Image: 2023 4'33" Contest Winners at the Athenaeum — Vale Prosper, Isabella Tallman-Jones, Adah Bennion, and Keren Sahar. Photo courtesy of Mike Wooten.

Another year, another opportunity to compete in the annual 4 Minutes, 33 Seconds Contest! An homage to John Cage's landmark composition of the same name, the 4 Minutes, 33 Seconds Contest highlights University of Georgia student research in the arts. The event offers an opportunity for students to win prizes and to share their creative inquiry with peers, faculty, administrators and alumni throughout the university community.

Held at the Lamar Dodd School of Art's contemporary gallery the Athenaeum, this event has featured a variety of works by student artists, historians, and educators over the past several years. Last year's Grand Prize Winner, MFA student Adah Bennion, was joined by Dodd peer runners-up Keren Sahar in graphic design and Isabella Tallman-Jones, an MA student in art history.

The competition is open to any graduate student or undergraduate student working on an advanced project, who is conducting research related to the literary, visual, or performing arts or artists.

The 4 Minutes, 33 Seconds Contest is part of UGA's annual Spotlight on the Arts festival.

MFA Student Adah Bennion presents during the 4'33" Research Competition in the Arts at the 2023 Spotlight on the Arts Festival. Photo courtesy of Mike Wooten.

2024 Contest – Call for Participation

Deadline to Apply: October 29

Live presentations will be held on Thursday, November 21, from 4-6 p.m.  at the Athenaeum (387 W. Broad Street). On Thursday, November 21, 10 finalists will present their research in talks exactly four minutes and thirty-three seconds in length. Awards include $433 for the grand prize winner and $150 for three runners-up. 

To apply send the following information in one PDF document to 433Submission@groups.uga.edu by 5 p.m. Tuesday, October 29:

• Name and major degree area
• Name of faculty advisor
• Description of your research in the arts (300-500 word maximum) which may be accompanied by up to three  images. A jury will read these descriptions and select who will move on to the live presentation round.

Additional information:

• Description should clearly explain the significance and originality of your research
• Research in the arts may include historical, theoretical, and critical research that students are undertaking either to inform their scholarly writing or their own artistic activity in any art form or combination of art forms, including (but not restricted to): visual art, music, theatre, dance, film, literature, media arts, or performance art.
• Presentation (finalists) may be accompanied by visual slides. Media should be used to support and illustrate the presentation, not as a substitute for it. 
• If selected as a finalist, you must be present at the live competition in order to participate in the competition

Find more info at arts.uga.edu/4minutes33seconds