The Waterfowl Festival was established 52 years ago by a number of individuals who shared a common belief in the beauty of abundant waterfowl thriving in their habitat throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and nearby coastal bays…spanning more than 64,000 square miles and encompassing parts of six states – Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia – and the entire District of Columbia.
Artwork featuring waterfowl and their habitat has always been a very important theme for the Waterfowl Festival. As we wish to continually commemorate and recognize the important contribution and value that waterfowl art has been for the Festival and its visitors, we encourage our invited artists to participate in the Waterfowl Festival Heritage Art Award Competition!
Judging will take place prior to the Festival’s opening ceremonies on Thursday, November 10 between 1:00 – 2:30 pm. Each entry must be identified and displayed at the artist’s designated exhibit by 12:00 noon. The winning paintings must remain on display at the artist’s booth, if possible, until the show closes.
AWARDS:
All artwork must be the exhibitor’s original creation, neither copied nor duplicated from previously published art, including paintings, drawings in any medium or published photographs, or from images including the artist’s own previously completed or published work or, from images in any format published or available on the internet.
Deadline to submit this form: November 1, 2022. You must use the form below to provide the number and dimensions of each piece you intend to enter. Artist may submit one or two pieces. The artwork may be in a medium of the artist’s choice, must be in full color and framed to museum standards, wired ready to hang. Composition sizes shall be no smaller than 11 x 14 nor larger than 24 x 30.
The Waterfowl Festival Art Committee must be informed by November 1, 2022 on the number and size(s) of work that the artist intends to enter. (Submission form below)
A panel of three judges, each having a history of support for the conservation of waterfowl and wetlands, has been appointed by the Waterfowl Festival Art Committee to judge the eligible art. The judges are a representative cross section of individuals with expertise in waterfowl characteristics and habitat, effective artistic expression, method and design. Judges serve without compensation.
Judging Criteria:
Judging Procedures:
STEP 1: The judges will evaluate and rate each designated artwork piece on a scale of 10 to 1 [with 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest].
STEP 2: The pieces receiving the ten (10) highest scores will be then be judged on a scale of 1 [with 1 representing the very top or 1st place] to 10 [with 10 representing the very bottom or 10th place];
STEP 3: The piece with lowest total cumulative score will be designated by the judges as “1st place”, the piece with the second lowest score designated as “2nd place” and, the piece with the third lowest score designated as “3rd place”.
In case of ties for either 1st, 2nd or 3rd place, the judges will re-judge the tied pieces in accordance with step 3 order to determine/finalize the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place pieces; the selection of the awarded artwork by the judges shall be final.
NOTE: The judges reserve the absolute and unconditional right to withhold the granting of monetary awards if, in their sole opinion and discretion, the submitted artwork is either not in accordance with the stipulated guidelines or does not accurately capture the anatomical characteristics and details of the depicted waterfowl and their natural habitat.