OPENCALL: Advertisement for democracy

Announcements Intermedia Photography and New Media

The open call is organized by an AFAD student group and is intended for students of art schools, beginning and established artists from Slovakia.

For whom is the opencall intended?

For students of art schools, beginning and established artists from Slovakia.

When?

The Open Call is valid: 1.10. - 22.10.2024
Beginning of the exhibition: 17.11.2024

Location?

Public space of Bratislava city

Form of exhibition?

Posters, billboards, lightboxes placed in public space

How to apply?

The application should include a completed artwork along with a portfolio. When submitting the work, the highest possible quality of documentation is preferred (unless it is a digital work). If you do not have access to a high-quality scanner or photographic equipment, it is possible to resolve this technical aspect on an individual basis.

Introduction:

The approaching 35th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution caught us as a society in a polycrisis and growing distrust in the democratic system. At a time when our time lived in democracy is almost equal to that lived in totalitarianism, we no longer have so many illusions that democracy is just a walk in the park. At the same time, a large number of people look back on unfree regimes with nostalgia for seemingly "better", simpler times. Therefore, today, November 17, we do not want to remember the year 1989, but we want to actively strengthen faith in democracy. We return to the street that in November 89 played a key role in conveying the message of the desire for freedom and the courage to persevere even against difficult opponents. This time, however, we are reaching for new, so to speak, means of marketing communication in the form of advertising spaces. However, we still believe in the power of art and its power to speak to people, so we want to fill them with references from different generations of visual artists.

Theme:

"Advertising for democracy."

The aim is to point to democracy as our cultural heritage, a form of collective effort that is our shared responsibility. The works, in cooperation with the text, are intended to raise the question of the function and importance of democracy in the viewer.

The works will be exhibited in the form of a poster in a public space, so they should work in these perceptual conditions (ideally, they should not lack wit, imagination, but also good readability and impact) and with regard to the uneducated viewer.

The author has a free hand in the way of expression - we only ask for expression without profanity. The work can also be spatial, but it will be processed like a photo on a poster - ideally an existing one.

Fee and costs?

This initiative arose spontaneously, it is a form of civic activism - that is, it is an unpaid activity.
However, the printing of the poster work and the provision of space will be provided free of charge to all participants.

Who came up with the initiative?

Adam Balogh, Jana Babušiaková, Samuel Gregor Dzurek - in collaboration with and with help of the Bratislava city.