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Application deadline: April 20, 2010 INTRODUCTION Since 1961, SECA (Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art) has honored over sixty Bay Area artists with its Art Award, which includes an exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, an accompanying catalogue, and a cash prize. Recipients of the SECA Art Award are chosen during a 10-month process involving the local art community, artists, SECA members, and the Museum. The selection of finalists and award winners is made by the two SFMOMA curators who are co-organizing the 2010 SECA Art Award exhibition. Currently, the SECA Art Award exhibition occurs biennially. Funding for the exhibition and catalogue is provided by SECA and the Museum; the cash prize accompanying the Award was initiated in 1984 through the Robert Huston Fund, which was established in memory of Robert Huston, a former SECA member and a dedicated supporter of young Bay Area artists. SELECTION PROCESS The SECA Art Award program is based on recommendations by members of the local art community, and the review of images and studio visits by the SECA Art Award curators and SECA members. The final selection is made by the SECA Art Award curators. While the ultimate purpose of the program is the selection of Art Award winners, the process of selection offers numerous opportunities for artists’ work to be viewed by a variety of individuals who are active in the local art community. RECOMMENDATIONS Artists enter the SECA Art Award selection process as a result of recommendation from a Bay Area art professional or SECA member. SECA solicits recommendations from numerous local arts professionals, including directors and curators of museums, nonprofit art spaces, galleries, independent curators, deans and instructors of art schools, noted artists and past SECA Art Award winners. APPLICATION REVIEW Artists recommended for the SECA Art Award are sent an application form and request for six representative images of their work. From this group of applicants, approximately thirty artists are selected for studio visits. Members of SECA and the SECA Art Award curators participate in the image review. Artists to be seen in studio visits are selected by the SECA Art Award curators following collaborative discussion with SECA members. STUDIO VISITS Studio visits are lead by the SECA Art Award curators and are open to all SECA members. Art Award studio visits are among the best attended of all SECA activities. The visits will occur on Saturdays in the fall of 2010, with two groups of twenty-five to thirty people attending the studios. Each visit lasts from twenty to thirty minutes. It is helpful if artists speak briefly about their background and work, leaving time for questions. The main focus should be on recent work and work in progress. Some artists prefer to show their work in an exhibition space or at an installation site rather than in their studio. Every effort is made to accommodate artists’ preferences and to make the visits as rewarding as possible for both artists and their visitors. SELECTION OF ART AWARD RECIPIENTS Following the completion of all studio visits, the SECA Art Award curators select one to four winners. The recipients of the 2010 SECA Art Award will be announced in December of 2010; the Art Award exhibition will open in the fall of 2011 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of SECA. EXHIBITION AND CATALOGUE The 2010 SECA Art Award exhibition and catalog will be handled in the same way as any other SFMOMA-generated exhibition, with the staff of SFMOMA’s curatorial, exhibitions, registration, education, installation, and public relations departments managing all details. ARTIST ELIGIBILITY Consistent with the purpose of the Art Award, it is the intent of SECA and SFMOMA that the Award be given to Bay Area artists working at a high level of artistic maturity whose work has not, at the time of recommendation, been accorded substantial recognition. To be considered for the Award, an artist must be out of school and working independently. SECA members and employees of SFMOMA are not eligible for the Award. In acknowledgment of the diversity of artistic practices in the Bay Area, and that many artists employ hybrid working methods that defy traditional categorization, this year work in all media will be considered. Applicants will now be able to submit examples of photography, digital media, video, sound, and film installations. As studio visits are essential to the search process, artists must be working in the Bay Area and accessible to visits by the 2010 SECA Art Award curators and SECA members. PROFILE OF SECA SECA is an art interest group of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; it presents a variety of programs to educate and inform its members about contemporary art and to provide support to the artist community. SECA consistently sponsors art awards, which seek to encourage emerging artists and under-recognized mid-career artists, and programs and lectures to foster the exchange of ideas among artists, museum members and other experts in the art world. The SECA membership is diverse, and includes collectors, art professionals, artists and individuals interested in learning about contemporary art in the region. Please note, applications in CaFE close at Midnight (11:59:59 pm), Mountain Time of the day of the deadline.