On April 23, 2022, the Barony of Blackstone Mountain will host the Æthelmearc Arts & Sciences Faire as part of their event Blackstone Raid XXIX (April 21st – 24th). There will be room for all who choose to do so to display their works and/or to enter in the Queen’s Prize Tourney. In addition, the event will also host A&S classes and a Baronial A&S Challenge. This will be a day to celebrate the artisans of our Sylvan Æthelmearc!
As usual, the A&S Faire has two components: an A&S display for anyone to share their amazing work with our populace and the Queen’s Prize Tourney, where, in addition, entrants are offered an opportunity to meet face to face with a panel of advisors (limited to those among us without an A&S Peerage aka our Laurels). As always, the intent of the Queen’s Prize Tourney is to provide a platform for anybody to receive constructive feedback on their work in a friendly and non-competitive environment and to stimulate enthusiasm and motivation within our A&S community by sharing our art. The Queen’s Prize Tourney is an excellent opportunity for up-and-coming artisans to show their work and be interviewed by more experienced artisans, as well as an opportunity for more experienced artisans to gain meaningful feedback about their projects. To show her appreciation to the artisans entering the tourney, Her Royal Majesty will honor her favorite entry with the Queen’s Prize.
The A&S display is open to anyone who likes to showcase their work. No requirements, no theme, no pre-registration required!
Participants in the Queen’s Prize Tourney must register ahead of time and must be sponsored by a Laurel or Fleur (or the equivalent to the Fleur from another kingdom), who should provide meaningful mentorship to the entrant. This can take many forms, and is dependent on the entrant and their sponsor. Some entrants seek a mentor who is much more engaged, with regular check-ins leading up to the Faire. Some entrants may not feel the need for in-depth engagement. This should be discussed before a sponsor/entrant agree on the sponsorship. If an artisan wishes to enter but does not know of a sponsor to approach, we are glad to help match them up; likewise, if anyone would like to be a sponsor and is seeking an artisan(s), we will work to pair folks together. Each sponsor is asked to bring a gift for each entrant they sponsor, so that each entrant receives a prize.
Queen’s Prize Tourney entrants are allowed up to three items which should show a cohesive body of work. Entrants will have one or two groups of reviewers, scheduled for one hour each, who will ask questions about the item(s), documentation, the research process, etc. After each review session, the entrant will receive feedback forms from each reviewer. Written documentation is encouraged, but not required. To facilitate multiple advisors per review session, we ask that entrants bring three copies of their documentation. We encourage entrants to sit with their display for most of the day to give Their Majesties and the populace a chance to chat with them as well.
Youth artisans are highly encouraged to enter the display and/or the Queen’s Prize Tourney! The comment sheets for youth entrants will be different from those for adult entrants, designed with their age group in mind. Obviously, we would not expect a 5-year-old entrant to provide documentation equivalent to that of a 13-year-old or to that of an adult artisan. We also understand that there is usually parental help and guidance through the art process, which is a great way to help mentor a budding artisan! Ideally, a youth entrant should be able to express how much of the project they did alone and how much they had help with, what the project is, how it works, and what they believe they learned throughout the process.
The site is discretely damp and we are excited and happy to accept alcoholic beverage entries at the event!
We understand that you may have health concerns and rather not join us in-person or that the event is simply too far away for you to drive. Therefore, we give everybody the opportunity to enter the Queen’s Prize Tourney online. We ask you to select “virtual only” on the entrant registration form and to securely upload some basic info, some photos and your documentation. The virtual part of the competition will be held much along the lines of our previous virtual A&S events. Each candidate will meet face-to-face with a panel of advisors over zoom for one 45-minute judging session during the week leading up to the event in a setup otherwise similar to the in-person advising sessions.
We will need advisors for a successful Faire. Advisors must be Fleurs or Laurels and are expected to spend a good part of the day in face-to-face advising of the entrants. You can sign up to be an advisor at the Arts & Science Faire. In order to prepare for the day and match advisors with entrants, we ask that entrants preregister. Likewise, we ask sponsors to sign up via our form.
Feel free to approach us with any questions you may have by email to ans@aethelmearc.org or by finding us online. We will be hosting at least one more virtual A&S consultation tables before the Faire and look forward to seeing you there as well. The registration deadline for in-person entry, advising, and sponsoring is April 20. The registration for online entry, advising, and sponsoring is April 13.
We hope to see many of you at the Arts & Sciences Faire!
In service,
Hrólfr and Elska, Kingdom Ministers of Arts & Sciences