It is not surprising that the Internet is becoming one of the primary venues of choice for a large population of the art world. Businesses and organizations that depend on the visual arts to convey their message are also aware of the enormous value and potential of the Internet. ASFA not the least among them.

ASFA is aware that our own web presence is in large part our face to the world. We are growing along with this huge community as we expand our web presence. The growing art community in the Internet consists of artists, publishers, gallery owners, agents, wondrous archives and even amazing fan sites just to name a few. But along with this phenomenal growth comes a variety of frustrations and misconceptions of what a quality “art” site should be.

A major part of the confusion is that there are so many ways an art web site can be produced, in addition to the seemingly infinite number of reasons why one is created. Some of the greatest problems the art world faces when confronted with such a broad medium as the Internet, are the issues of copyright and the proper licensing of and individual's work. Many people who are building web pages that highlight an artist's work are not even aware that they cannot simply put up whatever art they want with out proper consideration to the artist. Consequently, they may have a beautiful, flattering site, but are in direct violation of copyright law. In most instances it is a matter of misinformation. Something ASFA is taking large measures to correct in our articles on copyrights and the web. One of the best ways ASFA can inform the public is to help provide examples of what a quality art site might be. We cannot give you the perfect formula for the best art site, but we can encourage those webmasters that do a good job with the hope that their work will become positive examples. To do this, we have created the ASFA Web Awards!

It is our hope that the ASFA Web Awards will help expand the web for science fiction and fantasy art through the enthusiasm of artists, art professionals and fans alike. These awards will encourage quality web presence for our artists, promote education on copyright and the web, in addition to generating a certain amount of welcomed PR for all involved. The ASFA Web Award will be awarded to webmasters for web sites or pages dedicated to science fiction and fantasy art and/or artists. The winners will be judged on content, presentation, unique web design, and last but not least, adherence to copyright laws (which will be verified by ASFA judges). The award will consist of an emblem that webmasters can post directly on their sites as well as a physical certificate of award. The winning site will be highlighted in the Quarterly, on the ASFA web site, and notification of the awards will be passed along to various PR affiliates. Even though this is not a contest for the appeal of the art itself, but rather the quality of the web presentation, receiving the award will hopefully be a fine feather in an artist and webmaster's cap!

ASFA is proud to announce that beginning May 2001, ASFA will be accepting nominations for this prestigious award! Our first winners will be announced at the 2001 WorldCon - The Millennium Philcon®.

The Web Awards will come in three forms, the Art Web Site, the Art Web Page and Special Mention. Categories will include:

• Art Professional -- publishers, galleries, shops dedicated in whole or in large part to quality presentation of science fiction and fantasy art
• Artist -- a web site designed to highlight the art of a specific artist (while the ASFA web awards can be a fitting testimony to the artist, remember, the Web Award is recognizing the quality of the web site presentation and design)
• Archival -- a designation for the quality art archive, professional or otherwise
• Fan -- created to honor the wonderful amateur sites dedicated to one or more artists

Nominations will be accepted throughout the year. The frequency at which such awards will be given is at the sole discretion of ASFA but will be awarded no less than once a year and often throughout the year. Receiving the award does not mean that the winner is necessarily the only deserving submission during the interim time between awards, but rather the creator of the page or site has implemented the high standards recognized by ASFA and the rest of the art/web community. A winner is chosen only once for a specific site or page unless the material and design change in a sufficient manor as to warrant additional review by ASFA. In this event subsequent awards may be given as long as winning standards for the new material is met. The Web Award designation is permanent unless the content of the site falls under copyright violation, or the web content is no longer maintained in the quality manor initially recognized by ASFA.

Winning nominations are not required to be members of ASFA; but an ASFA member in good standing must submit all nominations. Judges will consist of at least two members of ASFA's Board of Directors and at least one honorary judge recognized by the Board of Directors at large. All decisions are final. Please send your nominations and any questions you may have via email or snail mail to:

ASFA Web Awards Nominations
c/o Elizabeth Humphrey
16 Sea Pines Drive
St. Helena, SC   29920
Email:   rann@islc.net