EUROPEAN ART CONTEST – 2nd Edition
Call for Applications
“Where hope and peace meet”
With this guiding principle,
the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe (FAFCE)
announces its call for artistic submissions, for which we seek artworks that express, through the universal language of art, the convergence of hope and peace and the dynamic way in which they reinforce one another.
Amid the challenges of our time and the uncertainties and conflicts straining our world, we all yearn for peace of mind and confidence in the future. Peace and hope are the cornerstones of our Christian faith and our universal human values – two realities that cannot exist without one another. True peace is not merely the absence of conflict, but an inner certainty and sense of order that springs from hope.
Among other things, this art contest is connected to the reflections shared by Pope Francis during the Year of Hope, which he also conveyed to us on the 58th World Day of Peace in January 2025.
“May we seek the true peace that is granted by God to hearts disarmed: hearts not set on calculating what is mine and what is yours; hearts that turn selfishness into readiness to reach out to others; hearts that see themselves as indebted to God and thus prepared to forgive the debts that oppress others; hearts that replace anxiety about the future with the hope that every individual can be a resource for the building of a better world.” (Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for the LVIII World Day of Peace 1st January 2025)
The Pope Leon said recently that the Church need artists.
“The Church has never considered art to be merely decorative. Instead, for the Church, art nurtures the fundamental posture of listening, through which we can learn about humanity’s aspirations and wounds, our thirst for beauty, justice and peace, and our search for meaning.”
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV TO THE ARTISTS AND CURATORS PARTICIPATING IN “THE ART OF POSSIBILITY: WEAVING TOGETHER” MEETING ORGANIZED BY THE DICASTERY FOR CULTURE AND EDUCATION
Marc Chagall said: „If all life moves inevitably towards its end, then we must, during our own, color it with our colors of love and hope “.
Emily Dickinson: „Hope is the thing with feathers “.
The competition is open to all artists in Europe who are open to transcendent or universal human values. Regardless of religious affiliation, we welcome all artists who identify with the core values of the competition and wish to contribute through their work to the promotion of a culture of faith, hope, and love.
One of the goals of this European art competition is to promote the participating artists and ensure that they can engage in the international art market in other ways as well. The EAC offers a great opportunity for artists, who can thus:
Categories:
- Painting
- Drawing – Graphic arts
- Sculpture – ceramic – stained glass
- Photography
- Music
Winning a prize:
For each of the 5 categories:
- 500 euros for the first prize,
- 300 euros for the second prize,
- 200 euros for the third prize.
Promote their art through a variety of channels:
- Exhibition of the selected artworks in Rome in June 2027;
- Meeting with other finalists and critics, curators, gallery owners, public and private art institutions that will have access to this important exhibition;
- Publication of the selected artworks on the electronic catalogue of the contest website;
Calendar:
- CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: 11th of November 2026
- Deadline: 29th of March 2027
- Evaluation by Jury for Awards: April 2027
- Publication of the results: beginning of May 2027
- Online Catalogue: May 2027
- Award ceremony and exhibition: June 2027
How to apply:
You can apply as follows: https://forms.gle/NGRYM4H4HTRQGRri8
You must submit high-resolution digital reproduction(s), photo(s) of the artwork(s) till the deadline of the contest. The jury will make its decision based on this. The artwork selected for awards must be shipped by the artists to the exhibition venue in Rome.
The image you submit needs a special format that you find in the Entry rules.
There is an entry fee of 40 euros per artist, per artwork. Each artist may submit multiple works, but no more than 3 artworks. The entry fee for 2 artworks is 80 Euro while for 3 artworks is 120 Euro.
Following the highly successful competition held in 2023, 1st edition with 126 participants, https://europeanartcontests.eu/1st-edition-call/ we are once again calling on artists to create.
We realized that this project is an opportunity for bringing the believers (Catholics and non-Catholics) and non-believers together and reflecting on the genuine values of our today’s society using another language: ART. Without fight and violence, but with imagination, creativity and …love. If first edition was focused on Saint Joseph and missing fathers in our society, or fatherhood role nowadays as a value for society, the second edition is looking to raise the awareness on other values: Hope and Peace. Can hope make our lives or our society better? Should peace affect my personal life or only outside world?
Europe, create!
For more information, please contact us at info@europeanartcontests.eu.
Cornel Barbut,
FAFCE Vice-President