ARTIST DISCOVERY AWARD
$5,000 Monthly Contemporary Artist Award
A global open call for contemporary artists ready to
be seen.
Submission takes under 60 seconds. Artists may submit (1) one artwork for initial review.
Art R us is launching the Art R us Artist Discovery Award, a monthly juried contemporary art award created to discover, elevate, and showcase exceptional artists working across painting, sculpture, mixed media, pop art, street art, photography, digital art, fine art objects, and contemporary visual culture.
Each month, one selected artist will receive a $5,000 cash award, a featured artist spotlight on artrus.com, social media promotion through @art_r_us_florida, collector-facing visibility, and press announcement support through Art R us.
This is not a giveaway.
This is not a popularity contest.
This is a juried artist award built around originality, execution, visual impact, collector relevance, and professional presentation.
Submit your work. Be seen. Build your legacy.
About the Art R us Artist Discovery Award
The Art R us Artist Discovery Award was created to give serious artists a real platform for visibility, recognition, and collector attention.
Art R us is a luxury contemporary fine art gallery based in Naples, Florida, presenting museum-quality paintings, sculpture, pop art, street art, mixed media, and collectible contemporary works by established and emerging artists.
Through this award, Art R us is opening its platform to discover new creative voices and spotlight artists whose work deserves to be seen by collectors, curators, designers, press, and the public.
Selected artists may be featured through the Art R us website, social media, email marketing, finalist announcements, press materials, and public-facing award pages.
The Prize
$5,000 Contemporary Artist Award
(2) Two launch rounds. Two selected artists. $10,000 awarded by Art R us.
Featured artist spotlight on artrus.com
Social media feature through @art_r_us_florida
Collector-facing visibility through Art R us
Press announcement support
Consideration for future Art R us exhibition, feature, or gallery opportunity.
The prize is awarded based on artistic merit and juried review.
Who Can Submit
The Art R us Artist Discovery Award is open to artists working in:
Painting
Sculpture
Mixed media
Pop art
Street art
Photography
Digital art
Fine art objects
Contemporary visual culture
Experimental contemporary work
Artists may be emerging, mid-career, or established.
All submitted works must be original works created by the submitting artist or submitted with proper authority and rights.
How It Works
Step 1 — Submit Your Work
Artists submit their information, artwork images, artist statement, bio, and required details through the official submission form linked on this page.
Step 2 — Curatorial Review
Submissions are reviewed by Art R us for eligibility,
completeness, originality, quality, and presentation.
Step 3 — Approved Submissions
Approved submissions may be featured on the official Art R us Artist Discovery Award Submission Wall.
Art R us reserves the right to approve, decline, remove, or withhold any submission from public display.
Step 4 — Finalists Announced
Selected finalists may be announced publicly through Art R us, including the website, Instagram, email, and press channels.
Step 5 — People’s Choice Recognition
Public voting may be used to recognize a separate
People’s Choice Featured Artist.
The People’s Choice recognition does not determine the $5,000 cash award winner.
Step 6 — Monthly Winner Selected
The $5,000 monthly award winner is selected by Art R us through juried review based on artistic merit, originality, execution, visual impact, collector relevance, and professional presentation.
Judging Criteria
The $5,000 monthly award will be judged using the following criteria:
Originality — 25%
Creativity, authorship, concept, and strength of artistic voice.
Technical Execution — 25%
Craftsmanship, material handling, control, finish, and professional quality.
Visual Impact — 20%
Presence, composition, emotional power, and ability to command attention.
Collector Relevance — 15%
Market positioning, presentation, scale, collectability, and long-term visual significance.
Artist Statement and Professional Presentation — 15%
Clarity of vision, seriousness of practice, biography, statement, and submission quality.
Judging Panel
The Art R us Artist Discovery Award will be reviewed by Art R us, with final review by Matthew Snider, Founder of Art R us, together with selected Art R us curatorial reviewers and potential guest reviewers from the contemporary art, design, collector, and cultural communities.
The final $5,000 award decision is made by Art R us.
Public voting may be used only for separate recognition, such as People’s Choice Featured Artist.
Submission Requirements
Artists should be prepared to submit:
Full name
Email address
Instagram handle
Phone number
City, state, and country
Artwork title
Medium
Description
(1) one artwork images
Agreement to the Official Rules
Permission for Art R us to display submitted images for award-related promotion
Important Dates
Round One
Submissions Open:
May 20, 2026
Submission Deadline:
June 20, 2026 at 11:59 PM
EST
Finalists Announced:
June 25, 2026
Winner Announced:
June 30, 2026
Round Two
Submissions Open:
July 1, 2026
Submission Deadline:
July 24, 2026 at 11:59 PM
EST
Finalists Announced:
July 28, 2026
Winner Announced:
July 31, 2026
Dates are subject to change at the discretion of Art R us.
Public Submission Wall
Approved artists may be featured on the official Art R us Artist Discovery Award Submission Wall.
Each approved artist feature may include:
Artist name
City, state, or country
Artwork image
Artwork title
Medium
Social media handle
Not all submissions will be displayed publicly.
Art R us reserves the right to approve, decline, edit, remove, or withhold any submission from public display.
Artist Rights
Artists retain ownership of their submitted artwork and intellectual property.
By submitting, artists grant Art R us a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to display submitted artwork images, artist names, artist statements, biographies, social media handles, and related submission materials for purposes connected to the
Art R us Artist Discovery Award, including website display, social media promotion, finalist announcements, press materials, email marketing, award promotion, and archival documentation.
Art R us does not acquire ownership of the submitted artwork or the artist’s copyright through submission.
No Purchase Necessary
No purchase, payment, donation, or sale is required to submit or be selected.
The Art R us Artist Discovery Award is a skill-based juried art award. The winner is selected based on artistic merit and judging criteria, not chance.
Official Rules
The Art R us Artist Discovery Award is governed by official rules, eligibility terms, artist rights language, judging criteria, award conditions, and submission requirements.
Artists should review the full Official Rules before submitting.
Submit Your Work
Artists ready to be seen may submit through the official Art R us Artist Discovery Award submission form.
Artist submissions must be completed through the official Art R us Artist Discovery Award submission form. General website contact forms or newsletter forms do not count as award submissions.
