COAL Prize 2018

The COAL Prize is open to artists throughout the world who dare to imagine and experiment, to transform territories, lifestyles, organisations, and production methods. Together, they are building a new collective narrative, a new vision, developing our future heritage, and in doing so creating the necessary optimistic framework for everyone to find the means and the motivation to implement the changes needed for a more sustainable and just world.

This year, the COAL association celebrates its 10th anniversary. A decade of commitment alongside artists who wish to give their all to using culture as a medium of change, an ecological transition through solidarity. These words are not a figure of speech, but the result of our story. A decade ago we were talking about “sustainable development”. France defined its plan of action at the Grenelle Environment Round Table, as countries around the world were preparing for the 14th COP in Poznan, Poland. This year COP24 will be back in Poland, in Katowice, and just as 2007 was in its time the second warmest year in a century, 2017 has now claimed that title. Over this same period, the number of breeding birds species that are endangered in Europe has risen from 25 to 33 percent. There is hope however, for the solar-wind-biomass trio finally overtook coal as the main source for generating electricity in the European Union last year, and while some things have not changed as hoped, our dedication is not weakened, quite the contrary.

So this year, we see neither a failure nor an outcome, but the basis of a movement towards a renewed commitment that makes the COAL Prize ever more relevant.

The COAL Prize has become a vehicle for identification, promotion and dissemination of these artists to the general public, political actors and professionals of culture as well as of ecology. Each year, it honors ten projects in the field of visual arts relating to environmental issues, which are selected through an international open call. Though only one of them is awarded the COAL Prize, all the artists and projects considered by COAL and the selection committee will become part of a network which COAL may invite or endorse for other relevant opportunities and projects carried out by the association.

With the sponsorship of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Ecological Development. With the support of the Ministry of Culture, the European Union and the Imagine2020 network, the Museum of Hunting and Nature and the François Sommer Foundation.

SCHEDULE

The Coal Prize 2018 will be awarded in October in Paris, at a ceremony organized in partnership with the Museum of Hunting and Nature and the François Sommer Foundation, in the presence of the ten shortlisted artists and actors in the domains of art and sustainable development.

PRIZE

The winner of the COAL 2018 Prize will receive an award of 5,000 euros and a residency with additional financial support for artistic production at the Belval estate (Ardennes), property of the François Sommer Foundation.

The François Sommer Foundation was founded in 1966 by François and Jacqueline Sommer, pioneers of the implementation of a humanist ecology. Faithful to the commitments of its founders, it works for the respectful use of the resources of nature, the sharing of wealth of the natural, artistic and cultural heritage for the protection of a biodiversity in which mankind find its proper place.

The Belval estate is located in the commune of Belval-Bois-des-Dames. With an enclosed area of ​​600 hectares, it is essentially a forested area covered in meadows and 40 hectares of ponds. A veritable observatory of rural life and wildlife, each year it welcomes selected artists who contribute to the representation of their vision of Man’s relationship to his natural environment. Testament to the Foundation’s commitment to supporting contemporary artistic creation, the residency at the Belval estate contributes to the dissemination of the artists’ works to a wide audience. The combined knowledge of the scientific and educational teams of the Museum of Hunting and Nature and those of the Belval estate will also available as a resource for the artists.

CRITERIA

Applicants will be judged on the following criteria: artistic value, relevance (understanding of the theme), 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 art projects in progress. Its award is not intended to cover all production costs of the project but should be considered as an aid to its development.

JURY

The jury and the selection committee are in the process of being selected.  The following list indicates the jurors confirmed hitherto:
Claude d’Anthenaise, General Curator of Heritage, Director of the Museum of Hunting and Nature
Monique Barbaroux, Senior Sustainable Development Officer at the Ministry of Culture
Pierre Emmanuel Becherand, Head of Culture and Creation at Société Grand Paris
Nicola Delon, Architect, Co-founder of architecture collective Encore Heureux
Martin Guinard-Terrin, Artist and curator
Marianne Lanavère, Director of the Vassivière Island International Centre for Art and Landscape

APPLICATION

The application should include the following documents in a single PDF file not exceeding 20 pages:

• The completed application form, available for download HERE
• A description of the proposed project, detailing its artistic dimension and its relevance to environmental issues;
• Two high-definition visuals illustrating the project
• A note on the technical aspects of the project, particularly in terms of construction and means of production;
• An estimated budget
• A Curriculum Vitae and a portfolio.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

By entering this competition, applicants expressly authorize the COAL organization to publish, reproduce and display in public all or part of the elements of their entry for any purpose linked to the promotion and communication of the Coal project, via all platforms and media, in all countries, for the legal duration of the copyright. Entries submitted but not selected will be held in the archives of the Coal organization. They will, however, remain the property of their authors. Participation in this open call entails the full acceptance of the conditions laid out above.