Terms and Conditions

Please read this document in full to ensure that any prospective entrants and their work are eligible for the Prize. Instructions on entering will be found on the Crafts Council website once the application process goes live on November 1st.

1. THE PRIZE

1.1 The Woman’s Hour Craft Prize 2017 aims to find and celebrate the most innovative and exciting craft practitioners and designer-makers resident in the UK today.

1.2 The Prize will be judged in four (4) stages (please see Clause 5) with twelve (12) finalists exhibiting their work at the Victoria and Albert Museum and in a possible subsequent touring exhibition.

1.3 An overall winner will be chosen and awarded a prize of £10,000 at the prize ceremony. The Prize will reward originality and excellence in concept, design and process and will seek to recognise an outstanding craft practitioner or designer-maker with a track record of public display or showcasing of their work and who has demonstrably contributed to craft practice in the last five (5) years

2. ELIGIBILITY

2.1 The Prize is open to British nationals and UK residents, aged 18 years or over on the submission deadline (13th February 2017) only, who are leading practitioners in their particular field of craft in the United Kingdom. Students in full or part-time education are not eligible. Proof of nationality and/or residency may be requested of shortlisted entrants.

2.2 The Prize is not open to employees of the BBC, Crafts Council, the Victoria and Albert Museum, anyone connected with the Prize or their direct family members. Proof of identity and eligibility may be requested.

3. TERMS OF ENTRY

3.1 The Prize is free to enter and no purchase is necessary. One (1) entry is permitted per entrant, though images of multiple objects are permitted with this single entry.

3.2 All entries must be submitted via the Application Form provided on the Crafts Council website on or before the submission deadline (13th February 2017). The work submitted must be, and by submission of the Application Form is warranted to: (i) be original and entirely the entrant’s own work; (ii) not infringe the copyright, design rights or any other rights of any third party; (iii) not be subject to any sponsorship or commercial arrangement with a third party; (iv) not be defamatory of any living person or corporate body; (v) not be obscene or blasphemous or likely to incite hatred; and (vi) be suitable for publication on BBC Radio 4’s website. Further, by submitting the Application Form the entrant warrants that they or the work submitted will not bring the BBC, Crafts Council or the Victoria and Albert Museum into disrepute. Breach of any of these warranties will result in disqualification of the entry. The decision of the BBC, Crafts Council and the Victoria and Albert Museum on eligibility is final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into about it.

3.3 All entrants will be asked to submit images of their work in support of their entry plus a description of the work(s) they would like to create/submit for the exhibition if successful. Only works made within the last five years will be considered.

3.4 By entering the Prize entrants warrant that they own the rights in the images submitted, and give permission for those or other images of their work to be used by the BBC, Crafts Council and the Victoria and Albert Museum as required in all media in perpetuity, including but not limited to in print or online.

3.5 The entrants agree to their name being published and to be available to participate in interviews as required and by entering agree to accept the BBC, Crafts Council and the Victoria and Albert Museum’s appropriate standard terms and conditions for such interviews.

3.6 By entering the Prize, the twelve (12) finalists (please see Clause 4.1 3) agree to make available their work(s) for exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum (and possible subsequent tour at the election of the Victoria and Albert Museum) and in so doing agree to accept the Victoria and Albert Museum’s standard terms and conditions for such exhibition.

3.7 Advice as to the way winners can refer to and use the prize will be issued separately.

4. JUDGING

4.1 The Prize will be judged in four (4) stages:

4.1.1 Stage 1: All entries will initially be considered by the Crafts Council who will establish a longlist against set criteria agreed between the BBC, Crafts Council and the Victoria and Albert Museum and published on the front page of the application form and BBC Radio 4 website. A longlist of around one hundred (100) of the best entries per category will be put forward to Stage 2;

4.1.2 Stage 2: The Crafts Council will organise successful entries into seven (7) categories, consisting of ceramics, metals, textiles, jewellery, glass, wood and furniture and other (including but not limited to paper, lettering, leatherwork and mixed media). The Crafts Council’s categorisation will be final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into about it. Four (4) judges who are experts in their particular field including a Chair will be chosen to judge each category of craft and each specialist panel will together discuss and decide on a shortlist of between four (4) and ten (10) entries for each category (depending on category submission numbers);

4.1.3 Stage 3: An exhibition/finalists judging panel made up of the Chairs of the category judging panels plus representatives from the BBC, the Victoria and Albert Museum and Crafts Council will select the twelve (12) strongest finalists from any but not necessarily all of the seven (7) categories who will exhibit their work at the Victoria and Albert Museum;

4.1.4 Stage 4: An expert judging panel will select a final overall winner from the twelve (12) finalists based on the work they exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

4.2 Entrants shortlisted for the exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum will be contacted personally by the Crafts Council by email or by telephone.

