Abu Dhabi: "Can art help us picture a world that can withstand whatever comes next?"
That is the question Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week is putting to digital artists around the globe. Now the organisers are opening their fourth Global Digital Art Competition.
Anyone aged 18 or older can enter. The deadline is 16 November.
One winner and two finalists will be honoured in Abu Dhabi on 13 January, and their work will go on show at the event.
Securing systems, sustaining growth
This year’s theme is “Securing Systems. Sustaining Growth.” Artists must show how creativity, technology and imagination can help build a stronger and more prosperous future.
They can pick from five areas: future energy, advanced technology and AI, water, food and resource security, investment and infrastructure, and human development.
The rules are open. Entries can be still or moving images, interactive or generative art, immersive experiences or web-based pieces.
On one condition
But there is one condition. If artists use AI or other generative tools, they must declare it and explain what the tools contributed.
A jury of international art-world figures will pick the winners. Among them are the director of Frieze Abu Dhabi, the founder of District1795 and a number of artists. They will look at the concept, the artistic vision, originality, impact, representation and accessibility.
The competition is hosted by Masdar and organised with District1795, a tech platform for arts and culture in the Middle East and North Africa.
Submissions will be assessed by a panel of leading voices from the international arts community: Dyala Nusseibeh, Director, Frieze Abu Dhabi; Kawthar Bin Sulayem, Founder and CEO of District1795; Hamad Al Shamsi, Artist; Anna Magritskaya, Managing Director, Theatre of Digital Art; Khawla Abou Saleh, Visual Artist and Creative Director; and Diaa Allam, Calligraphy Artist.
Full guidelines and the application form are available on the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week website.