Today we're excited to tell you more about the experimental category, A.K.A. The Art and Olfaction Sadakichi Award for Experimental Scent. We created this category in response to a growing number of artists and perfumers making cutting edge, conceptual work for purposes outside of the traditional realms of commercial perfumery. But what makes a scent project 'experimental'? What defines one perfume as 'art' and another as 'product'?

These are extremely hard questions to answer, and we spent a long time coming up with some basic parameters- which we kept as loose as possible in this first year for the category.

Send us your thoughts, send us your feedback, and if you are considering submitting in this category and want to ask us a question or two, please email us! In the meantime.. Read on!

WHAT MAKES AN EXPERIMENTAL SUBMISSION?

For the sake of the competition, we define an experimental scent project as:

• A project in any arts practice that incorporates the use of scent in a significant manner
• A perfume that was created for reasons other than traditional perfume sales

Here are some further parameters:

• The project may be a collaborative project, or a solo project
• The project must have been created with the intention of existing in the realm of a contemporary arts practice, whose primary audience lies firmly in the realm of culture
• The scent component of the project is concept-driven, and produced in conjunction or in support of an arts practice or project
• The scent project has been exhibited to the public in some way in the 2014 calendar year in a public setting (examples of this include but are not limited to a gallery, a publication, a theatre, online, as a site-specific installation, etc.)
• The scent component of the project may have been formulated either by a professional perfumer or by a non-perfumer
• If the scent component to the project was bottled or made into an object such as a candle or lotion, the edition is limited in quantity to less than 100 units
• The scent component is not intended as a mass market perfume
• For the sake of the awards, we define a contemporary arts practice as a visual, performative, literary, conceptual, installation-based or musical practice

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MORE INFORMATION

We are open to diverse approaches for this award, but we expect to see arts-oriented projects that incorporate scent in a significant manner.

Some examples of experimental uses of scent have included (but are not limited to):

• Marcos Lutyens' Reflecting Room at Documenta 13, with Sissel Tolaas
• Dane Mitchell's Radiant Matter at Dunedin Public Art Gallery, with Michel Roudnitska
  
• Martin Sastre's U From Uruguay at the 2nd Bienal de Montevideo, artist also perfumer
• Bruno Fazzolari's Lampblack at Gallery Paule Anglim, artist also perfumer
• Ben Frost, Tim Hecker, Kode9's Noise, Drone and Bass project at Unsound, with Geza Schoen
• Lisa Kirk's Revolution with Gabriel Jeffrey
• Hilda Kozari's Air with Bertrand Duchaufour
• Marcel Duchamp's Belle Haleine ready-made
• Lernert & Sander's Everything perfume
• Brian Goeltzenleuchte's Sillage project

As always, email us with questions: We are here to help. [email protected]