About
Administered by the Seattle Art Museum, the annual Betty Bowen Award honors a Northwest artist for their original, exceptional, and compelling work. The winner is awarded an unrestricted cash prize of $15,000, and a selection of their works is shown at the Seattle Art Museum. In addition, up to two Special Recognition Awards in the amount of $2,500 and three Special Commendation Awards in the amount of $1,250 are often granted at the discretion of the Betty Bowen 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 the artists of the region. Since 1977, the Seattle Art Museum has hosted the open call application process by which the Betty Bowen Committee chooses one visual artist working in the Northwest to receive the unrestricted cash award.
What to know
The award is open to visual artists in all media working in Washington, Oregon, or Idaho. Artists of diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
The application will be available at callforentry.org. There is a $10 application fee. The Seattle Art Museum is committed to values of accessibility and financial assistance. If costs pose a barrier to entry, please contact us at bettybowen@seattleartmuseum.org
All entries must be submitted online. Entries sent by standard mail will not be accepted. Artists are encouraged to submit their most recent body of work.
The winner is selected in a two-part jury process. In the first round, the applicants are reviewed anonymously. Six finalists are selected from the pool of applicants. Finalists are then invited to present their work to the committee in the second round and will receive an honorarium of $500 for related expenses. After this review process, the committee selects one award winner in addition to any special recognition award winners they wish to honor.
Selection is based on, but not limited to, the following criteria:
- The compelling nature of the artist’s ideas and contribution to the field
- The quality and creativity of the work submitted for review
- The artist’s commitment to developing their work
- The impact the award will have on the artist and their career
