MTV plays to gallery

Artists compete for $100,000 and showing at Hirshhorn in reality series ‘The Exhibit.’

A little while ago, a study showed that the strongest signal for “making it” as an artist today isn’t talent or a master of fine arts degree or group shows. What matters most, according to the research, is endorsement: how quickly an artist can secure institutional support in the form of a solo exhibition at a major gallery or museum. Everything else follows. There are apparently few other ladders to climb.

That explains MTV and the Smithsonian Channel’s newest reality offering, “The Exhibit: Finding the Next Great Artist,” a show that transforms endorsement into the ultimate prize. Across six episodes, seven rising artists compete for $100,000 and an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Wash

Where: MTV

When: 10 p.m. Friday

Streaming: Smithsonian Channel.com

Rating: TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 14)