Update, February 2021 – the competition is now closed –

COMPETITION FOR A NEW BRITISH ART MEDAL SOCIETY (BAMS) MEDAL

BAMS hereby announces a competition for a new BAMS President’s Medal.

The BAMS President’s Medal is the society’s premier award and is presented to individuals and organisations who are considered to have made a significant contribution to the understanding, appreciation and encouragement of the art of the medal. It is usually awarded annually.

The new medal will replace a medal by Danuta Solowiej, which has been presented annually since 2009. For that medal competition, see The Medal, 51 (2007), pp. 57-64.

The medal should celebrate the unique qualities of medals and the aims of BAMS (to encourage, develop and support the practice and study of medallic art in the UK and elsewhere).

The competition is open only to artists who are BAMS members. The prize for the winner is £2,000. There is only one prize.

Artists entering the competition are asked to make drawings (or, if preferred, models) of their proposed medal. Drawings (or photographs of models) should be sent by wetransfer (www.wentransfer.com) to BAMS secretary Janet Larkin (jlarkin@britishmuseum.org). The deadline for receiving these entries is 6 January 2021.

The medal will:

• Be two-sided.
• Have a maximum size of 100 millimetres in diameter or in width and height and a maximum depth of 15 millimetres.
• Include the words BRITISH ART MEDAL SOCIETY in its design. Other text can be added at the artist’s discretion. However, no year should be included, as the medal will remain in use for some time.

The winning entry will be chosen by BAMS Council, excluding any Council members who have entered the competition.

The winner will be notified by 15 February 2021. The winner will then be expected to produce a model for Council to see and discuss before beginning production.

The winning artist will be responsible for producing 10 medals along with their presentation cases; also a printed card to be included in each case giving information on the medal, the wording to be as agreed with BAMS in advance.

The production costs of the medals and cases will be covered by BAMS, up to a maximum of £300 per medal, for which receipts will be required. BAMS will also cover postage costs.

The first medal and case will be required by 1^st November 2021, with the remainder following on an annual basis. The first award using the new medal will be in 2022, the society’s 40th anniversary year.

BAMS will retain copyright on the medal, but the artist will have the right to reproduce images of the medal where appropriate, eg in catalogues of their work and on their professional website.