Art Competitions Are a Pointless Waste of Time—Don’t Enter Them!

I personally believe that entering open art competitions is utterly pointless and will leave you feeling disappointed and pretty crappy. And why you may ask, do I feel this way? Four reasons: 1. They can be partly curated before you even start. 2. You are at the behest of a judge who is assessing your work with a 'yes' or no' vote - who has the right to say your work isn't good enough to be selected? 3. They are a pure money making machine for the organizers - who don;t care about your hard-earned submission fees 4. Waiting for the mail to see if you have been accepted or rejected is pure torture. So why go through all that for some self-validation or prize money you may never win?