Deadline: 5 May 2024
To bring together the fundamental upheavals, the COAL 2024 Prize is calling on artists who are developing restorative practices, individually or in groups; approaches that reconnects somatically, sensorially and spiritually; know-how of the hand and of the earth; often in atypical and non-institutional cultural venues, veritable open-air laboratories, fields in which to experiment with tangible and realistic ecotopias for better living together.
At a time when knowledge alone is no longer enough to motivate action, the Prix COAL 2024 calls for transformation from within, of the senses, of care, of the self with others. It’s a call to see culture as the breeding ground for the relationship with nature and, by the same token, the greatest asset in bringing about radical, sustainable change.
The aim of the COAL Student Prize is to support French students in the field of arts and culture who are experimenting with and proposing concrete, creative solutions to the ecological transition, through a residency in partnership with France’s Nature Reserves. COAL and its partners wish to encourage young people to get involved and promote artists’ responses to current ecological issues.
Being Transformative! This is the theme of the 2024 edition. At a time when knowledge alone is no longer enough to motivate action, the COAL Student Prize 2024 calls for transformation from within, of the senses, of care, of the self with others. A call to see culture as the breeding ground for the relationship with nature and, by the same token, the greatest asset in bringing about radical, sustainable change.
Prize Details
- The winner of the COAL Prize will be awarded 12,000 euros and a creative residency at the heart of the Domaine de Belval, owned by the François Sommer Foundation, run by the scientific and educational teams of the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature and the Domaine de Belval. Located in the commune of Belval-Bois-des-Dames, in the French Ardennes, the Domaine de Belval is a veritable observatory of rurality and wildlife, welcoming artists each year selected for their contribution to renewing the vision of the relationship between humans and their natural environment.
- The winner of the Jury’s Special Prize will be awarded 3,000 euros.
- The winner of the Ateliers Médicis award will benefit from a residency in Clichy-sous-Bois/Montfermeil, in association with the Bondy regional forest and 12,000 euros.
- The winning artist of the Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles/ Paris mention will be awarded 2,000 euros and an invitation to exhibit their work at the Parisian institution.
- Transformative Territories mentions: five artists will be invited to the five partner venues of the European Transformative Territories program, and 100 projects revealed through the call for projects will be promoted on its platform and within its network.
Criteria
- Every year, ten projects are shortlisted by a committee of professionals following the entries received from the international open call. The COAL Prize and its special mentions are awarded among these ten projects by a jury composed of representatives of the partner organisations and professionals from the fields of art and ecology. In addition, all applications considered by COAL and the selection committee become part of a network of artists and projects which may be solicited or promoted for opportunities and actions carried out by COAL and its partners.
- Applicants will be judged on the following criteria: artistic value, relevance (understanding of the theme – Being Transformative), originality (the ability to introduce new approaches, themes, and points of view), pedagogy (ability to get a message across and raise awareness), social and participative approaches (engagement, testimony, efficiency, societal dynamics), eco-design and feasibility. The COAL Prize supports artistic projects in progress. The award is not intended to cover all production costs of the project but should be considered as an aid to its development.
For more information, visit COAL.
