Posted on by mark

Cult Challenge: February 2024: “Exhibition Cards For Imaginary Paintings”

I am pleased to be able to announce that the Shortlisted Poets for this Challenge, are:

    1. Fiona Halliday
    2. Philippa Ramsden
    3. Amanda Jane Hill
    4. Caroline Gill
    5. Ceinwen E Cariad Haydon
    6. Phil Santus
    7. Patricia M Osborne
    8. Tina MacNaughton
    9. Liz Kendall
    10. Miriam Otto
    11. Wendy Goulstone

After some pondering, and a vote among the Shortlisted poets, we decided that rather than publishing Five of the Poems on Exhibition Cards, and making the Shortlist available as an eBook, instead it would be better to give all of the eleven poems a proper release.

I’m pleased to say then that our 8th Little Black Book will be published soon as ‘Exhibition Cards for Imaginary Paintings’, which will be a good addition to the series, I  think.

Well, life would be boring if it was predictable.

Congratulations to everybody that was included, there were a crazy number of really good poems, and it didn’t exactly make my life easy.

This month’s Challenge is  again something a little different, as it is an opportunity to create something from pure imagination.

The aim is to imagine that you have walked into a gallery, stood in front of a blank wall and examined a painting that wasn’t there.

Imagining what the painting should have been, you will write a short poem in the form of an exhibition card, to explain it to the less enlightened.

i.e. One that would be stuck to the wall next to the painting in a gallery, if only somebody had thought to paint the picture, and then display it in a gallery.

If you see what I mean.

The poem then has a firm format:

Line One: Artist Name – This is your name – in the format:

Mark Davidson (b. 2003)

(It is OK to lie about your age)

Line Two: Title of the Imaginary Artwork – in the format:

Stolen Guitar, Missing a G String

Line Three:  Style of Artwork – in the format:

Acrylic on Canvas

Line Four: Dimensions  – in the format:

60cm x 45cm

Lines 5: Up to Eight lines of text – in the format:

Here we have a number of lines to be filled
Here we have a number of lines to be filled
Here we have a number of lines to be filled
Here we have a number of lines to be filled
Here we have a number of lines to be filled
Here we have a number of lines to be filled
Here we have a number of lines to be filled
Here we have a number of lines to be filled

Other than the format, there are no rules. You can use every aspect as part of the poem or to add to your description of the imaginary painting.

The Shortlisted  Exhibition Card Poems will be compiled and reproduced in an eBook Edition to be released during 2024.

Additionally, 5 of the poems will be beautifully produced as a set of Printed Exhibition cards.

To be clear:

    1. Write a Poem that describes a painting that never was, in the form of an Exhibition Card
    2. The Winning poets will see their work featured in  set of Exhibition Cards to be published in 2024
    3. There will additionally be an eBook edition featuring the Shortlisted poems

Rules:

    1. There are no length constraints, but you must follow the format described above
    2. You must be a Cult Member to submit your poem – sending it to competition@hedgehogpress.co.uk
    3. Send the poem by 11.59pm on the 29th of February 2024