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!
Traces of Time
Elias Nafaa
open category
How do we look at our own cultural heritage at a time where the west is envied by the new age? We are all free and we all need access to data but what does freedom mean when our own data is lost and forgotten in the wake of this access? When this open access strips us from our cultural heritage and consequently changes our present identity? At a time where submission and cultural assimilation are the canons of globalization, the installation showcases the lost and destroyed the heritage of the Arab world through deconstructing and reducing to a mere flow of shapes the lyrics of the song "Layali Al Ons Fi Vienna", performed by Asmahan in 1944. The song itself embraces the Arab identity while romanticizing and fantasizing about Vienna, the capital of Austria. Walk around the piece and the letters will reappear in context, then distort again, then disappear, then reemerge the way data is constantly evolving, shifting, disappearing and resurfacing. “Traces of time” not only sheds light on the repercussions of westernization and colonialism but also materializes the loss of our present data that is neglected in a predominant western digital era. It challenges two elements of society: a cultural heritage lost either through destruction or through lack of acknowledgment and reduced to a form - an image - present but discarded, in the background of contemporary westernized society; a population that contributes to these acts. This is not a cry against open access but a call to not forget your own Arab identity in the wake of it. The installation itself is 280 x 280 x 300 cm and made of over 1000 traditionally handmade resin letters that showcase the human touch in the materiality of the project and emphasize the idea that cultural heritage is a product of the human.
How do we look at our own cultural heritage at a time where the west is envied by the new age? We are all free and we all need access to data but what does freedom mean when our own data is lost and forgotten in the wake of this access? When this open access strips us from our cultural heritage and consequently changes our present identity? At a time where submission and cultural assimilation are the canons of globalization, the installation showcases the lost and destroyed the heritage of the Arab world through deconstructing and reducing to a mere flow of shapes the lyrics of the song "Layali Al Ons Fi Vienna", performed by Asmahan in 1944. The song itself embraces the Arab identity while romanticizing and fantasizing about Vienna, the capital of Austria. Walk around the piece and the letters will reappear in context, then distort again, then disappear, then reemerge the way data is constantly evolving, shifting, disappearing and resurfacing. “Traces of time” not only sheds light on the repercussions of westernization and colonialism but also materializes the loss of our present data that is neglected in a predominant western digital era. It challenges two elements of society: a cultural heritage lost either through destruction or through lack of acknowledgment and reduced to a form - an image - present but discarded, in the background of contemporary westernized society; a population that contributes to these acts. This is not a cry against open access but a call to not forget your own Arab identity in the wake of it. The installation itself is 280 x 280 x 300 cm and made of over 1000 traditionally handmade resin letters that showcase the human touch in the materiality of the project and emphasize the idea that cultural heritage is a product of the human.