Tag Archives: international competitions

BDFIL PRIZE COMICS COMPETITION FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF COMICS

Application Deadline: Monday, June 15, 2026

LOCATION: Switzerland

This year, 2026, BDFIL is partnering with the Lausanne Water Department and the Roman Museum of Lausanne-Vidy for its BDFIL Prize competition, which aims to promote emerging comic book artists.

ELIGIBILITY:

The theme of the 2026 edition is “Running Waterways.” The deadline for submissions is Monday, June 15, 2026

The competition BDFIL Prize is open to anyone 15 years of age or older, living in Switzerland or abroad, whose work has never been published in the form of an album, regularly in a large-circulation newspaper or magazine, or on an expert-reviewed online platform, or under any editorial license. Participants whose work is being published when the jury deliberates (June 16, 2026) will be disqualified. Each participant may enter only one project. As the competition aims to encourage and reward complete artists, collective entries will not be accepted. Winners of previous editions of the competition, except for special mentions, are not allowed to participate.

The competition is free to enter.

You may submit a complete comic story on a single page (A3 format, vertical), with or without text.

BENEFIT:

Three BDFIL prizes:

Prize: 1st Prize CHF 2,000 and the drawing of the 2027 Prize flyer

2nd Prize: CHF 1,500

3rd Prize: CHF 1,000

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CALL COAL PRIZE 2026 : THE NIGHT

Application Deadline: April 28, 2026

LOCATION: France

The COAL Prize 2026 is dedicated to the theme of night. The COAL Prize invites artists to defend the night as a common good, a major ecological issue for the regeneration of life, a refuge, a diversity of languages to be celebrated, and a right to rest and to darkness.

ELIGIBILITY:

Ten artists are nominated by a selection committee of professionals for their projects submitted in response to this international call for entries. The Prix COAL and its special mentions are awarded from among these ten projects by a jury made up of representatives of the partner organizations and personalities from the fields of art and ecology. In addition, all the entries considered by COAL and the selection committee help to make known artists and projects that may be solicited or promoted according to other opportunities and actions carried out by the association and its partners.

Artistic value, relevance to the issues, originality (new approaches, themes, or perspectives), pedagogy (ability to convey a message and raise awareness), social and participatory approach (engagement, testimony, efficiency, societal impact), eco-design, project feasibility, and collaboration with nature conservation actors are taken into account. The COAL Prize supports artistic projects in progress or forthcoming. Its grant is not intended to cover the full production costs of the project and should be considered as support for its development.

The application file must consist of the following documents, compiled into a single PDF file named SURNAME_First name_2026_Project title (the file must not exceed 30 MB):

The application form, available for download HERE

A detailed description of the proposed project, presenting its artistic dimension and its relevance to the theme, as well as a technical note and a budget estimate

At least two HD visuals illustrating the project

A Curriculum Vitae and an artistic portfolio

All proposals must be submitted by 23:59 on 28 April 2026 at the latest, via the COAL server :  upload.projetcoal.org

At the same time, a call for projects is open for the COAL Student Prize, aimed at students from French arts and culture schools. The art projects appel à projets student call rigth here

BENEFIT:

The artist awarded the COAL Prize receives a grant of €12,000 and a creative residency at the heart of the Domaine de Belval, property of the François Sommer Foundation, supported by the scientific and educational teams of the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature and those of the Domaine de Belval. 

The artist awarded the Special Jury Prize receives a grant of €3,000. – The artist awarded the Ateliers Médicis mention benefits from a residency in Clichy-sous-Bois/Montfermeil, in connection with the regional forest of Bondy. The artist awarded the Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles/Paris mention, also known as Le Vaisseau, receives a grant of €2,000 and will be invited to exhibit at the Parisian institution.

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