Tamayouz Excellence Award is delighted to launch its newest award, the biannual Dia al-Azzawi Prize for Public Art, as part of its programme of championing and celebrating the built and urban environment worldwide. The new award is named after the internationally celebrated Iraqi artist Dia al-Azzawi, one of the pioneers of modern Arab art, and will run biannually.

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AIMS

• Recognise artworks within the urban context that have had a transformative impact on their community.
• Empower and support young and emerging artists, architects, designers and studios.
• Respond to a challenging phase for public art in the Near East and North Africa — a phase overshadowed by vulgarity and decline in public taste.
• Create educational material in both Arabic and English based on the academic review, analysis and research undertaken on the submitted entries.
• Introduce emerging and established regional artists to a wider community, nurturing a long-lasting network and community of like-minded individuals interested in the betterment of regional urban environments.
• Establish dialogue with local authorities responsible for public art with the mission of improving the state of public art in the Middle East and North Africa.

ELIGIBILITY

• The Dia al-Azzawi Prize for Public Art seeks transformative permanent and temporary projects of all types ranging from murals, sculptures, monuments, urban performances, installations, public spaces, graffiti, architecture and planning. These artworks should not be exhibited in private spaces or as part of private collections, but rather in public spaces ensuring their accessibility to wider communities.

• To be eligible for consideration in the inaugural cycle of the award, projects must be completed between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2020 and should have been exhibited for at least one year, thereby verifying their impact on the surrounding environment.

• There are no fixed criteria for the type, nature, or cost of public art projects, but eligible projects must be based in any of the following countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.

THE PRIZE

The winner of the Dia al-Azzawi Prize for Public Art will receive a statue and medal designed by Dia al-Azzawi. If the winner is a team, each member will receive a medal while the whole team will receive one statue. Travel and flight expenses for the winner will also be provided to attend the annual ceremony (if the team is a winner, then the team must select a representative to have their travel costs covered).

IMPORTANT DATES

• Launch: 16 March 2021
• Submission Deadline: 1 October 2021
• Shortlisting: December 2021
• Winners Announcement: 2022

SUBMISSION AND CRITERIA

• The Dia al-Azzawi Prize for Public Art is given every two years.
• Submission Period: 1 April 2021 – 1 October 2021 Criteria: Excellence is the fundamental criteria of the Dia al-Azzawi for Public Art: Excellence that is achieved through transformative impact on the project’s environment, excellence through design, narrative, engagement, materials and technique. Particular attention is given to public art projects representing the spirit or the collective feeling of modern times. Public art that reflects collaboration is encouraged.
• Shortlist: The shortlist will be announced Autumn 2021* The Jury: Nominated projects will be reviewed by a shortlisting panel. The selection of the recipient of the award will be made by the Jury after reviewing the submission materials and the reports of the shortlisting panel. Ceremony: The award’s prize will be given during the Tamayouz Excellence Award ceremony, which will be announced later during the year.

  * As the award organiser, Tamayouz Excellence Award reserves the right to modify the award schedule if deemed necessary.

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