The Oscars of 365 Art+ Magazine
Back in 2000, at the start of my career, I remember receiving my first graphic design award for a website I created. It was a website I created for my then graphic design business, and it was the first award I had received for a piece that I created. I put all my energy into its creation – the look, the color scheme, the design – and I was incredibly proud of it. The entire process from creating the website to receiving the award was an exciting experience for me, and looking back, I realize how formative it was. I gained a lot from it: the fulfillment from stretching my skills with a challenging project, the joy of satisfaction with the finished piece, the thrill of submitting for an award, the anticipation while eagerly awaiting the results, the confidence I gained by stepping out to believe in myself, and the excitement that came at being honored with an award. It proved to be a boost for my career, but more than that, it motivated me as an artist and gave me the confidence I needed to continue challenging myself, and most importantly, to continue believing in myself. Though I have been honored to receive subsequent awards, nothing quite compared to that first experience.
It's nice to be recognized as an artist for your creativity and effort. There are countless competitions that cover just about every category of art you can imagine – the International Design Awards (IDA), which showcase a range of design-related niches from architecture to graphic design, the Neutral Density (ND) Awards for the best in photography, and the Turner Award, which includes a variety of mediums in the contemporary art space. There are also more famous competitions like the Grammys and Oscars for musicians and actors.
The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are one of the most well-known and coveted awards by individuals in the film industry. Drawing in the Hollywood elite, the Oscars can represent the pinnacle of an actor’s career. From the celebrity red carpet walk to the world-wide television audience, the ceremony is nothing short of extravagant.
Welcome to the Oscars of 365 Art+ magazine. Compared to the art competitions I’ve entered, 365 Art+ is taking an entirely different approach with their digital awards. The award, while digital for now, is striking in design with a gold, circular base, a gold olive leaf near the top, and six stars inside the leaf. Each of the six multi-colored stars represents a unique precious element – platinum, gold, silver, diamond, sapphire, and ruby – and signifies a different category of art featured in a particular issue of the magazine. 365 Art+ will select six exemplary artists from every issue to receive an award, and each artist will receive a different colored star for excellence in the category of art they represent. There are no entry fees and no first, second, or third place winners, with each winning artist receiving a unique digital award. The honored artists will also be published again in the magazine’s annual edition.
365 Art+ showcases the best talent from around the world. For the winners in this issue, I want to give you a heartfelt congratulations. I hope your experience being featured in and honored by 365 Art+ is both rewarding and inspiring, stirring you to take new creative leaps in whatever niche of art you find yourself.