4.3 The judges’ decision is final and binding with the Chair of each panel having the casting vote. No correspondence will be entered into.

4.4 The judging will be fair and independent. The judging panels will be appointed by the Crafts Council and the Victoria and Albert Museum in consultation with the BBC. All judges are required to declare any possible conflicts of interest in relation to any entrants.

4.5 The final judging panel of five (5) members will include a representative each from the BBC, Crafts Council and the Victoria and Albert Museum, along with two (2) invited professionals.

4.6 This Award complies with the BBC’s editorial guidelines. Any permitted reference to the Award by the winner and shortlisted makers will be outlined by the BBC. Please see http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidance/voting/partb#heading-4-jointly-run-awards-with-third-parties

5. ADMINISTRATION AND COMMUNICATION

5.1 The application system run by the Crafts Council will automatically confirm applications have been submitted successfully but beyond this the Crafts Council will not acknowledge individual receipt of entries and does not accept any responsibility for late or incomplete entries or for entries not successfully completed due to a technical fault of any kind.

5.2 The shortlist is likely to be announced during April/May 2017 and the winner during October-December 2017 (dates are subject to change). Both announcements will be published on the BBC Radio 4 website. Please check the website for updates.

5.3 Entrants must supply full details as required as part of the Entry Form and comply with all rules to be eligible for the Prize. Any non-compliance with Clause 3.2 will result in automatic disqualification.

5.4 Following standard industry practice, The BBC may undertake background checks of the shortlisted finalists. Disqualification will not be automatic but the decision is in the sole discretion of the BBC to ensure that the reputation of the BBC and of the prize is upheld.

5.5Entrants may be asked to disclose details of any and all criminal and civil actions pending against them, or served against them plus any unspent convictions. Entrants asked for this information must keep the Crafts Council informed of any changes to that disclosed up to the point the winner is announced. This information will be handled in the strictest confidence and as with all personal information, in accordance with the Crafts Council privacy policy. If asked to disclose, the duty for entrants to disclose remains up until six (6) months after the announcement and if anything relevant occurs between the initial disclosure and six (6) months after the announcement entrants are required to inform the BBC, the Crafts Council and the Victoria and Albert Museum. If an entrant is selected to be one of the twelve (12) exhibiting finalists the duty to disclose will extend to the end of any possible touring exhibition.

5.6 The BBC, Crafts Council and the Victoria and Albert Museum may share personal data supplied during the course of the Prize between them but will only ever use personal details for the purposes of administering this Prize, and will not publish them or provide them without permission to anyone not involved in the administration of this Prize. We will securely destroy your information when it is no longer required. If you would like to know more about the BBC’s privacy policy, please see Privacy Policy: http://www.bbc.co.uk/privacy. If you would like to know more about the Crafts Council’s and the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Privacy Policies, please see www.craftscouncil.org.uk/privacy-policy and www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/p/privacy-policy.

5.7 The Crafts Council reserves the right to refuse entry to the Prize in Stage 1 for any reason at its absolute discretion.

5.8 The BBC reserves the right to cancel this Prize at any stage, for any reason at its absolute discretion.

5.9 By submitting an entry the entrant agrees in the event of being shortlisted or winning the Award they make every attempt to attend the Award ceremony on (date is subject to change), and to also undertake a mutually acceptable limited programme of activities to promote the Award particularly immediately after the shortlist and winner are announced. Entrants are responsible for all reasonable costs associated with attending the Award ceremony.

5.10 The entrant agrees to obtain the BBC’s prior written consent before taking on any of its own press or publicity activity relating to their involvement in the Prize. In the event that the entrant is informed that their work has been shortlisted or won the Prize, the entrant must not publish or otherwise let it be publically known of this fact (such as via online forums such as Twitter, Facebook etc.) until such time as the official announcement is made, failing which the BBC may at its sole discretion disqualify the entry and revise the shortlist and (if applicable) winning entry.

5.11 Entrants will be deemed to have accepted these rules and to have agreed to be bound by them when entering this Prize. The BBC may at its sole discretion disqualify the entry and/or reclaim any prize monies and revise the shortlist and (if applicable) winning entry, if it considers that the entrant has not complied with the terms and conditions contained herein.

5.12 The entrant acknowledges and agrees that to the extent permitted by law, the BBC, Crafts Council and the Victoria and Albert Museum or any other person(s) in connection with the Prize will not be liable for any loss or damage (whether such damage or losses were foreseen, foreseeable, known or otherwise) including financially and/or to reputation and/or disappointment, suffered by any entrant entering the Prize or as a result of accepting the Prize.

5.13 These rules and the entry submitted in accordance with them shall constitute a contract governed by the exclusive laws and the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.