What Is Good Art?

Is art just a pretty picture or can it change the world? Should it make you think? Should it make you act? Every spring, Team Kenan invites Duke students to submit original artwork that demands change, makes viewers laugh, squirm, grimace, cry, or wonder – and confronts the question, “How ought we live?”

A distinguished panel of experts in art and/or ethics convene to select pieces for display in the What Is Good Art Exhibition, held each April in and around the Institute’s spaces in the West Duke Building. The panel awards First, Second, and Third Prizes; viewers in attendance for the opening gala have the opportunity to vote for a separate “Gallery Choice” Prize.

First Prize: $500
Second Prize: $300
Third Prize: $100
Gallery Choice Prize: $100

The theme for this semester is “Self + Other.” All submissions are due by March 20^th, 2013, and the gallery opening will be held on April 10^th in the West Duke Building.

The theme of Self + Other is intended to provoke artists to explore themes of identity. “Other” is a key concept in numerous philosophical traditions and refers to anything outside the self or the familiar. “Othering” may construct boundaries separating one from another and causing the “other” to become foreign.

Reflection on the “other” often leads to reflection on the “self,” what comprises the “self,” and the common elements between the “other” and the “self.” Many philosophers have explored the concept of the “other,” including Hegel, Sartre, and De Beauvior. Otherness can be further examined through the lenses of power in critiquing imperialism, sexism, or intersectional oppressions.

Artists are encouraged to explore these ideas, challenge them, and even reject the self/other dichotomy through visual means and an artist’s statement. Submissions are not required to fit within a specific philosophical framework or any framework at all, but they should engage with the theme. Joint submissions will also be accepted.

Click here for 2013 contest guidelines and submission info.

The 2012 What Is Good Art? Competition concluded in May. This past year’s theme was“How much truth can art bear?” To view the gallery, curation booklet, and learn more here.

View the 2011 What Is Good Art? Exhibition selections and read Team Kenan’s curation booklet here.

See artwork and information related to the 2010 What Is Good Art? Competition and Exhibition here.