GRANTS TO THE CONTEST THE RIGHT AND PERMISSION TO PRINT, PUBLISH, BROADCAST, AND USE, WORLDWIDE IN ANY MEDIA NOW KNOWN OR HEREAFTER DEVELOPED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE WORLD WIDE WEB, AT ANY TIME OR TIMES, EACH JURY MEMBER’S NAME, PICTURE, LIKENESS, AND RESUME OR CV INFORMATION FOR ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES OF THE CONTEST, WITHOUT ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION, COMPENSATION, PERMISSION, OR NOTIFICATION.

Payment

Each Jury Member will receive payment for their services during the Contest (“Payment”). The payment will be sent via PayPal or a personal check from the Sponsor, as the Jury Member prefers, and which will be confirmed by the Sponsor via email. The Payment is in addition to any fees earned through fundraising, as detailed below.

Fundraising

Each Jury Member has the option, but not the obligation, to feature between one and three of their original artworks on the official Contest fundraising webpage at the “Buy Art Here” Page. The Sponsor will sell prints of participating Jury Members’ artworks on the fundraising webpage. The price of each print to be determined by the Sponsor and the donating Jury Member in a separate agreement. By default, each participating Jury Member will receive thirty percent (30%) of each artwork print sold. The remaining seventy percent (70%) will be used to support the Contest. The Sponsor will not derive any moneys from the fundraising webpage beyond the percentage that will be used to support the Contest. The percentage of money that the Jury Member receives may be altered by separate agreement between the Jury Member and the Sponsor. If the Sponsor determines that a proposed artwork on the fundraising site is objectionable for moral or ethical reasons, or will cause the Contest to be viewed unfavorably, the Sponsor will ask the Jury Member who owns the artwork to substitute a different artwork for sale.