The primary emphasis would be on subject matter: artistic excellence would ultimately be a secondary consideration.

Gold medals, higher degrees, artistic excellence and the like are no guarantee to financial security.

Perhaps a lot depends on what exactly you mean by artistic excellence.

He was not a musician, let alone a professional organist; nevertheless, as a writer, historian and designer his name became a byword for artistic excellence.

It's a mark of a civilised society to make artistic excellence part of a common culture.