zabolis art prize
2025
Art competition
„Digital nature”
“Digital Nature"
We live in a time when the outside world - the non-digital world - can only appear as a theatrical space in which the content is being performed and recorded for another, much more real, more vital digital space. Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other rapidly evolving technologies are bringing the physical and digital worlds closer together, blurring the boundaries between the natural and the artificial, the near and the far, the real and the false. Digital reality is becoming all-encompassing - expressing a wide range of technologies and possibilities, including augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality, which simulate reality, and thus nature, in a variety of ways. On the one hand, these innovations bring us closer, but at the same time they create a divide between what is real, what is alive, what is natural. With these changes in life and its existence, with the emergence of ever newer approaches, tools or technologies, the contents and forms of art, in this case painting, are also changing. As every year, the Zabolis Art Prize, a competition for young painters that aims to touch upon these issues, this year invites artists to explore a theme that is close to these times, and at the same time very complex, encompassing discourses of secondary reality, cyber nature, virtual environments or even discourses of the digital kind - "Digital nature".
Zabolis Art Prize“ – is a creative initiative that has been running since 2009.
It focuses on the work of young artists in various fields. The aim of the competition is to encourage young artists to show their creativity, to compete in a healthy way, to learnfrom one another, to interpret a theme artistically, and to make the public aware of the younger generation of artists and their work.
20 finalists
Exhibition of the 20 finalists’ works will take place at the Titanikas Exhibition Halls.
In addition, all selected works and their authors will receive prizes and will be posted on the websites of Zabolis Partners and Vilnius Academy of Arts, as well as on the Zabolis Art Prize Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Once the committee has selected the winners, the three best entries will be announced on the 10th of May at the opening of the exhibition.
They will be awarded cash prizes of EUR 1,500 for first place, EUR 1,200 for second place, and EUR 1,000 for third place.
In addition, all selected works and their authors will receive prizes and will be posted on the websites of Zabolis Partners and Vilnius Academy of Arts, as well as on the Zabolis Art Prize Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Once the committee has selected the winners, the three best entries will be announced on the 10th of May at the opening of the exhibition.
They will be awarded cash prizes of EUR 1,500 for first place, EUR 1,200 for second place, and EUR 1,000 for third place.
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LEARNING THROUGH EXPERIMENTATION AND COLLABORATION
Our Art Prize platform offers young artists a unique opportunity to challenge themselves, hone their skills, and grow as creatives in a nurturing environment. Through their participation, these artists exchange ideas with like-minded individuals from various backgrounds. We hope to empower them to discover new perspectives, experiment, and elevate their craft to unprecedented heights.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO WIN THE ZABOLIS ART PRIZE?
Each year, we present a thought-provoking theme. This theme is designed to spark the artists’ imagination and challenge them to explore its depths. Some choose to amplify the theme in their work, others reduce it to its essence. Whatever their approach, we know from over a decade's experience that creativity flourishes when artists are confronted with intriguing concepts to work with.
The artists’ works are assessed by a committee based on their visual expressiveness, creative response to the theme, technical and conceptual originality, mastery of the chosen means of expression, and ability to present the work and the idea articulately.
The artists’ works are assessed by a committee based on their visual expressiveness, creative response to the theme, technical and conceptual originality, mastery of the chosen means of expression, and ability to present the work and the idea articulately.
WHAT DOES THE WINNER RECEIVE?
Financial prizes are awarded to the three best paintings in the competition. The works of all 20 finalists are exhibited at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Furthermore, the works of all winners and finalists, along with a bio about the artist, are featured on the Zabolis Partners and Vilnius Academy of Arts websites, as well as on the Zabolis Art Prize Facebook and Instagram accounts.