Moving Beyond

Banality of Evil

In Our Daily Lives

A crowd-driven International Art Project

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International Art Competition

"The Banality of Evil in Our Daily Lives"

Disciplines

Fine Art - Photography - Sculpture - Performance

Submissions Accepted

 1. November 2019 - 15. March 2020

Crowd-Driven

Crowd-driven non-profit social art project

For Peace - For Future

A powerful antidote to the prevailing despair

Prize Awards

Prize awards by an international jury

Announcement

2020 Finalists and Winners Gallery

We would like to thank all artists for the great work and dedication to the project. In our humble beginnings we are immensely grateful to witness the resonance of so many voices traversing all international and ideological borders. Your thought-provoking and inspiring art helped us planting a seed of positive transformation and to shed new light on this elusive subject.

We feel privileged and very excited to present you with the finalists and the winners in our online gallery.

Stay safe and tune in for more updates to come soon.

Artwork Gallery

I’m the artist Saysay.love, the initiator and sponsor of Banality of evil in our daily lives. It’s done now, all  qualified artwork is posted on Facebook and Instagram!

Go online now and vote by liking for your favorite artwork!
As of coming Sunday midnight central European time, all likes will be counted and determined who goes for jury review. Any likes received after this deadline will not be counted! Jury review starts on Monday for  the winners!

To make it more fair to all artist, we introduced a wild card that can be drawn by each jury and team member. Wildcard selected artist will also be reviewed by the judging jury.

Due to coronavirus, we have to postpone the exhibition and it is envisaged to happen in September / October this year in Berlin.

Further information will be posted on our website.
Thanks to everybody for your kind support!

Introduction

A WORD FROM THE INITIATOR OF THE PROJECT

Can one do evil without being evil?

This was the essential question Hannah Arendt asked herself when she reported for the New Yorker in 1961 in the trial against Adolph Eichmann, the former head of the "Central Office for Jewish Emigration"  who was involved in the organization of the expulsion and deportation of the Jews and who was jointly responsible for the murder of an estimated six million people. Arendt came to the conclusion: "As cruel, cold-hearted, and in their extent monstrous as the deeds for which Eichmann was responsible were, so ordinary, even so banal was the human being who stood for these deeds. She called this thoughtlessness the "banality of evil."

"The Banality of Evil in our Daily Lives art prize was conceptualized by the artist Saysay.Love. As a seeker of truth, he was inspired by these writings. He immediately felt a strong connection with the subject matter. The idea that many of history’s greatest evils, instead of being carried out by fanatics or sociopaths, were instead done by ordinary people who accepted the premises of their state and thus their actions, as “normal.”


Ultimately, the question arises from which perspectives we can view the banality of evil in everyday life. Everyone defines for themselves the boundary between good and evil, right and wrong. Just as dualism itself can only exist within its own contradiction, it is the responsibility of each individual to consciously perceive and question the boundaries associated with and created by himself.

Saysay.Love proposes that art can change minds and hearts. It is a way to understand us as part of a bigger whole, to dissolve boundaries and to support us as an indicator of the conscious in relation to profound paradigm shifts in the vitality of independent thinking.

a short film about the project and invitation from the initiator

The Mission

The project and it's Goals

There has never been a more pressing time for an unconventional approach to find meaning and purpose in our increasingly complex lives.

We are at a crossroads - today our technological prowess far exceeds awareness of our ethical pitfalls. We are walking on the edge of our demise, never before reached as close in all of recorded history.

Our beloved ideals and morals all fall short because we are too busy representing ourselves. They can no longer be used as a true compass in a world amidst epistemic and ecological collapse.

Can our art catalyse a change, can it be used as a light on the path to a better future? Can our art and technology become the immune system for the collective psyche drowning in an endless stream of misinformation and entertainment?  Can they help us shatter the mould of our fears, heal and mend where we are broken? Can they help us find our new mythos, a new story which could unite us and provide a framework to make sense of the complex world we inhabit today?

We believe so.

The Banality of Evil in our Daily Lives art competition is an open call for artists to communicate what they see as the banality of evil in our daily lives. It poses a challenge to communicate that which has never been communicated before and create a platform for groundbreaking ideas to be brought into our collectivity.

The project will draw on the power of art to give voice to our hopes, using this voice as a gathering call for other artists and like-minded individuals to speak up, to focus their attention and skills in envisioning a future we can proudly share.

We are raising a unique international stage to showcase exemplary artwork, through the establishment of a non-profit organization, that is aligned with our main goal to motivate and inspire.

The competition aims to provide inspiration and solutions that address the most important crisis that faces humanity today: the loss of our humanity.

