The Open Call for the Social Art Award 2019 under the topic “We are the People – Peaceful Revolutions” was closed on December 15, 2019. We are very impressed by 558 submissions that were contributed by artists coming from 65 countries across all continents.
The winners of The Social Art Award 2019 are Narcissa Gold (USA), Melinda Mouzannar (Lebanon) and Bogna Grazyna Jaroslawski (Poland/Germany). The Honorary Mention goes to Kingson Kin Sing Chan (Hong Kong/UK).
Below you find the artworks, that passed the initial jury round. The public voting took place till 30 December and is a tool to give more public visibility to the topic and the artworks. It does not replace the final jury judgment. There were two wildcards for the most voted artworks that entered the final shortlist.
The focus diversity of applications shows that artists are active in the multi-faceted fields of socially engaged art reflecting on wars, genocides, femicides, traumata, violence against refugees, children, women, men, disabled people, LGBTIQs, animals. They share feelings for the planet and its living species, but also showing hopelessness due to complex crises be it climate change (e.g. in regard to water pollution), capitalism, corruption, a violation against human rights, nature, protected national parks. Many of the artists are constantly trying to give a voice to the poorest or empower unheard social groups.
It’s not only about peaceful revolutions, but it’s also about feeling a deep connection and showing love and respect for each other.
Thank you all for sharing your great and inspirational work and look at all the great contributions!
Shooting clouds
barbara nati
open category
It's hard to imagine something more elusive and changeable than clouds; hovering steam carried by winds, waiting to fall back to the ground, to the seas and lakes where it originates. Yet man's need for control also applies to clouds through the technique of cloud seeding that results in particles of silver iodide being released into the air, by means of planes or rockets, a catalyst known for its ability to spur rainfall. A useless technique lacking scientific evidence, also used to address catastrophic situations caused by humans themselves, such as desertification affecting several rural areas and air pollution in megacities. Shooting Clouds, Barbara Nati’s new series of digital artwork, whose title itself aims at estranging the viewer by oddly mixing the terms cloud seeding and shooting star, is the dramatic and disturbing visual rendering of the afore-mentioned desire to confine and bridle what by its nature is impalpable and free. In this body of work clouds’ texture becomes like any other, like steel, glass or plastic, used to build rockets and futuristic flying shuttles. But the ultimate visual aspect of these means of transport is not meant to be calming; as a result of their constriction, clouds are as dark as storm clouds, only illuminated by lightning, almost on the verge of swirling in a twister and sweeping everything away. Through a mindful approach to the present and its contradictions, Barbara Nati displays in a visionary manner, a potential near future in which nature’s pure and fickle clouds along with sacred paintings’ iridescent and ethereal clouds would give way to threatening, anthropized clouds. How can art catalyze change?: by raising awareness through making notions visually appealing
It's hard to imagine something more elusive and changeable than clouds; hovering steam carried by winds, waiting to fall back to the ground, to the seas and lakes where it originates. Yet man's need for control also applies to clouds through the technique of cloud seeding that results in particles of silver iodide being released into the air, by means of planes or rockets, a catalyst known for its ability to spur rainfall. A useless technique lacking scientific evidence, also used to address catastrophic situations caused by humans themselves, such as desertification affecting several rural areas and air pollution in megacities. Shooting Clouds, Barbara Nati’s new series of digital artwork, whose title itself aims at estranging the viewer by oddly mixing the terms cloud seeding and shooting star, is the dramatic and disturbing visual rendering of the afore-mentioned desire to confine and bridle what by its nature is impalpable and free. In this body of work clouds’ texture becomes like any other, like steel, glass or plastic, used to build rockets and futuristic flying shuttles. But the ultimate visual aspect of these means of transport is not meant to be calming; as a result of their constriction, clouds are as dark as storm clouds, only illuminated by lightning, almost on the verge of swirling in a twister and sweeping everything away. Through a mindful approach to the present and its contradictions, Barbara Nati displays in a visionary manner, a potential near future in which nature’s pure and fickle clouds along with sacred paintings’ iridescent and ethereal clouds would give way to threatening, anthropized clouds. How can art catalyze change?: by raising awareness through making notions visually appealing