YEAR OF HOPE: MOZAIK Philanthropy's Second International Open Call For Art in Solidarity with WOMAN. LIFE. FREEDOM.

The 2023 Future Art Awards is an arts-based expression of hope for the future of Iran.

LOS ANGELES, March 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In the spirit of renewal and hope, and in cross-cultural celebration of Norooz 1402 (Persian New Year), MOZAIK Philanthropy has now opened its second international call for art in solidarity with the  WOMAN. LIFE. FREEDOM. movement in Iran. Titled "Year of Hope", the open call is free to submit for artists of all ages and creative practices using contemporary art as a medium for social change. Artists are encouraged to submit works that interpret the hopeful future of Iran, as thousands of women, men and youth have sustained a revolutionary movement since September 2022, demanding complete emancipation from the Islamic Republic and from all forms of oppression and dictatorship.

Arguably the greatest human rights movement of the modern era, the oppressed public of Iran have risen up in defiance of a brutal regime following the tragic death of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman who died in police custody after being reportedly beaten by the Iranian morality police on September 16th, 2022. Thousands of peaceful protestors, artists, writers, journalists, educators, labor activists, political dissidents and even children have demanded freedom with their lives as the regime continues to arrest and execute protestors in this escalating humanitarian crisis.

"The universal ideals of 'woman, life, freedom' reverberate throughout peaceful protests in cities across the world, in solidarity with the Iranian people, and as aspirational human rights for all people, in all places," said MOZAIK Philanthropy's Executive Director, Keely Badger. "We are honored to amplify the voices of artists and activists at this pivotal moment in history."

Since launching the Future Art Awards in 2020, MOZAIK Philanthropy has awarded over 350 global artists with artist support grants and virtual exhibition exposure, covering front-line social and environmental justice issues nationally and internationally. Winning artists have included photographers, painters, sculptors, street artists, muralists, mixed-media artists, visual, multi and interdisciplinary artists, illustrators, animators, 3D artists, NFT artists, cartoonists, technologists, shorts filmmakers, poets, art writers, composers, weavers, dancers, and creative performers.

The 2023 Future Art Awards: WOMAN. LIFE. FREEDOM.: Year of Hope will receive submissions through April 2nd, 2023, with a jury of artists and arts professionals conducting a completely blind review of the art. Selected artists will be featured in an online group exhibition and will receive prize honoraria. The judging criteria will honor outstanding contemporary artworks for creative excellence across the following categories: originality, personality, quality of composition, creativity, skills, concepts of activism, justice or representation, overall emotional impression, and adherence to the awards' interpretive theme: WOMAN. LIFE. FREEDOM.: Year of Hope.

For more information and to submit, please visit: https://mozaikphilanthropy.org/faa/
Media Contact: Keely Badger, keely@mozaikphilanthropy.org

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SOURCE MOZAIK Philanthropy