The project will offer the possibility to engage in a truly open discussion on most critical global issues and offer ways to use artistic expression to go beyond the limitations of our particular beliefs and geographic borders.

To this end we welcome all artists with multicultural and multidisciplinary backgrounds to participate and strongly believe that diversity is vital for the success of our mission.


Call for Artists

AN OPEN INVITATION TO CONTRIBUTE

This is an open call for artists to communicate what they see as the banality of evil in our daily lives. It poses a challenge to communicate that which has never been communicated before and create a platform for groundbreaking ideas to be brought into our collectivity.

Artists the world over are invited to submit work that will use art as the language to communicate their hopes in creating a new vision for the world.

Your piece of art should express, in your perception, the Banality of Evil in our Daily Lives, which has evolved out of our thoughtless behaviour.


Guidelines

How It Works
Selection Process

Only one artwork per entry is accepted. Your work must be submitted via email or a downloadable link for text, photographs and via Youtube for videos, along with the completed registration form, your CV, a title and statement about your art work and how it relates to the topic, as well as a statement about your work in general.

Artwork in the following categories can be submitted:

  • Painting & Drawing

  • Sculpture

  • Photography and Media Art

  • Performance Art

The Banality of Evil in our Daily Lives art competition is an open call for all artists, to communicate what they see as the banality of evil in our daily lives.  The selection criteria is based on creativity, imagination, professionalism and expression of the subject.  All entries will be judged equally regardless of the background of the entrant.  We would like to open the stage for diversity to thrive.

Artists are highly encouraged to document their creative process, which will be presented along with the artwork itself. Initial stages of artwork selection will be by public vote on our interactive social media platforms. The next stage of the selection process will involve registered members as well as artists and prominent members of the art community.

The appointed jury members will select a winner in each category.  All winners works will be exhibited at the final exhibition in Berlin, Germany. Artwork must be submitted no later than 15 March 2020. If your artwork is selected, it will be displayed on our social media platforms, i.e Facebook, Instagram and Twitter along with your name, the title and artist statement.

 Staying true to the crowd-sourcing concept, the preliminary voting will happen on the above mentioned platforms.  Artists are encouraged to submit their works as early as possible to begin the selection process. Prizes will be awarded to one artist in each category.

Each prize will include a cash amount of US $2000.

Jury

Our jury members will form part of an international panel of esteemed individuals who have proven expertise in arts, culture, community and social practices.  The judges will be announced at a later stage. The most popular artwork, by public vote on social media, will be nominated for the final round where the selected jury will decide on works to be displayed in the exhibition, as well as award prize winners.

Prize winners will be notified via email prior to the exhibition.

While the jury will develop a framework within which they will agree to adjudicate each entry, some key notions would be creativity, imagination, professionalism, and expression engagement on the Banality of Evil in our Daily Lives competition virtual platforms.

What Artists Receive
  • Artists whose work has been selected to be part of the competition, will receive a "Thank You Certificate" for participation in the artist call.

  • All selected artists it will gain exposure on our social media platforms, i.e Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with targeted international campaigns

  • The top 10 artworks in each of the 4 categories which receive most public votes will proceed to the jury voting round. Jury board will review all submitted works which will be exhibited at the final exhibition in Berlin, Germany.

  • It is envisaged that the jury selected artists will also have their work published in a book that will document the project.

  • Only the winners (4) of each category will be invited to Germany to be a part of the exhibition to receive the art award.

Art Awards

The winner of each category will receive US $2000.  The project will culminate in a final exhibition to be held in Berlin Germany in September/October of 2020 (date to be confirmed). As well as being part of the Berlin Exhibition, finalists will have the opportunity to gain exposure through media and a chance to travel to Berlin, Germany.

How to Submit

Step by Step Guide

Only one artwork per entry will be accepted. A successful registration implies a submission of one and only one artwork that is meeting our format and data requirements (listed below). Your artwork must be submitted along with the completed registration form

It is crucially important that you set the proper context for your artwork. Make sure that your answer in the registration form contains a description of how your artwork is related to the theme of the project. This description is obligatory and will be used throughout all our channels to promote and select your work.

Important Dates

• Submissions accepted from 1 November to 15 March 2020.

• The submission form will go offline at midnight CET on 15th March 2020.
• Last submissions will be posted on the 16th of March on our social media channels.

• Final public voting on all social media channels will be possible from 16 March to 22nd March midnight CET.  
No likes will be counted and included after this date!

• Jury voting starts on 23 March 2020 - 1 April 2020

• Exhibition opening in Berlin September/October of 2020 - dates will be announced.
• Final Award ceremony at the opening of the exhibition in Berlin.

