Promoting art related to caves and caving by conducting juried salons.

 

The NSS Art & Music Salons promote and recognize excellent cave-related art, artists, and musicians. NSS Salons are open to everyone; those who enter need not be members of the NSS. The best of the entries for each Salon will be exhibited at the NSS Convention. The top award for each Salon is presented during the convention’s Thursday evening Salon program. Portraits of award winners will be projected during the Salon Program. The top award winners will also be represented on this website and, other than music, in the NSS News.

Entries:
Several of the Salons have entry forms available on the Cave Arts & Music web site or directly from the Salon chairperson. Navigate from the above links to the Salon in which you are interested to see the entry requirements and to obtain the entry form(s) you need, or contact the chairperson directly.

Some Salons impose limits on the number of entries. Most Salons have entry fees. An image may be entered in one or more Salons; for example, a photograph may be entered as a slide (or projected digital image), as a color print, as a black-and-white print, and as a newsletter cover.
Entries must be the original work of the entrant, and must relate to caves or caving. Entries that incorporate the work of others without their permission, or that promote practices which are unsafe, flagrantly in violation of NSS conservation policy, or would be detrimental to good landowner relations will not be accepted for judging. Entries that have been exhibited in past Salons cannot be entered again in those Salons.

Information to include with entries:
Unless there is a Salon entry form, enclose a sheet of paper with your entries that includes
A) Your name and mail address; if you have an e-mail address, please provide it. A phone number is useful if the Salon Chair has questions.
B) A list of your entries, each identified by a unique entry number, title, and the entry’s Salon category.
C) A release statement (see Rights and Conditions section below).

Judging:
Entries are judged on the basis of artistic and technical merit, impact, and “caver appeal.” Criteria for each Salon are described at the NSS Salons web site. Some Salons are judged prior to the convention, some are judged at convention. Further clarification may be obtained directly from the Salon Chair for each Salon. The Salon debriefing sessions on Friday at Convention often cover specific judging topics on entries, for those artists who wish to know the details of the judging.

Return of entries after salon:
Entries will be returned if requested at time of entry, unless specified otherwise in the Salon description. Entrants are encouraged to donate their entries to the NSS so the cave art can be circulated by the A/V Library, catalogued in the Photo Archives or Cave Files, displayed in the traveling NSS Museum, or otherwise used for NSS purposes.
If you wish your entries returned, you may pick them up Friday afternoon of convention week at the Salon exhibit area. Specify in writing if you wish someone else to pick up your entry at convention. If you wish your entry to be returned by mail send it in reusable package material and include postage cost or other special fees (registered post, insurance, etc.).

Rights and Conditions:
All entrants retain copyright and all moral and intellectual rights to their work. Credit and copyright notice will be included with all images displayed. Digital copyright information will not be removed from any image. The NSS requests the following rights, which are optional and may vary from one salon to the next. Indicate your agreement with any or all by marking the box(es) on the entry form:

 The NSS may publish winning images in periodicals for the purpose of showcasing contest winners, within one year of the contest.
 The NSS may publish winning images in periodicals for the purposes of promoting future contests and competitions, for not more than four years.
  The NSS may use these images in low-resolution on Web sites to announce the winners of this competition, for not more than four years.
 The NSS may use these images in low-resolution in a CD/DVD of all entries. This CD/DVD will be lent to NSS members for viewing at no charge.

Rules and entry deadlines are shown on the page for each salon.

NSS Salons Committee Co-Chairs
Overall responsibility for promoting cave art through the NSS salons and the Thursday evening NSS convention Salon program. 

Blake N. Jördan
11 N. Central Avenue, Suite 11
Staunton, VA 24401
434-989-5145
salonscmete@caves.org

David Socky
6572 Woodbrook Drive SW
Roanoke, VA 24018
540-529-1591
salonscmete@caves.org