Organizer Information
The Art Moves International Billboard Art Competition is organized as part of the broader Art Moves Festival, a public art initiative based in Poland focused on bringing contemporary art into urban space through large-scale outdoor formats such as billboards. The festival is known for transforming everyday city infrastructure into platforms for artistic and social commentary, making contemporary art accessible to a wide public audience outside traditional gallery systems.
The organizing body works with curators, artists, and cultural practitioners specializing in public art and socially engaged visual communication. Its mission is to expand the visibility of critical and conceptual art in public space and to encourage artists to respond directly to contemporary social, political, and psychological conditions through accessible visual language. The competition has an international scope and has built a reputation as one of the few recurring platforms dedicated specifically to billboard-based artistic practice.
Title & Description
Art Moves 2026 International Billboard Art Competition – “Fear or courage? How can we stop fearing tomorrow and start creating it together?”
This open call invites artists to develop works specifically designed for large-scale billboard presentation in urban space. The 2026 edition centers on a conceptual theme addressing the psychological and societal condition of fear in contemporary life and the potential role of courage as a counterforce.
Artists are invited to critically engage with how fear is produced and circulated in modern societies—through politics, media ecosystems, digital platforms, and economic uncertainty. The thematic framework highlights how fear can lead to passivity, social fragmentation, and reduced personal agency, while courage is framed not as the absence of fear but as the capacity to act, think independently, and engage with collective responsibility despite uncertainty.
However, the explicit use of the theme in the artwork is not mandatory; artists are free to interpret or disregard the proposed slogan. The emphasis is placed on conceptual strength, visual impact, and suitability for billboard-scale public presentation rather than thematic compliance.
Selected works will be installed in public space during the Art Moves Festival in September 2026 in Toruń, Poland, transforming the city into an open-air exhibition of contemporary billboard art.
Categories
- Visual Art
- Graphic Design
- Digital Art
- Illustration
- Poster Art
- Conceptual Art
- Mixed Media (as long as the final output is suitable for a 2D billboard format)
The focus is on 2D visual communication designed for large-scale outdoor display.
Eligibility
- Open to all artists internationally
- Strong emphasis on young and emerging artists, though no strict age limit is defined
- Individual artists and artist collectives/groups may apply
- No restriction on nationality, background, or professional status
- Works must be original and independently created
Important restrictions:
- Works generated fully or partially using AI image generation tools are strictly prohibited
- Applicants must ensure they hold full rights to the submitted work
- Group submissions must include all authors’ names, but only one representative contact person
Program Benefits & Awards
Selected participants benefit from:
- Exhibition of selected works on billboards in public urban space during the Art Moves Festival 2026
- International exposure in a curated public art context
- Inclusion in a professionally curated selection by a jury of recognized artists and curators
Awards:
- Main Award: PLN 6,500 (approx. EUR 1,533 / USD 1,805)
- The winner is responsible for applicable tax obligations on the prize
- Jury selects 8 winning works for billboard display
Additional consideration:
- The organizers reserve the right to display additional non-winning works in public space, expanding visibility opportunities beyond the official selection.
Application Fee
None
Application Requirements
- Completed entry form (application card)
- Artwork preview files in JPEG format:
- Size: 30 cm x 14.6 cm
- Resolution: 72 dpi
- Horizontal layout
- File format: JPG
- File naming convention:
firstname_lastname.jpg
For multiple works:firstname_lastname_1,firstname_lastname_2,firstname_lastname_3
- Maximum number of submissions: up to 3 artworks per artist
Important:
- Final high-resolution production files must NOT be submitted at the application stage
- Selected artists will be contacted after jury selection to provide final print-ready files
How to Apply?
Applications must be submitted via email: artmoves(at)tlen.pl
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 15 July 2026
- Jury Selection Period: After submission deadline (exact date not specified)
- Notification of Selected Artists: Following jury evaluation (date not specified)
- Exhibition Period: September 2026
- Location of Exhibition: Public billboard displays during Art Moves Festival 2026
Location
Toruń, Poland
Additional Details
- The jury consists of established artists and curators specializing in public art and visual culture
- The competition emphasizes artistic independence, originality, and conceptual clarity
- Works must be suitable for large-scale public reproduction (498 cm x 243 cm format)
- Technical specification: CMYK, TIFF format for final production (after selection)
- Organizers may use submitted works for promotion and documentation of the festival without additional compensation
- Artists retain responsibility for copyright integrity and must legally defend organizers in case of third-party claims
- Submission of AI-generated artwork is strictly prohibited and may result in disqualification
- By submitting, artists grant permission for free public display during the festival period