  1. Please read our T&Cs before entering the competition
  2. Your artwork media files must be clearly identifiable and contain your name and the title of your artwork in the following way: Your Name - "Artwork Title", Country, Year

  3. Double-check if your digital data complies with our file requirements and fill out the registration form.
    The competition allows only one entry with one artwork.


    Artwork data should comply with following format requirements:

    •   Photos
    As images in high quality .jpeg  or uncompressed .tiff at a mininum resolution of 8MP or higher.

    •   Paintings
    Need to be photographed in good light, with additional close-ups. File format criteria as for Photos, at a mininum resolution of 8MP or higher.

    •   Sculptures
    Either by 360 degree video, not longer than 3 minutes, or by maximum 12 pictures from all sides in good light. File format criteria as for Videos

    •  Video / Animation
    Please upload mp4 video file, at least 60 seconds long, minimum HD 1080p resolution. Additionally please provide an image to be used a cover for the video.

    •  Performance
    Please upload mp4 video file, minimum HD 1080p resolution. Additionally please provide an image to be used a cover for the video.

  4. Submit the completed registration form along with your artwork, by no later than 15 March 2020 using one of the recommended cloud services:

    For all image data please provide a link to either Google Drive, Dropbox or WeTransfer.
    For all video files we recommend using Vimeo. Please enable download in your Vimeo settings.

The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.

The Source

Albert Einstein

Art is the name we have given to humanity’s most primal response to the mystery of existence. It was in the face of the mystery that dance, music, poetry, and painting were born.

The Source

J. F. Martel

The only moral lesson which is suited for a child--the most important lesson for every time of life--is this: 'Never hurt anybody.'

The Source

Rousseau

Indifference to me is the epitome of all evil

The Source

Elie Wiesel

Science brings knowledge, art brings revelation and religion redemption. Art penetrates into the interior of earthly matter in order to take out the interior and thus transfigure the exterior. They reconcile science and religion.

The Source

Karl May

Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.

The Source

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come.

The Source

Victor Hugo

Somewhere beyond right and wrong, there is a field. I will meet you there.

The Source

Rumi

Crowdfunding

From People to People

This platform was created to facilitate the launch of one of the most exciting art projects today. We believe that Art has the power to catalyze change and with your support our motivation is to spread a message of hope the World over.

64 128.94 €

Raised

14k

Contributors

224

Remaining Days to the Exhibition

Numbers are a placeholder
Crowdfunding Page
A placeholder for a feature under development.

Social Media

Artwork SubmissionS

Please visit our official instagram channel for a complete list of submissions.
Like your favorites and share with your friends. Click on the Instagram symbol and you will be taken directly to the artwork on our Instagram channel.

A placeholder for a feature under development.

Social Media

social Home base for the project

All copyright to the images rests with their appropriate owners. Participating artists agree to our Terms & Conditions, specifically that their artwork will be used to promote growth of the project. Such usage might include posting artwork on our social media channels and the website of the project.

Frequently Asked Questions

This list is continuously growing and updated, please come again to see if your question found its answer.
(4. October 2019)

What is the Banality of Evil in our Daily Lives art competition?

The Banality of Evil in our Daily Lives Art Prize is a unique international art competition that aims to bring awareness to the idea of ‘thoughtlessness’ of our times.  We will be raising international stage to showcase exemplary artwork that tackles the idea of the existence of evil in modern society that is somehow not seen as evil and to offer potential solutions to this concept through artistic vision.

What motivated you to establish the Banality of Evil in our Daily Lives art competition?

The Banality of Evil in our Daily Lives art competition was originated by the artist and visual activist SaySay.Love.  SaySay.Love has a unique way of seeing the world. Born with an optical disability making it impossible to see the world three-dimensionally. His work shares his emotional experiences and unique reflections on social issues. Thinking with his heart rather than just intellect being the driving force behind much of his work.  His passion for addressing social issues inspired him to start a global conversation in the form of an art competition opening discourse around the ‘thoughtlessness’ of our times. SaySay is urging us to give thought to the idea that many of history’s greatest evils, instead of being carried out by fanatics or sociopaths, were done by ordinary people who accepted the premises of their state and actions, as “normal”.  This “normal” being exemplified in the philosophical works of Hannah Arendt by coining the phrase “the banality of evil”. SaySay.Love has created a unique interactive platform, inviting artists from around the globe to submit work showing how perceived “evil” is yet seen as “normal” in our daily lives.

Who should enter?

