To be “discovered” or to make oneself “known”?
Our paper focuses on the evaluation process of visual arts scholarship applications submitted to the Recherche et création (Research and creation) program of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ), and more specifically the candidate rating method used by jury members. What are the artistic profiles of the artists selected by the juries ? Is the artistic value and quality established by the jury (and underlying the granting of scholarships and peer recognition) the result of the discovery of the artist’s intrinsic talent ? Our results show that various artistic criteria are favoured such as contemporaneousness, originality, coherence and authenticity. Related in different ways to the applicants’ quality profile, they are based to a large extent on a retrospective as well as prospective evaluation of the candidate’s artistic approach.