Published by Leonardo Calcagno
The Artraker Biennial Awards are for contemporary artists / organisations that shape how people and organisations understand, engage and respond to violent conflicts and its effects. Artraker is interested in the significance of the contribution of the artist to change and the co-creation of experiences of freedom and hope in the midst of conflict. In 2016 Artraker will offer three Awards of GBP2500 each for completed work or work that can be further developed.
The three award winners and artists/organisations that made it to the final round of Jury deliberations will be invited to join the Artraker network (‘the Artrakers’). The works of the award winners and up to six runners-up will be shown at the Art of Peace Exhibitions in London and Malta in early 2017. Announcements of the artists selected to join the Artrakers network will be made during the last quarter of 2016. The Award winners will be announced during the Art of Peace Exhibitions in London and Malta in early 2017.
Submissions will be considered in relation to three award categories:
The Artraker Award for Challenging the Narrative:
This award is for art that challenges dominant narratives on violence and peace, and/or enables a different and deeper understanding to be gained on issues pertaining to violence, conflict, upheaval, change, and peace.
The Artaker Award for Healing the Void:
This award is for art that promotes inclusion, reveals how space excludes and marginalises, and poses questions about how our societies are constructed and managed to either heal and create community, or divide, wound, and alienate.
The Imagine Peace! Artraker Award:
This award is for art that helps leaders at different levels imagine new pathways to peace and alternatives to violence. It is for art that stimulates creativity in leadership, helps foster or encourage visionary leadership, and contributes insight into imagining new ways of radically altering the dynamics that lead to violence.
Entries are judged by an international panel of experts from disciplines of arts, conflict, culture, politics and peace. They look for experimentation and engagement, audacity, change and capacity to inspire.
The Artraker Biennial Awards Jury for 2016 includes: Saskia Fernando (Curator, Saskia Fernando Gallery, Sri Lanka), Roger Graef (Filmmaker, United Kingdom and USA), Alexandra Handal (Artist, Member of the Artrakers, Palestine), Andrew Jack (Journalist, Financial Times, United Kingdom), Manali Jagtap (Artraker Founder, Malta), Patrick Kabanda (Writer, Musikaba and World Bank, Uganda), Susan Richards (Author, United Kingdom) and Marina Wallace (Curator, Artakt, United Kingdom).
Artraker welcomes submissions from artists of all nationalities and at any stage of their careers. Please apply at
An administration fee of £10.00 will be charged for submissions from OECD countries. Submissions from all other countries are free.
source: e-artnow