Tag Archives: African Artists

awards, competition, Events, Opportunities

BIC ART MASTER AFRICA CONTEST, 2026

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Application Deadline: 11:59 pm GMT Monday 20-July-2026.

LOCATION: Africa

BIC® brings to you the “Art Master” Ball Pen art contest that encourages the talents across Africa and the Middle East to showcase their creativity and compete with fellow artists.

Contest Theme: “Tomorrow in Your Hands” is a theme that celebrates the power of creativity to shape what lies ahead. It invites artists to express their hopes, stories, and imagination, showing that tomorrow is something we create with our own hands.

ELIGIBILITY:

Entry is open to all Africa and Middle East residents aged 13 years or older. Entrants under 18 years of age must have the consent of a parent/guardian to enter. Further, the parent/guardian of the entrant must read and consent to the Terms. Parents/guardians may be required by the Promoter to enter into a further agreement as evidence of consent to the minor participating in this competition. All warranties and agreements provided in the Terms by an Entrant are also deemed to be provided by the parent or legal guardian of such an Entrant if the Entrant is a minor

Eligible Countries: Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The Competition Period starts at 12:00 am GMT Monday 20-APRIL-2026.

The competition closes at 11:59 pm GMT Monday, 20-JULY-2026.

No entries will be accepted after this time

Entrants should ensure that content is original, authentic and the rightful property of the entrant. It is a condition of entry that the prize winner agrees for their name to be published for marketing purposes anywhere in the world in any format

Entrants are required to create a large scale (no smaller than A3) piece of art using only BIC® Ball Pen. Once an entrant has completed an art, art can be submitted through the Competition Platform.

Entrants can submit 3 entries that are substantially unique and submitted separately in accordance with these terms.

BENEFIT:

BIC Art Master of Africa receives 2,000 USD cash prize, personalized virtual gallery developed by BIC for the winner (to manage, upload the winning artwork for 1 years) and possibility of getting the artwork featured in La BIC collection of Art by purchasing the artwork.

Second Place Prize Winner: receives a 1,000 USD cash prize only.

Third Place Prize Winner: receives a 500 USD cash prize only.

National Winner of Country: receives a 500 USD cash prize only.

Lucky Voter winner receives prize valued at 250 USD

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awards, business funding, Events, Opportunities, other events

CALL FOR PROJECTS “UNESCO-ASCHBERG PROGRAMME FOR ARTISTS AND CULTURAL PROFESSIONALS”

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Application Deadline: 23 February 2026 (23:59 UTC+1)

LOCATION: Multiple Regions

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launches a call open to governments and public institutions, as well as civil society organizations, to support initiatives aimed at protecting and promoting the status of the artist and artistic freedom.

ELIGIBILITY:

This call for projects aims to support government- and civil society-led initiatives that protect and promote the status of the artist and artistic freedom in its broad sense, as recognised by UNESCO—that is, encompassing a bundle of rights protected under international law, including:

The right to create without censorship or intimidation

The right to have artistic work supported, distributed, and remunerated

Artists’ right to freedom of movement

Artists’ right to freedom of association

The protection of the social and economic rights of artists

Everyone’s right to participate in cultural life 

To advance these rights, the call for projects offers two tracks:

TRACK 1 – FOR GOVERNMENTS AND PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS: Technical assistance to revise or design laws, regulations, policies, and measures that promote and protect the status of the artist and artistic freedom.

TRACK 2 – FOR CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS: Financial assistance for innovative projects that advance the status of the artist and artistic freedom at the local, national, regional, or international level. These may encompass, for example, capacity building, advocacy, monitoring and research, etc.

To find out more about each of the two tracks, including the eligibility criteria, please read the call for projects document carefully.

Track 1—For Governments and Public Institutions: Project proposals under track 1 may be submitted by governments and public institutions of UNESCO member states.

Priority will be given to developing countries, those whose governmental and public institutions have not yet been supported under the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme, and projects that respond to UNESCO’s strategic priorities—Africa, gender equality, Small Island Developing States (SIDS), youth, and fostering an intersectoral approach.

Applicants should be government/public institutions whose mandate is relevant for the advancement of the status of the artist and cultural professionals and artistic freedom, for example, national ministries (Culture, Finance, Labour, Tourism, Communication, Social Affairs, etc.)

Track 2 – Financial Assistance to Civil Society Initiatives: Applicants should be local, national, regional, or international civil society organizations that operate on a not-for-profit basis.

Applicants may include: Non-governmental organizations that promote the status of the artist and artistic freedom, and associations and foundations active in the cultural and creative industries, including cultural and professional associations, Networks or unions of artists and cultural professionals, Academic institutions and research centers.

To be eligible, applicants must: Have at least two (02) years of legal existence (proof of legal registration required); Have directly implemented, over the past two years, at least one project in the cultural and creative sector (provide activity reports and financial statements for the past two years, 2023- 2024).

Priority will be given to CSOs that have not previously received support under the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme and projects that benefit artists and cultural professionals from developing countries and that respond to UNESCO’s strategic priorities—Africa, gender equality, Small Island Developing States (SIDS), youth, and fostering an inter-sectoral approach.

BENEFIT:

Track 1—For Governments and Public Institutions: Financial Support for Logistics: While technical assistance offered under track 1 is primarily expert-driven, applicants may request up to 30,000 USD in order to support the logistics of the project’s implementation (e.g., logistical organization of meetings/consultations/capacity-building activities, funding of communication activities, etc.). Applicants are therefore invited to present a preliminary budget for the planned activities, as indicated in the application form.

Track 2 – Financial Assistance to Civil Society Initiatives: Applicants may request financial support for up to USD 50,000 to implement their proposed project. This funding can cover costs directly related to project delivery

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