Art competition seeks 'worst painting'

It’s not often that an art competition calls for entries “completely devoid of technical skill”, but is the annual “Itchiball Prize” competition just a fundraising drive for a good cause, or does it have an overarching artistic vision?

Founded by Windsor bric-a-brac trader and bad art devotee Fat Helen, aka Helen Round, the Museum of Particularly Bad Art exhibition (MOPBA) is back with its annual bid to raise money for three local charities.

This year, the dollars will go into the coffers of Save A Dog, Lighthouse Foundation and the Baker Heart Research Institute, and the winner of the “Itchiball Prize” for Worst Painting will receive a $3,000 Chapel Street Spending Spree.

The winner of the People’s Choice Award, where people vote for the artwork they feel is the least deserving, will receive a $1,000 Chapel Street Spending Spree.

“MOPBA 2007 will be a crazy, crazy celebration of the kitsch, the inane and the tasteless,” said Round. “It will also be extra special this year as the event is returning to its roots here in Windsor.”

“We want people to enter their own works of art, their granny’s works of art or anything they have found lying around purporting to be art! We are seeking earnest renderings to help document popular culture as we explore our cultural identity.”

“I asked them the traders’ group http://www.chapelstreet.com.au for money to promote the Windsor end of Chapel St, and we thought it would be a good idea to help somebody else while marketing ourselves,” Round said.

“The competition is for everybody. It will highlight common mistakes that artists make, and we celebrate those mistakes; some people only get that far (as artists) and that’s as far as they’re going to get, but somebody’s got to hang it up.”

Entries should be:

• Completely devoid of technical skill (colour, tone, perspective and shading)
• Unusual, poor or tasteless subject matters (preferably all three)
• Undeniable passion, driven by an uneducated hand.

MOPBA 2007 will take up residence upstairs at Card Heaven, 105 Chapel Street. The “Itchiball” will be announced at the opening event on Friday 10 August, and the winning entry and other short-listed entries will be exhibited at Card Heaven from 10 to 18 of August 2007.