Call: COAL PRIZE ART AND ENVIRONMENT 2015

CALL FOR ENTRIES

For the 21st United Nations Conference on climate change

Deadline January 30th 2015

The Coal Prize Art and Environment rewards each year a project by a contemporary artist involved in environmental issues. Its goals are to promote and support the vital role which art and creation play in raising awareness, supporting concrete solutions and encouraging a culture of ecology. The winner is selected out of ten short-listed entries by a jury of well-known specialists in art, research and ecology.

In 2015, from November 30 to December 10, France will host the 21th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21). The COP21 is a key international meeting to negotiate an international agreement to fight climate change. Its goal is to engage all countries through a universal binding climate agreement to contain global warming to 2 degrees Celsius by 2100.

The special 2015 edition of the COAL Prize Art and Environment seizes the opportunity of COP21 to open the doors to the wider public and show the political players that there are alternatives ways to comprehend the complexity of the climate challenge; to achieve a sustainable cultural shift inspired by creativity and innovation. The agenda of Cop21 is primarily scientific and political. The Coal Prize provides an alternative agenda, recognising that for a real cultural shift, we need to encourage a diverse range of citizens to engage with the topic. Arts and culture have always played a critical role in responding to political, environmental and social issues.

This sixth edition of the COAL Prize Art and Environment is part of ArtCOP21, an exceptional cultural festival initiate by COAL and our UK partners Cape Farewell, that will take place in France during COP21. ArtCOP21 is an unprecedented collaboration of cultural actors who are keen to instigate an ecological transition towards a healthier environment – through arts and culture. The mission of ArtCOP21 is to engage the wider public in creating a positive vision for a sustainable future.

Launched in 2010 by the French organisation COAL, the Coalition for art and sustainable development, the COAL Prize is supported by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, the French Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development, and the National Centre of Plastic Arts (CNAP). It promotes and supports each year the project of a contemporary artist on the environmental theme determined through an international call for entries. The laureate receives an award of € 5,000 and is invited for a residency at Domaine de Belval by the François Sommer Foundation.

Download the call for entries

 

SCHEDULE

Application deadline : January 30th, 2014 at midnight.

The Coal Prize will be awarded in Autumn 2015.

 

SELECTION OF ENTRIES
Applicants will be judged on the following criteria : artistic value, relevance (understanding of the issues), originality ability to introduce new approaches, themes, and points of view), pedagogy (ability to get a message across, to raise awareness), social and participative approaches (engagement, testimony, efficiency, societal dynamics), eco-design, feasibility.

The COAL Prize supports art projects in progress. Its endowment is not intended to cover all production costs of the project and should be considered as an aid to development. The call for entries of the COAL Prize 2015 aims to promote the artists involved and demonstrate the creative potential of the visual arts on environmental issues. The call for projects 2015 also aims to identify the initiatives being developed for COP21 and promote them.

 

APPLICATION
The application should include the following documents, assembled in a single PDF file. The application must not exceed 20 pages:

A summary and illustrated description of the entry, detailing its artistic aspects and its relevance to the environmental and issues ;

2 HQ pictures illustrating your project ;

A note on the technical aspects of the entry, notably in terms of construction and means of production ;

An estimated budget ;

A Curriculum Vitae and a portfolio ;

 

SUBMISSION
All proposals should be submitted to Coal server before January 30th, 2015 at midnight.
Upload your application

 

PARTICULAR CONDITIONS
By entering this competition, applicants expressly authorize the Coal organization to publish, reproduce and display in public all or part of the elements of their entry, for any purpose linked with the promotion and communication of the Coal project, on all platforms, media, in all countries and for the legal duration of the copyright. Entries submitted but not selected will be held in the archives of the Coal organization. They will, however, remain the property of their authors. Participation in this call entails the full acceptance of the conditions laid out above.

 

More details on www.projetcoal.fr I contact@projetcoal.fr

By Lena Felde

Lena is the Treasurer of Cultura21 Germany. She is studying Cultural Sciences (Mag. Art.) at Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany.