“Rediscovering the Essence of Democracy in a Post-Truth Era”

What is democracy? Why is it important? And how does it affect our lives? We want to explore these questions and more, and we want to hear from you! But don’t just tell us – SHOW US – by submitting your art to “Democracy in Frames”.

“Democracy in Frames” is an art award all about the meaning of democracy, and is organised by the Trans European Policy Association (TEPSA). Interested participants are invited to submit artworks in their preferred format responding to the broad question: “What does democracy mean to you’’.

Accepted formats include (but are not limited to) photos, videos, digital art, illustrations, cartoons, and more. We accept multiple (up to 10) submissions by each participant. You can read the full call in ITALIAN and in FRENCH.

Selected artworks will be displayed in a public exhibition held at Talk C.E.C in Brussels, Belgium, between 12-13 April 2024.

This art award is organised as part of RECLAIM – Reclaiming Liberal Democracy in Europe, project. In recent years there has been a rise in what the experts call “post truth politics”, which manipulates facts and emotions. We are trying to understand how this phenomenon is affecting the future of democracy in Europe, and more importantly, what we can do about it.

Prize

Two outstanding contributors will be chosen as winners, earning an invitation to participate in the opening ceremony of the public exhibition (with their travel and accommodation costs covered). Their exceptional artworks, along with those of other selected participants, will be displayed as part of the exhibition. Additionally, they will have the chance to join a panel discussion that will officially inaugurate the event, offering them a unique opportunity to showcase their creative process and share their artistic insights with the audience.

How to enter the contest

Participants may enter TEPSA’s Art award “Democracy in frames”, by submitting visual artwork by January 14th 2024 in an email to: mariam.khotenashvili@tepsa.eu and eva.ribera@tepsa.eu. The email may contain either the artwork as an attachment, or a WeTransfer link to the relevant attachment.

The following requirements must be met:

• Photos, illustrations, cartoons and other visual artworks must be in JPEG format. The size of the image files must be at least 7 MB (300 DPI resolution; Colour profile sRGB)
• Videos must be in MP4 format, with a minimum resolution of 1920×1080 pixels, and a maximum length of 5 minutes. Each video must include a black screen at the beginning with artist’s name and artwork’s title.
• Every submitted material must include the author and year, and must be accompanied by a title and a short caption (150 words) describing the artwork’s intended meaning and key themes. Please note that the caption might be displayed in the exhibition together with the artwork.
• The subject of the email should be “TEPSA Art Award_[YOUR SURNAME]’’

There is no fee for entering the award. By entering the contest, participants accept the competition rules as outlined in this call. If you have any questions, please contact TEPSA’s Project Manager Eva Ribera (eva.ribera@tepsa.eu).

Eligibility criteria

• The contest is open to participants from any nationality.
• Participants must be 18 or over at the time of submission.
• Entrants may be professional artists as well as talented amateurs. 
• Entries that are offensive, defamatory or obscene, or that disclose unnecessary personal information will be rejected from the competition.
• Images with copyright watermarks and text will be rejected.

Copyright rules

By entering the competition, participants retain full copyright of their artworks. However, participants grant TEPSA the right to publish and exhibit the submitted artworks through offline and online means, and no fee will be payable by TEPSA for this use. Once submitted, the participant provides TEPSA the right to use the artworks on educational and other promotional materials with appropriate credits to the creator.

Participants who submit photos or videos must obtain written consent from any individuals who are identifiable in their work. It is the participants’ responsibility to ensure that the necessary consent has been obtained. Participants must retain all consent forms obtained as they may be asked to prove that consent has been given. Please find a template of a consent here. 

Selection of winners

TEPSA will evaluate all submitted material and inform the winners in February 2024.