$1,200 in Prizes!
Theme: Home is where we can feel comfortable, safe and productive. Many artists, students, workers and seniors struggle to find affordable housing in walkable urban neighborhoods where they can get around without a car.
This is both a personal and a political issue. It affects everyone, and is influenced by political decisions that determine the housing and transportation options available in our community. Many existing municipal and provincial policies reduce housing and transportation affordability. Why? In part, because young and low-income citizens, the people who most need affordable housing and transport options, vote at much lower rates than older and wealthier citizens. It is time to mobilize voters for affordability!
Instructions: The “Home, Sweet, Affordable Home” art contest challenges artists to explore links between personal experiences and politics regarding housing and transportation affordability, and to find new and unexpected perspectives in these issues. This can include:
- The beauty and pleasure of a comfortable home, and the tragedy when that is unavailable.
- Illustrations of affordable urban housing types, such as apartments, secondary suites, lofts and shared houses.
- How public policies affect affordability, which policies favor more expensive housing and transportation over more affordable alternatives, why these exist, and what can be done to support more affordable housing in walkable neighborhoods.
- Political dimensions, including why younger and poorer citizens vote at lower rates than older, more affluent citizens, how this influences public policies, and possible ways to encourage voting by lower-income citizens.
Prizes: This contest is open to all Victoria region artists. One $400 prize will be awarded for the most creative and insightful work in each of these three categories:
- Visual arts (photography, drawing and painting)
- Creative writing (poetry and short fiction)
- Journalism (investigation and interviews)
Selected submissions will be displayed at an upcoming art show and on the Cities for Everyone website.
Submission Deadline: Submissions (including digital images of visual artwork) and questions should be sent to artcontest@citiesforeveryone.com. Deadline 20 April 2017.