The deadline for handing in work and dossiers for the Rei en Jaume 2007 awards - one of the most widely recognised and interesting events on the cultural scene of the islands - was on 20 July.
This year, the event has incorporated some new features in order to adapt to the different suggestions received from artists and jurors who have taken part in the awards in previous years. Most important among these new features is the inclusion of two new categories - Short Stories in Catalan and Poetry in Catalan - in order to make the literary prizes independent for the two languages, and the increase in the prize in the Comics category.
The changes in the rules, and the consolidation of these Awards as an annual event not to be missed for local artists, have led to an increase in the number of participants in general, with an increase of almost a hundred compared to 2006, moving from 193 participants to 284. The categories where this increase is most noticeable are: Visual Arts, Comics and Poetry in Catalan.There are 14 candidates for the special award made to visual artists living in Calvià, which is worth 2,000 euros. The purpose of this special award is to encourage creativity and publicise it among residents of the municipality.
Year after year, the Rei en Jaume Awards are extending their frontiers, and they are no longer a landmark only in the islands. Many works are now received from different parts of the Iberian Peninsula and from other countries. This year, participants from Portugal, Uruguay, Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela and Peru are included. The winners will be announced on 31 August in the gardens of the H10 Punta Negra Resort hotel. An exhibition of the works selected in the Visual Arts category will later be opened, on Tuesday, 11 September, in the Calvià Municipal Council exhibition hall. Another new feature included in this year's awards is the exhibition of the comics presented for the competition at the Es Generador building in Son Caliu, which will be opened on Wednesday, 13 September at 8pm. Both exhibitions will be open to the public throughout September.The awards are organised by Calvià Municipal Council's Department of Culture and could not be run without the help of its collaborators Taylor Woodrow, the Calvià 2004 Foundation and H10 Punta Negra Resort, which, with their various contributions, cover the full costs involved in an event that awards more than €25,000 worth of prizes.