The National Criticism Award organized by the Ministry of Culture and Universidad de los Andes reaches its 8th edition. This year, the event will have an Internet platform where texts submitted will be published while the call is open. This will allow for some of the essays to explore ongoing events or situations, and for readers to check the material against facts on the ground as they unfold.
The call is open to individuals interested in writing about art in Colombia, its visual and media-based production, its histories, institutions, networks, and markets. Winners will receive:
Category 1 – Long Essay: Sixteen million pesos and the publication of the essay.
Category 2 – Short Essay: Nine million pesos and the publication of the essay.
Submissions must include three identical copies of the text (long or short), bound separately, and one digital-format copy (CD or DVD). Participants who have the option of submitting their project in digital form must attach three identical copies in CD or DVD. Submissions must contain the following information:
Title of the essay, pseudonym, text of the essay according to the specifications for each category. Submissions must be made in Word format, specifying the category (Category 1 – Long Essay; Category 2 – Short Essay).
Submissions will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
Precision and clarity of the argument (style, structure, rhythm, method of exposition, eloquence, readability).
Connection to the art field in Colombia (relevance, foundation, current knowledge, general knowledge).
Singularity (originality, skepticism, risk, novelty, distance, reevaluation, sincerity, perspective, interpretation, tone).
The Ministry of Culture will forward to the Universidad de los Andes, on a weekly basis, those essays that fulfill all administrative requirements and do not reveal the identity of heir authors. As is often the case in these competitions, it is expected that the volume of submissions will increase towards the end of the acceptance period, but given the modality of online publication participants are encouraged to take advantage of the five months during which the call is open to make their essays public through the platform. Each new upload will be announced in a weekly bulletin and will include a visit counter and key words.
Universidad de los Andes will upload submitted essays to the platform, including the pseudonym selected by the author. Once winners are designated, the pseudonyms will be replaced with the authors' names and the essays will be incorporated into the archive for this edition of the Award, available in perpetuity in the digital platform. Permission for this use of the submitted essay is generated by the processing of the attached form, which is mandatory.
This call closes on July 1st, 2013.
For more information, contact premionalcritica@uniandes.edu.co