OPEN CALL: WE WANT YOUR… POSTERS! (eng)

On the occasion of World Refugee Day on June 20, 2020, the Milan Šimečka Foundation is launching an open call for a poster design. An expert jury will select three winners who will compete for the following prizes: 1st place 300 euros, 2nd place 200 euros and 3rd place 100 euros. In addition, we will announce a Public Award. We will display the winning entries at the [fjúžn] Festival and in the festival magazine. The deadline for submissions is June 15, 2020.

The current situation concerning the coronavirus does not permit us to organize our traditional Parade with an Umbrella March. At this time, we would normally working feverishly on a rich, inclusive program with foreign communities by tasting of Afghan or Somali cuisine or a presentation of the Ukrainian and Baha’i communities to the Umbrella March aimed at supporting refugees. But don’t despair! The whole world under one roof is now coming to your home. Along with your creations.

What are we looking for?

World Refugee Day, which falls on June 20, reminds us that every 108th person in the world has been forced to flee their home due to war or persecution.

At a time of pandemic, when countries have closed their borders and people have stopped moving, it is not possible for everyone to stay at home, practice social distancing or wash their hands regularly. The coronavirus pandemic has isolated us, but it offers us an opportunity to display concern and solidarity with others. The topic of migration and people on the run divides society, and we feel the need to look deeper into this phenomenon and examine what is behind the fear of the unknown.

Create posters that respond to the current situation regarding migration and movement restrictions. Where would you migrate if you could? Is movement possible for everyone equally? What are the limits to our solidarity? Does the pandemic affect everyone equally? Are we even more afraid of the unknown? Do foreigners live in your neighborhood? Is the voice of vulnerable groups audible enough? Where would you go if you had to leave your home? And do you think the host country would welcome you? How do you react to the statements, „I’m not a racist, but …“, „so take them home“?

Submissions may not promote the suppression of human rights and freedom or spread national, racial, religious, class or other hatred against another group of people. Works that are not related to the theme of the open call will not be accepted.

All works that meet the criteria of the call will be published on June 20, 2020. Among them, an expert jury will select three winners who will receive the following prizes: 1st place 300 euros, 2nd place 200 euros and 3rd place 100 euros. In addition, we will announce a Public Award.

Jury award:

First place – 300 euros

Second place – 200 euros

Third place – 100 euros

The Jury:

Olja Triaška Stefanović (Chairwoman) / Photographer, visual artist and head of the Department of Photography and New Media at VŠVU

Pavel Choma / Graphic designer, pedagogue and exhibition designer

Kvet Nguyen / Photography student

Michaela Kučová / Publicist and cultural events organizer

Ivana Šáteková / Artist

Anna Jacková / Editor-in-Chief of the multikulti.sk portal and Project Manager at the Milan Šimečka Foundation

Olja Triaška Stefanović (Chairwoman of the Jury)

Olja Triaška Stefanović was born in Novi Sad, Serbia. In 2007, she completed her master’s degree in photography in the studio of Professor Milota Havranková at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava and completed her doctoral studies at the Department of Intermedia and Multimedia in 2017 with Professor Anton Čierny. In 2015, she was named Photographer of the Year in Slovakia. She regularly exhibits in Slovakia and abroad. Since 2013, Triaška & Čejka FM has been moderating a discussion session on visual art and culture on FM Radio. She currently works at VŠVU as division chairperson in the Department of Photography and New Media and an assistant professor in the studio of doc. Jana Hojstričová called Photography – Reality – Construction, where she teaches how to create a photobook.

Pavel Choma

Pavel Choma is an acclaimed graphic designer, pedagogue and exhibition stand designer. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava at the Department of Graphic Design with Prof. Jozef Chovan. He has been engaged in pedagogical activities for several years. In 2003, he became an associate professor and currently works as the head of the studio and the head of the Department of Visual Communication at VŠVU in Bratislava. As an educator, he has influenced and educated a strong generation of graphic artists with his extensive personal and professional expertise. In his independent work he connects fine-art with architecture. His book-related accomplishments should also not be overlooked. He holds several awards for his work. Pavel Choma has been actively and selflessly cooperating for a long time in the organization of the Trnava Poster Triennial either as a member of the organizing committee or as a member of an international jury. He lives in Žilina, where he has been running his own graphic design studio since 1992.

Kvet NguyenKvet, official name Nguyen Thi Hoa, is a second-generation Vietnamese woman who was born in Slovakia. She grew up in Nové Zámky, where people were not used to her and made this known to her through gestures, words and remarks.  A student at the Department of Photography and New Media at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava, her work focuses on feelings related to diasporas and their future generations which embodies the elements that make up identity. It is based on history she knows and at the same time she is aware of its limits. At the same time, she asks what will remain after her. Research doesn’t provide a concrete answer; rather, she seeks to open up the very topic of identity and diasporas. Her goal is to ask questions that may not be fully answerable but that will leave a mark and help others answer such questions in the future.

