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!

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Protest and Desire
by Christa Joo Hyun DAngelo
Category: open category
587
Contest is finished!
https://social-art-award.org/award2019/?contest=photo-detail&photo_id=1110
106
587
Title:
Protest and Desire

Author:
Christa Joo Hyun DAngelo

Category:
open category

Description:
Protest and Desire is a video artwork that challenges popular STD / HIV discourse by focusing on how women of color deal with intimacy, sex, and age that relates to STDs and HIV within the landscape of white Europe. The video concentrates on an endearing 2 year portrait of, “Lillian”, a 49 year old woman from Uganda who has lived in Germany since the early 2000s as a consequence of her HIV status. Her words disentangle notions about how women of color relate to their own sexuality, interracial relationships, ideas of belonging, and their personal complexities with HIV / STDs. The work delicately unveils inherent biases that are bound to women of color and their struggle to attain acceptance both within and outside their own communities. Through dream like sequences and whimsical imagery, Protest and Desire imagines new ways to define what is normal and propels new meaning on “sickness”, desire, and relationships by confronting the ghosts of the past and the fears that haunt our present realities. Work: 4K, 2-channel video, 19.55 min, 2019. How can art catalyze change?: Protest and Desire confronts social taboos that are connected to fear, class, race and sexuality. The work examines how race and STDs ( sexually transmitted diseases) function as forms of discrimination and misogyny for women and ponders how are STDs different for women and women of color within the scope of Western discourse and what does that reveal about our society? The work seeks to establish meaning and understanding on how cultural taboos can lead to fear and isolation. Ultimately, the artwork challenges people's perception on topics that have become elusive in Germany and beyond and strives to uncover the unseen ways in which society systemically discriminates those vulnerable to oppression – women of color.
Description:
Protest and Desire is a video artwork that challenges popular STD / HIV discourse by focusing on how women of color deal with intimacy, sex, and age that relates to STDs and HIV within the landscape of white Europe. The video concentrates on an endearing 2 year portrait of, “Lillian”, a 49 year old woman from Uganda who has lived in Germany since the early 2000s as a consequence of her HIV status. Her words disentangle notions about how women of color relate to their own sexuality, interracial relationships, ideas of belonging, and their personal complexities with HIV / STDs. The work delicately unveils inherent biases that are bound to women of color and their struggle to attain acceptance both within and outside their own communities. Through dream like sequences and whimsical imagery, Protest and Desire imagines new ways to define what is normal and propels new meaning on “sickness”, desire, and relationships by confronting the ghosts of the past and the fears that haunt our present realities. Work: 4K, 2-channel video, 19.55 min, 2019. How can art catalyze change?: Protest and Desire confronts social taboos that are connected to fear, class, race and sexuality. The work examines how race and STDs ( sexually transmitted diseases) function as forms of discrimination and misogyny for women and ponders how are STDs different for women and women of color within the scope of Western discourse and what does that reveal about our society? The work seeks to establish meaning and understanding on how cultural taboos can lead to fear and isolation. Ultimately, the artwork challenges people's perception on topics that have become elusive in Germany and beyond and strives to uncover the unseen ways in which society systemically discriminates those vulnerable to oppression – women of color.