Peres Center, Keter launch contest for Middle Eastern artists
Titled "The New Shape of Co-Existence," the contest allows artists from across the Middle East to present their works that contain their personal and unique views and perspectives.
By AARON REICHThe Peres Center for Peace and Innovation.(photo credit: CHEN SHENHAV)The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation is teaming up with global consumer goods company Keter to launch a contest for artists across the Middle East.Titled "The New Shape of Co-Existence," the contest allows artists from across the Middle East to present their works that contain their personal and unique views and perspectives.Aspiring participants can be of any age, ethnicity, nationality and cultural background.In addition, the contest is open to a wide variety of works, so long as they address peace and coexistence as an aspiration, desire and challenge, or innovation in materials, ideas and initiatives. The various submission can be photography, installation art, graphic art or sculptures. However, they must be 14cm x 21cm in size, and suitable in inclusion in an exhibition space with concrete-style finish.A professional committee will judge all entries into the contest, and will then select around 30 works to be displayed in the Peres Center's public plaza, overlooking the Tel Aviv beachfront, where they will be displayed alongside the name, details and country of origin of each artist, with full artist profiles available online. These works will also be photographed and documented as part of a Peres Center and Keter collaborative digital project.The committee will also select art deserving of cash prizes, with the most outstanding artwork receiving a prize of €4,000. Another artwork singled out for merit will receive €2,000, while a third will net a prize of €1,000.“This project encapsulates the essence of the work of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, and we are proud to lead it in partnership with Keter," Peres Center director-general Efrat Duvdevani said in a statement."For the past 23 years, the Peres Center has been implementing programs that connect Israelis from all sectors and backgrounds, and Israel with its neighbors. The art that will be displayed as part of the project in our public plaza will paint a picture of the reality that we believe can be achieved for all of us – one of partnership, of innovation, and of peace.”“In the current reality, values such as mutual respect, entrepreneurship and innovation are being reaffirmed," said Keter's co-CEOs Udi Sagi and Iftach Sachar."The basis for this new installation stems from the belief that design and art must break new barriers and become an expression of coexistence and brotherhood. Keter, as an Israeli company which has reached a global audience and identifies with groundbreaking innovation in its field, is proud to promote projects in the field of innovation and visual arts. We are doubly proud when they are to be presented at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation.”
Submissions are requested to submit photographs of their artwork or sketches by August 16 by email to coexistingproject@keter.com. The committee will notify artists whose works are selected by September 6.
