BAMS and medal manufacturer Thomas Fattorini have come together to create an annual international award for struck medals. The BAMS Struck Medal Award takes the form of a medal struck in sterling silver bearing a posthumous portrait of Thomas Peter Fattorini by Ian Rank-Broadley. It is intended to encourage artists and designers around the world to engage with struck medals and to encourage mints, both private and public, to produce struck medals of high artistic quality. In years in which a FIDEM exhibition is held, the award will be made for the struck medal considered to be the most successful in that exhibition; in other years it will be awarded for the work judged to be the most successful recently produced struck medal. Submissions for the first award should be sent by email to jlarkin@britishmuseum.org, to arrive by 31 August 2015, and should include images and all relevant information (names and contact details of artist and mint, size and metal of medal, circumstances of making and issuing). Medals should have been made in 2014 or 2015 and may have resulted from a commission or have been produced on the initiative of the artist or the mint concerned. The artist may be an independent artist/designer or an employee of the mint striking the medal or of any other body. Short-listed entrants may subsequently be requested to submit their medal by post for closer examination (in such cases the entrant will be responsible for covering the cost of inward postage, while the award organisers will cover the return postage). Each award medal will be engraved with the name of the winning artist and the year. The mint producing the medal will be acknowledged in all ensuing publicity.

THE BAMS STRUCK MEDAL AWARD

Sponsored by Fattorini

The Award

1. The BAMS Struck Medal Award is presented annually by the British Art Medal Society and Thomas Fattorini Ltd (“the organisers”). The award was initiated in 2015 in honour of Thomas Peter Fattorini (1932-2010).
2. The award is intended to encourage artists and designers to engage with struck medals and to encourage mints, both private and public, to produce struck medals of high artistic quality and to celebrate the artists and designers who provide the models and designs.
3. The award takes the form of a sterling silver medal 75 millimetres in diameter bearing, on one side, a portrait of Thomas P. Fattorini by Ian Rank-Broadley and, on the other, the British Art Medal Society logo.
4. Production of the award medal and its case is undertaken by Thomas Fattorini Ltd.
5. The award is made annually to an individual artist or designer. In years in which a FIDEM congress and exhibition are held, it is awarded for the struck medal judged to be the most successful in that exhibition. In other years it is awarded for the work judged to be the most successful recently produced struck medal.
6. The award is international in scope and is open to artists from all countries. The winning medal may have been struck by a mint in any country.
7. The winning medal may either have resulted from a commission or have been produced on the initiative of the artist or the mint concerned. If the former, the entrant is responsible for informing the commissioner that the medal is being entered for the award.
8. The winner may be an independent artist/designer or an employee of the mint striking the medal or of any other body.
9. Each award medal is engraved with the words THE STRUCK MEDAL AWARD, the name of the winning artist, and the year. The mint striking the winning medal is acknowledged in all publicity.
10. The winning artist and the mint striking the medal are permitted to use images of the award medal for publicity purposes.
11. An award may not be presented in any year if a suitable winner cannot be identified.

The process

1. The award is advertised through BAMS and FIDEM, using those organisations’ websites and networks and The Medal journal.
2. The judges are appointed on an annual basis by Thomas Fattorini Ltd and BAMS Council.
3. In FIDEM years the judging takes place at the FIDEM exhibition and the presentation is made during the FIDEM congress.
4. In non-FIDEM years a final submission date is set by the organisers and initial submissions are accepted by email. Short-listed entrants may subsequently be requested to submit their medal by post for closer examination. (In such cases the entrant is responsible for covering the cost of inward postage, while the award organisers cover the return postage.) Submissions may be made by individuals, companies and organisations. Each submission must be accompanied by the name and contact details of both the artist/designer and the mint striking the medal and information on the size and metal of the medal and the circumstances of its making and issuing. The judging takes place at a time and place decided by the organisers.
5. The judges’ decision is final.