Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 2021: Entries Closed

Entries to the 2021 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize have officially closed, and the judging process is underway. Our sincere thanks to all of the artists and photographers that entered – we are thrilled to have received such exceptional entries this year!

As well as discovering a host of amazing new artists, it is wonderful to see artists who entered in previous years entering again. It’s a delight to see the ongoing evolution of their work.
Danijela Krha-Purssey

2021 has been another difficult year for us all with many challenges. We have seen and appreciate the many entries which share your different experiences, from the ongoing pandemic to mental and emotional struggles. Additionally, we have also received many entries filled with hope and magic. The array of stories shared through the artworks are thought provoking – and once again, we find ourselves discovering a host of magnificent new artists.

It is also wonderful to see artists who entered in previous years entering again this year. As we have mentioned before, every year is a new Art Prize complete with a new Jury Panel. We love seeing the evolution of artists’ works year on year!

A truly international Art Prize

Artists from a whopping 82 different countries entered the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize!

We have received entries from around the world, with artists from a whopping 82 different countries submitting their work to the 2021 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize! We received entries from artists in: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States and Uruguay.

Entries were received in various Traditional mediums across the fields of painting, drawing, collage, art dolls, installation, fibre art, embroidery and mixed media. We have received sculptures in multiple mediums including metal, wood, stone, resin, ceramic, clay, wool, found objects and even chewed bubblegum! The Digital Art category has seen an array of digital painters, digital sculptors, digital 3D artists and photomanipulation artists enter. And last but not least, the Photography category provided the opportunity for fine art photographers from around the world to enter both their digital and analogue photography.

Judging Underway

Thanks to this process, our Editor-in-Chief Danijela Krha Purssey and her team have once again discovered a remarkable amount of amazing new talent. We look forward to sharing with you a sample of these wonderful entries over the coming weeks and months! The December issue will also feature a special editorial presenting the Overall Winner of the 2021 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and the Winners in each category. Purchase a print subscription now to make sure you don’t miss out on this and many other inspiring stories.

Judging has now commenced by this year’s Jury Panel. The jury panel is made up of: Beautiful Bizarre Co-Founders, Danijela Krha Purssey and Richard Purssey; Directors of Haven Gallery, Erica Berkowitz and Joseph Weinreb, representatives from our major partners: INPRNT Founder Joshua Zika, RAYMAR President & Creative Director, Emilie Dietrich; Yasha Young Projects Founder Yasha Young, and the Licensing Manager at iCanvas, Sally Wolff.

These are joined by esteemed contemporary artists: Gerald Brom (Traditional Art juror), Ingrid Baars (Photography juror), Kristine Poole (Sculpture juror) and Stanley Artgerm Lau (Digital Art juror) who will be reviewing work in their respective areas of expertise.

As you can imagine, this is NOT an easy job with so many exceptional entries in all categories! Stay tuned for the big reveal soon.

2021 Award Categories

Overall Winner of the 2021 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize
RAYMAR Traditional Art Award
INPRNT Photography Award
iCanvas Digital Art Award
Yasha Young Projects Sculpture Award
People’s Choice Award

Timeframes & Deadlines

Midnight 17 July 2021 [Sydney Australia Time]: Entries close
10 – 12 August 2021: Judging
17 August onward: Shortlist of 100 Finalists [25 per Award category] announced
24 August [AEDT, Australian Eastern Daylight Time]: People’s Choice voting opens
31 August [AEDT, Australian Eastern Daylight Time]: People’s Choice voting closes
1^st week of September: Winners announced
23 October – 28 November 2021: Beautiful Bizarre curated exhibition ‘Animalia’ at Haven Gallery, Long Island, New York, United States. (Note: Prize winners are expected to exhibit a work in the ‘Animalia’ exhibition in October 2021. Winners may exhibit their prize winning entry if it was created within 12 months of the entry date and not hung in any other exhibition or prize previously. Work already exhibited or hung in a Prize will not be accepted to the ‘Animalia’ exhibition. If the prize-winning work is not eligible to be exhibited in the exhibition, or if the artist chooses, they may create a new work for the exhibition that responds to the ‘Animalia’ theme.)