Green Cross Belarus with support if the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus and in association with Art Teachers' Union announces the 19th International Contest of Art and Graphics «In My Homeland».

Topics of the Contest:

• In My Homeland – traditional free theme of the contest.
• The World of Theatre – additional theme of the contest.

Once you cross the threshold of a theater, you find yourself in a totally different world. We all know that theater starts from a cloakroom. This is where we, ordinary people, turn into an audience of well-dressed individuals ready to play our part in the show.

A noisy lobby with portraits and photographs on the walls, ushers selling play bills, a snack bar, three rings - all of these seem to immerse us into another reality. From different sectors of an auditorium - stalls, dress circle, balcony - we have different views of the stage and the rest of the theater but everyone can see a huge curtain, and when we notice the lights dimming and hear the musicians tuning their instruments, we know the magic is just about to begin! During a performance we can watch not only what is going on onstage but also the reaction of our fellow spectators - – the expression on their faces may range from delight to boredom...

Yet we know little or nothing about what is happening in the wings or backstage. How does the theater machinery work? This has varied considerably from one epoch to another! Wouldn't it be interesting to know what actors they feel before entering the stage? How do they perceive the audience? From what angle do light engineers and prompters see the stage and auditorium? Wouldn't you like to be in their shoes for a while? What happens in the dressing rooms? What does it all look like during rehearsals? Where are props, sets and costumes stored?

Any theater production is a result of a big team work - – director and his/her assistants, cast, musicians, choreographers, stage designers and decorators, makeup artists, light crew, etc. The list could go on and on - everyone's contribution is essential and every step of the production process works toward creating the magic effect we expect from a theater.

Any kind of theater - opera, drama, puppet, or even a street show - has its unique peculiarities, which offers a million opportunities and themes to create artworks inspired by its atmosphere.

We hope yours will represent a variety of angles and light effects, depict a broad spectrum of emotions and movements. So, next time you go to a theater, be a talented and attentive observer so that later you can share your discoveries with us through your pictures.

Suggested techniques (optional)

These works will be considered by the jury in separate nominations!

Contemporary art is dynamic - artists incessantly come up with new drawing techniques that help them to better reflect the world around us and their attitude to it. We suggest that this year our contest applicants try their hand at collage (we recommend to watch a video analysing collages submitted to the previous year's contest in Russian), as well as remember the somewhat neglected technique of lead or color pencil drawing.

• Collage

Have you ever noticed how much our life resembles a collage? Isn't it, like a collage, made up of various bits and pieces: home, family, school, friends, love, hobbies, travels, conversations, music, films, etc? Each of these numerous pieces has its own size, emotional value, color, shape, texture, and significance we allocate to it depending on the role it plays in the canvas of our life.

By the way, the name collage originates from the French word meaning TO GLUE. There are a few different forms of collage – paper, magazine, art and even floral. This technique allows gluing, layering and combining totally different elements as long as it agrees with the author's concept.

When one starts a collage, the result is impossible to predict. How will fragments of color paper, cardboard and newspaper come together in each particular project? There is no answer or prearranged solution. This is an amazing opportunity for experiment!

Conventionality! Symbolism! Generalization! Experiment! Collage presents a new way of depicting both familiar themes and new ones as well as of expressing our emotional attitude to the things we depict.

• Pencil drawing technique

Pencil drawing technique is not particularly popular with young artists probably due to its association with tedious hours of sketching in the classroom.

By creating a separate nomination for this technique we would like to emphasize its potential. It is not only the general color scheme of your drawing but also a variety of stroke methods that can enhance the expressive impact of your work even if it has been created with an ordinary lead pencil.

Using color pencils/crayons  can be exciting, too! For instance, you can mix colors by covering one layer with another or by interspersing strokes of different colors. What is more, the untouched areas of the paper you use might become an element of your composition.

Tip: take your time to study works by famous graphic illustrators in order to know more about/master the pencil drawing technique.

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS:

1. Applicants should be between 5 and 18 years of age.
2. Artwork should be creative, original and performed entirely by its author in the current year.
   NB ALL ARTWORKS WILL BE CHECKED FOR PLAGIARISM.
3. Artwork dimensions are at the author's discretion, no framing. Please attach a registration form filled in with block letters to the back. 

Download the form

4. No works will be reviewed by the jury or returned to their authors. The contest organizers reserve the right to use the originals and copies of the artworks to popularize and promote the contest as well as for their educational and charitable activities without asking for the author's consent or paying the author's fee.

APPLICATIONS ARE TO BE SUBMITTED FROM OCTOBER 1, 2023 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2023.

WORKS are to BE MAILED TO THE FOLLOWING POSTAL ADDRESS:

Non-governmental Organization «Green Cross Belarus»
Contest «In My Homeland»
222201, Minsk oblast, Smolevichi, the Republic of Belarus

(The provided postal address is complete. The works will be picked up directly from the post office by the organizers.)

We ask all the participants to use the services of REGULAR or EMS post. DO NOT INDICATE the value (price) of the goods on parcels.

RESULTS OF THE CONTEST:

The jury will consider all applications in February 2024 and name winners / diploma recipients in all nominations. The awarded works will be used to compile an exhibition.

The 19th INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF ART AND GRAPHICS «IN MY HOMELAND» is to be opened in April 2024.

In addition, the awarded works will be available for online viewing at www.children-art.org, the official website of IN MY HOMELAND project.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

(+375 17) 392 88 02, (+375 29) 667 57 80

info@children-art.org, www.children-art.org