Bally Artist Award of the Year 2020

Sloganism and Sloganisms is the theme of the Bally Artist of the Year 2020 Award.

The shortlisted works are selected by the Foundation in collaboration with MASI and the winning artist of the Bally Prize 2020 will be temporarily presented at the exhibition spaces at Palazzo Reali in Lugano, in addition to the commissioned artwork being displayed at locations selected by Bally.

The competition is open until October 30th, 2020 and is accessible to both individuals and groups, either born or currently residing in the Swiss Canton of Ticino, with no age restrictions.

Please see further information on how to participate on https://www.fondazionebally.ch/it/artsubmission-top-content.html

The Theme
Participants are invited to reflect on the relationship between the artistic value of an artwork and its meanings, focusing attention on the role of communication within the creative process and the "cross-contaminations", further expanded by external factors such as slogans whose impacts, particularly exacerbated through social networks, can influence the creative impulse.

The immediacy of relationships, signs and words that most impact us determine an imprint that also involves the art sphere. Art identifies a way of communication, obtained through different techniques and diverse mediums of expression whose meanings either cannot always be fully coded, contain a subliminal dimension or even have a value of meta-message with different levels of readings.

The incisive and concise formula of a slogan, mostly designed for advertising or political purposes, is the result of the intention to influence and direct the collective conscience, contributing to the formation of a trend in society or, at times, acting as a catalyst. The information channels and propaganda that, incidentally, can draw from the languages of art and vice versa, interact with each other, hence opening new horizons to the universal imagination. The immediacy of a slogan or a "sloganistic" image can be linked to a transformative process that is often not easily and completely understood.

Participating artists to the Bally Artist of the Year 2020 Award are free to trace their vision through the media deemed most suitable and to report on the perception of the truth contained in slogans of yesterday, today or tomorrow, on the changes and goals pursued by the slogan culture, as well as their role as a booster for ideals produced by the radicalism of some widespread stances and the consequent impact on the artists’ work.

"Sloganism and Sloganisms" is an invitation to develop languages that connect "form and message", generating an interaction that catches the eye and stimulates the thought.