Announcement : Asfari Art Competition till 15/01/2015

Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship

First Annual Conference: Exploring an Agenda for Active Citizenship 20-22 February 2015, Beirut, Lebanon

RULES AND REGULATIONS General Guidelines The competition is open to everyone. Theme of active citizenry: The artwork should be inspired by social movements, uprisings, struggles for human rights, and citizen engagements, inclusive of hope and defeat, in all their forms in the Arab region. Please refer to the website for the conference for more information. The artwork will be used to promote the conference. Active citizenship is the relationship and engagement of the individual with the state and society, alone or in association with others. Artwork for this competition should inspire such engagement, drawing on social movements, uprisings, human rights, women, labor and other advocacy efforts; it should be artwork that reflects the hopes, dreams and defeat/resurgence of individuals and organizations serving their communities. Submission Deadline: Thursday January 15, 2015, by 2.00 pm. Submission Location: The Asfari Institute for Civil Society & Citizenship offices at AUB, Building: 37 (Behind the old Observatory)/Room: 104, Beirut, Lebanon. 1st prize: $1,500 2nd prize: $1,000 3rd prize: $500 Honorable Mention: $250

This competition is open to all artists, as long as they meet entry requirements. A maximum of two works per artist can be submitted. Artwork submitted must be original and must have been produced within the last three years. The works must have been created by the artist. The registered work must not have won prizes or mentions in any other art competition. No artist’s copy, published material or work overseen by a teacher will be accepted. Each entry must be original in concept, design, and execution and may not violate Lebanese and or international copyright laws. Any entry that has been copied from an existing photo or image (including a painting, graphic, or advertisement) that was created by someone other than the artist is a violation of the competition rules and will not be accepted.

Artwork can be two-dimensional. Each framed artwork can be no larger than 72 cm high, 72 cm wide, and 10 cm deep.  No framed piece should weigh more than 7 Kilos. Accepted artworks mediums are as follows: •  Paintings: oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc. •  Drawings: coloured pencil, pencil, ink, marker, pastels, charcoal (It is recommended that charcoal and pastel drawings be fixed.) •  Collages: must be two dimensional •  Prints: lithographs, silkscreen, block prints •  Mixed Media: use of more than two mediums such as pencil, ink, water-colour, etc. •  Computer-generated art •  Photographs •  Calligraphy

Suitability Guidelines

Work entered must be in the original medium (that is, not a scanned reproduction of a painting or drawing). Artwork will become the property of The Asfari Institute and cannot be returned, therefore, only submit artwork you will not need for other purposes. 

Every Artwork must be clearly identified by a sticker on the reverse side containing: • artist name, • contact info, • work title, • medium used, • work dimensions.

As outlined in these guidelines, the final decision regarding the suitability of all artwork will be made by the Asfari Institute and a qualified jury.  The jury’s decision will be final and without appeal.  While it is not the intent to censor any artwork, artwork must adhere to the policy of the AUB; artwork of a sensationalistic or gruesome nature are not allowed. About twenty works of the finalists will be on a rotating public display at The Asfari Institute  in Bldg 37, from January to June, 2015.

Information and Release Form Each entrant must submit a filled up and signed Information and Release Form. To obtain the Registration and Art Release Forms: • Download it in .PDF format (Acrobat) or in .DOC format(Word) • email the Asfari Institute at: Asfariinst@aub.edu.lb

The information requested on the first page of the form should be provided as thoroughly as possible. The form requires a description of the artwork, which should be detailed, clearly identifying the major elements of the work. For example, “self-portrait” or “a picture of two people” would be unacceptable, due to the large number of works that would fit that description. The following is an example of an acceptable description: “A painting of two people; the one on the left wears a green sweater and khaki pants; the one on the right wears a black shirt and a striped skirt. A dog sits at their feet.” The second page of the Information and Release Form contains a legal release and a certification that the artwork is original in design and execution. The artist must sign where appropriate. Entries without signed originality certifications and artwork releases may not be accepted.

Good Luck to all the Artists