31st Annual Betty Bowen Award for Artists

The Betty Bowen Award is open to all visual artists working in Washington, Oregon, or Idaho. One artist will be awarded a cash prize up to $15,000 and an opportunity to display their work at the Seattle Art Museum. Two Special Recognition awards in the amount of $2,500 are often granted at the discretion of the committee.

Betty Bowen (1918–1977) was a Washington native and enthusiastic supporter of Northwest artists. Her friends established the annual Betty Bowen Award as a celebration of her life and to honor and continue her efforts to provide financial support to artists of the region. Since 1977, the Seattle Art Museum has hosted the yearly grant application process. Each year two artists are selected as rotating members of the selection committee.

Applicants must submit a resume, artist statement, and six images with their online application. For each image, include the title, date, medium, and dimensions. Artists working in film or video must upload six film stills and send a DVD or VHS of the complete work to: Betty Bowen Award/Call for Entry, c/o Modern and Contemporary Art Dept., Seattle Art Museum, 1300 1st Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101. All applications must be completed and submitted online by 11:00 PM Pacific Standard Time on August 1, 2009. Entry fee: $10.00. Approximately five finalists are selected from approximately 500 entries. Finalists are invited to present their work to the committee individually. Selection is based on the quality of the work submitted, the creativity and skill of the artist, the artist's commitment to developing their work, the impact the award will have on the artist, and how developed the artist is in their career.