We are calling artists from across the globe who are older than 18 years to submit their entries.  Only 1 piece of art per entrant will be allowed. Work in the following categories will be accepted:  Painting and Drawing, Sculpture, Photography, Video and Digital Media Art and Performance Art.
Most importantly we are looking for groundbreaking ideas.

What is the process for entry?

The call for entries opens on the 1st of November 2019
Participants will need to fill out the registration form and send the artwork to submissions@boeart.org. You will need to include a link to your cloud sharing platform in case if media files exceed 10MB file size limit.

ONLY ONE artwork per entry will be accepted. A successful registration implies a submission of one and only one artwork that is meeting our format and data requirements. Your artwork must be submitted along with the completed registration form

It is crucially important that you set the proper context for your artwork. Make sure that your answer in the registration form contains a description of how your artwork is related to the theme of the project. This description is obligatory and will be used throughout all our channels to promote and select your work.

Please see criteria for submission. As soon as artwork is submitted, selected works will be uploaded to social media channels and the first selection of pieces as voted by the public will commence. Artists who meet with the competition criteria will need to declare their indemnity on the registration form authorising the organisers to publish work online.
A discussion thread will be created on social media for participation and engagement.

The closing date for entering is the 15th of March 2020. Jury selection of work for final places in the competition will take place from 16th March to 1st April 2020. To make it more fair to all artist, we introduced a wild card that can be drawn by each jury and team member. Wildcard selected artist will also be reviewed by the judging jury.

The final exhibition date will be set for September/October of 2020 at a venue in Berlin, Germany.

In what format should an entry be submitted?

The entry needs to be uploaded onto digital format so that judges are able to view the submissions on a computer screen from anywhere in the world.

Format for entries:

  1. As images in high quality .jpeg  or uncompressed .tiff at a mininum resolution of 8MP or higher.

  2. Need to be photographed in good light, with additional close-ups. File format criteria as for Photos, at a mininum resolution of 8MP or higher.

  3. Sculptures: Either by 360 degree video, not longer than 3 minutes, or by maximum 12 pictures from all sides in good light. File format criteria as for videos.

  4. Videos / Animation: Please upload mp4 video file, at least 60 seconds long, minimum HD 1080p resolution. Additionally please provide an image to be used a cover for the video.

  5. Performance: Please upload mp4 video file, minimum HD 1080p resolution. Additionally please provide an image to be used a cover for the video.

What content is expected to be included in the submission?
  1. Your artist statement (a brief representation for and in support of, your own work to give the viewer a better understanding of you as an artist)

  2. All selected artists it will gain exposure on our social media platforms, i.e Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with targeted international campaigns

  3. A detailed account of the process in which the work was created

  4. A short biography of the artist

What benefits do the artists receive from participation?
  • Artists whose work has been selected to be part of the competition, will receive a "Thank You Certificate" for participation in the artist call.

  • All selected artists it will gain exposure on our social media platforms, i.e Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with targeted international campaigns

  • The top 10 artworks in each of the 4 categories which receive most public votes will proceed to the jury voting round. Jury board will review all submitted works which will be exhibited at the final exhibition in Berlin, Germany.

  • It is envisaged that the jury selected artists will also have their work published in a book that will document the project.

  • Only the winners (4) of each category will be invited to Germany to be a part of the exhibition to receive the art award.

How much money will the winning submissions receive?

The overall winners of each of the 4 categories will receive a cash prize of US $2000.
The categories are: Painting & Drawing; Sculpture; Photography; Video and Digital Media Art and Performance Art

Does it cost anything to submit an entry?

This competition does not charge an entry fee. Please note that artists are responsible for the payment and shipment of their works to the exhibition in Berlin if they are part of the top 40 winners.

Who is funding the project?

This competition is independently funded through a crowdfunding platform.  Our crowdfunding platform raises the unique opportunity to rally support that will go toward building momentum and raising awareness around the topic of the competition. Please follow the link for more information.

Who is on the judging panel?

The judging panel will comprise of an international panel of esteemed individuals who have proven expertise in art, culture, community and social practices.

What criteria will the judging panel base a decision on?

The Banality of Evil in our Daily Lives art competition is an open call for all artists, to communicate what they see as the banality of evil in our daily lives.  The selection criteria is based on creativity, imagination, professionalism and expression of the subject.  All entries will be judged equally regardless of the background of the entrant.  We would like to open the stage for diversity to thrive.

Artwork media copyright and ownership

All copyright to the artwork media remains with their appropriate owners. Participating artists agree to our Terms & Conditions, specifically that their artwork will be used to promote growth of the project. Such usage might include posting artwork on our social media channels and the website of the project.

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