Michaela Kučová

Michaela Kučová has worked in several foundations. She organizes cultural events and works as a publicist. She has collaborated on such projects as PechaKucha Night Bratislava, Dymová hora, the Oskár Čepan Award, White Night, Question of Will, the Brak festival and [fjúžn] festival. You can also read her work in SME, Denník N, Pravda, Profile, Artalk or Kapitál. She has worked on expert juries for the Radio Head Awards, Fest Anča and the Slovak Arts Council.

Ivana ŠátekováIvana Šáteková graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava. She is a finalist for the Essl Art Award 2013 and the holder of the Tatra Banka Foundation Award for Art 2014. She has had several successful solo exhibitions. Her work mainly consists of drawing, painting and embroidery. Through her uncompromising humor, irony and insight, she comments on current social issues. She is a member of the drawing trio Dzive and a member of the editorial team for the children’s magazine Bublina.

Anna JackováAnna Jacková has been a project manager at the Milan Šimečka Foundation since 2017. As chief editor, she runs the multikulti.sk foundation portal (not only) on migration and foreigners living in Slovakia. She participates in the preparation of the [fjúžn] Festival and is the main editor of the festival magazines Trʌst and Identity. Together with photographer Tomáš Halász, they prepared a photographic exhibition called “Where are you from?” with second-generation aliens and foreigners. She studied journalism in Bratislava and in the past worked as an editor at the SITA Press Agency, at Radio Devín and as a documentarist for the Post Bellum organization.

Who can participate?

Everyone! Regardless of where you come from or whether you work in graphic design, dedicate yourself to illustration, free art, study, create professionally or are an amateur… all you need to do is be willing to create a  poster that engages in a wide-ranging discussion about the various forms of forced or voluntary migration and refugees.

Competition schedule:

Deadline for submission: June 15, 2020

Publication of works: June 20, 2020 (we will inform you about the format after June 15)

Judging: July 1, 2020

Exhibition and catalog preparation: July – September 2020

15th year of the [fjúžn] Festival: September 15 – 25, 2020 (presentation of selected works – we will inform you about the format)

Technical specifications:

Print data (poster) – format 1000x700mm (portrait) in PDF format with a resolution of 200 dpi

Print data (for the catalog) – format 100x70mm (portrait) in PDF format with a resolution of 300 dpi

We recommend a CMYK color profile for print data.

Online data – A4 format – 21 x 29.7 cm (portrait) in .jpg or .png format with a resolution of 300 dpi

We recommend the RGB color profile for online data.

Submission form *: https://forms.gle/HoJj1PkBqqhqCAD46

To submit your work, you will also need to submit the following:

Your email address

Name and surname

Profession or area of study (your field)

Artistic name (the name you want to appear under)

The title of your submission

Accompanying text for the visual

Technical information

A link for downloading your work

* By submitting the application form, you give us your consent to use of the data you provide and agree to the publication of your work.

On May 25, 2018, a new European Union regulation governing the protection of personal data (GDPR) entered into force. Based on the regulation, you must provide your consent for the registration of the data provided by you and your consent to receive information about our activities by e-mail. We wish to assure you that your data is safe with us and that our management complies with the new EU regulation. We do not provide your data to third parties. The Milan Šimečka Foundation uses your e-mail address exclusively for communications regarding the competition and for sending information and news concerning the Foundation’s activities. By submitting the application form, you give us your consent to use the data you provide.

Contact: Please write to us at info@fjuzn.sk if you have any questions.

There are no limits to diversity!

Host of the competition:

The Milan Šimečka Foundation is a non-profit organization named after a prominent dissident, thinker, philosopher and writer in the former Czechoslovakia. Our three programs – Education, Active Citizenship and Promoting Inclusion – focus on developing an open civil society, defending human and minority rights, improving the situation of disadvantaged groups, educating about diversity and promoting  mutual respect. Since 1991, the Foundation has published more than 100 publications and trained several thousand educators, activists, publishers, community leaders and people from disadvantaged groups. In addition, it organizes commemorative events about the Holocaust and November 89. Since 2006, it has organized Slovakia’s largest multicultural festival [fjúžn]. More information can be found on the website at: https://www.nadaciamilanasimecku.sk/

About [fjúžn] Festival

The [fjúžn] Festival has been organized by the Milan Šimečka Foundation since 2006 and has gradually become a unique and the largest multi-genre and multicultural event focused on migration and foreigners in Slovakia with national and international significance. It goes beyond one form of artistic expression and offers a rich program of concerts, exhibitions, literature, theater, film, workshops, lectures and presentations, discussions, community or children’s events, school events and many other activities. More information can be found on the website at: www.fjuzn.sk