Red Dot Challenge Pilot Season Details Announced

About one month ago Rochester Art Collectors announced it would run a pilot season of the Red Dot Challenge social media fantasy art collecting game it devised in 2019 but delayed launching until this year due to the pandemic.

The pilot season will run from December 1, 2023 until January 31, 2024 with a REVEAL event early in February, 2024 at a location yet to be determined.

The rules listed below are for the pilot season of Red Dot Challenge only. Rules for subsequent seasons of the game will have modified rules and guidelines. Similarly, any rules dating back before this year do not apply to the upcoming pilot season and probably will not apply on subsequent versions of the game. 

Rochester Art Collectors is actively seeking players to participate in the pilot season of Red Dot Challenge. If you are interested in playing, please write to [email protected]

Quick Summary & Background:

• There are literally thousands of works of art for sale in the metropolitan Rochester area between December 1st and January 31st.
• The moment is ripe to test the basic functionality of the game, if not the full version (which would incorporate social media and other elements).
• The game encourages each player/collector to explore the myriad venues in our area IRL and to "acquire" a grouping/collection of works that is in some way “meaningful” to the player/collector.

• The pilot establishes a basic structure and a discipline including a budget ($10,000); a minimum number works (7) and; a time frame (December 1 through January 31 at 5:00 pm).
• Game play should be both fun and interesting for players.​

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Object of the game: 

• Players “acquire” at least seven works of art from venues all over the area and articulate the rationale behind the resulting collection while staying within the $10,000 budget. 

Timeframe of the game: 

• December 1, 2023 through January 31, 2024 at 5:00 pm EST​

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​Resources/Tools:

• ​Each player will have access to a folder on google drive accessible only to the player and the game administrator. The folder will include a copy of these rules, a simple budget worksheet to help track their expenses and two folders. One folder (the “Collection Folder”) will include the final pictures of each work in their collection and a picture of the price for that work. The other folder (the “Research Folder”) may be used to store any additional photos, documents or additional subfolders related to the game. The contents of the Research Folder will not be considered. Only the contents of the Collection Folder will be accessed as described below.
• Pictures in the collection folder will be private to the player and the game administrator until the game concludes on January 31st. Eventually, photos in the collection folder will be shared at a culminating public REVEAL event (probably sometime in February) at which the players will present & discuss their collections with the group.
• Players must provide their own “camera” to take the digital pictures. Phone cameras are fine.

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Budget: 

• $10,000. Players are NOT required to “spend” the entire $10,000 but must acquire at least seven works. Players deduct the retail price of each piece from their budget.
• NO PRICE NEGOTIATION IS ALLOWED. The publicly posted price is to be used in every instance. Each player must track their own budget. (Each player will have access to a simple template spreadsheet in their folder on google drive to help them track their budget.)
• Do NOT add sales tax. Use only the retail price to calculate your budget.

How players “acquire” a work of art for their collection:

• Players visit publicly accessible (physical) venues in the metro Rochester area (Monroe, Wayne, Ontario, Livingston, Genesee, Orleans Counties only) IRL. Players take a picture of a desired work "in situ" (on the wall in the venue) to acquire the work. Players also take a picture of the retail price of the work (either the label or the appropriate page of a published price list). Both pictures must be retained and uploaded to the player’s google drive folder for this purpose. Pictures chosen for their collection are added by each player to their Collection Folder. Only the works found in the player’s Collection Folder will be included.
• Players do not have to visit any particular number of venues so long as they have at least seven qualifying works in their Collection Folder on January 31st at 5:00 pm EST.
• Works on exhibit with “price on request” do not qualify for this pilot. Works for sale by the artist privately (e.g., studio sale) or online (e.g., an instagram story sale) do not qualify for this pilot. Works must be found in publicly accessible (physical) venues.
• Players may switch works/pictures in and out of their Collection Folder at any time during the game. Only the works/pictures in the Collection Folder as of January 31 at 5:00 pm will be considered.

• Click here to see a list of most venues that offer art for sale in our area. Not all venues will have work on exhibit or for sale during the time frame of the game. However, this list will give you a good start finding venues.
• PRO TIP: The largest exhibitions scheduled to be running during the pilot are Rochester Contemporary Arts Center, Lumiere Photo, Main Street Arts, Mill Arts Center. These four venues alone feature a combined total of more than 1,000 works of art. Players are not limited to these particular venues.

Culminating Event

• Players will be invited to share collections and their impressions of the game at a date/time TBD (probably sometime in February).

Will there be a winner?

• No. The pilot season ​of Red Dot Challenge will not establish a winner.

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​Red Dot Challenge is a program of Rochester Art Collectors.
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Participating in Red Dot Challenge is FREE and open to the public. None of the players are paying to play or receiving any compensation. The program is privately funded and entirely non-commercial. Red Dot Challenge is not a fundraiser of any kind for any organization.

Works of art selected by players for their fantasy art collections in Red Dot Challenge never leave the venue where they are exhibited. Information about the availability of works on exhibit and how to purchase works of art that are available will be apparent at the venue where you see the work exhibited.