Saatchi Seeks Art Idol

The Times reports that a Pop Idol-style competition for artists to win hanging space at Charles Saatchi’s latest gallery has been launched. Anyone with an artistic streak can submit images of their work to Saatchi’s website, where they will be judged by the public in a giant online talent contest. The winner of the international competition, called Showdown, will receive £1,000 and the invaluable publicity afforded by a three-month showing in the Saatchi Gallery when it opens in West London in October. The website (www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/showdown) went live on Monday and has already received more than 35 million hits. Over the next six months the thousands of art works will be whittled down to twelve in a series of fortnightly votes. Visitors to the site will rate each work on a scale of one to ten and the dozen most popular art works will then compete against each another for the top prize. The runner-up will receive £750. Ten years have passed since Saatchi revolutionised the British contemporary arts scene with his travelling exhibition Sensation. The former advertising executive’s patronage made the likes of Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Sarah Lucas notorious, rich and collectable. Now, although he still spends his free time browsing through unpromising corners of East London in search of the next big thing, he is also seeking to tap into the power of the internet to uncover new talent. Showdown is an extension of Your Gallery, an online arts exchange on the Saatchi Gallery website that has been hailed as doing for artists what MySpace has done for musicians such as Lilly Allen. Saatchi and his website development team were inspired by Hot or Not, the controversial website that invites men and women to enter pictures of themselves and then asks visitors to the site to rate their attractiveness. (For full source and article click the Headline) Irish Art