Ensaaf Decade of Disappearances Art Contest

Ensaaf (meaning justice) is a non-profit organization that works to document and bring justice to those involved in state-sponsored crimes perpetrated in India, particularly in Punjab during the 1980s and 1990s when human rights violations were rampant as part of a counterinsurgency.

To bring more awareness to this issue, Ensaaf is hosting the “Decade of Disappearances” art contest:

We are calling on artists to create print media pieces that shed light on human rights abuses and state-sponsored disappearances in Punjab, India. Although perpetrators remain free and unpunished, Ensaaf wants you to show the world that those who were disappeared are not forgotten. Submissions accepted until November 30, 2012.

The submission deadline is November 30th. Read more about the contest below, or at their Facebook page:

Are you a visual artist who is passionate about the struggle for human rights? Do you believe art can help tell the stories of people disappeared by their governments? Then take part in Ensaaf’s Decade of Disappearances Art Contest.

We are calling on artists to create print media pieces that shed light on human rights abuses and state-sponsored disappearances in Punjab, India. Although perpetrators remain free and unpunished, Ensaaf wants you to show the world that those who were disappeared are not forgotten. Submissions accepted until November 30, 2012.

Awards
1) Winning piece will be the face of Ensaaf’s December social media campaign.
2) Winning artist will receive the signed, iconic, limited edition fine art print titled 1984 by Singh Twins.
3) All entries and artists will be featured on Ensaaf’s social media sites.Winner will be announced on December 10, 2012 to commemorate International Human Rights Day!Be sure to review the rules and regulations below and submit your entries at http://ensaaf.org/programs/community/artcontest/Questions for inspiration:
1) What is a disappearance and how does it feel? Who are the disappeared? To learn about the Decade of Disappearances in Punjab, visit http://ensaaf.org/about/faq/
2) Why and/or how must the global community represent the disappeared and unlawfully killed in Punjab?
3) How does India’s failure to address gross human rights violations impact its citizens and the world?

Judging Criteria:
1) How well does the piece address the theme: Decade of Disappearances?
2) How much creativity and originality is demonstrated in the piece?
3) Quality of artistic composition and overall design based on the theme.
4) Overall impression of the art: What is the effect of the artwork in general and as a whole? Does the artwork stand on its own as a complete and outstanding work of art?

Guidelines/Rules
1) Eligibility: The contest is open to artists of all ages, religions, and nationalities.
2) Print media only
3) Artists must complete an entry form and upload their image by November 30, 2012 (11:59pm PST). 4) Each artist may only submit one entry.
5) Size of artwork
– Must be printable to 11 x 17
– Max. 300 DPI
– Must be saved as high resolution JPEG file
– File must not exceed 10MB
6) Artists must submit a description of their artwork, limited to 250 words (space is provided on the entry form).
7) Artwork must represent human rights violations that took place in Punjab from 1984 to the mid-90s
8) Artwork must be representative of Ensaaf’s mission statement.
9) Must be original artwork. Artists cannot re-use pieces that were previously created.
Artwork that contains any third-party materials that violate or infringe (or may infringe) any copyright, trademark, logo or other mark that identifies a brand, entity or other proprietary right of any person living or deceased (including but not limited to rights of privacy or publicity or portrayal in a false light) will be disqualified.