The Zvono Award is awarded once a year on the basis of a publicly announced competition and with an independent expert jury. This is the most significant professional stimulation in Bosnia and Herzegovina intended for young artists, with a two-month artistic stay at the Residency Unlimited in New York as its main content. Since 2006, when it was established, the Zvono Award has been considered a valuable professional reference and a motivation for commitment to the artistic profession. It is a part of a wider network of participating organizations called the Young Visual Artist Award (YVAA) from Central and Eastern Europe, consisting of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Kosovo, Hungary, Northern Macedonia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Serbia. The Award is organized and performed in partnership with the Trust for Mutual Understanding and Residency Unlimited from New York.
Eligibility
Artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina up to 33 years of age who are actively engaged in the field of visual arts (painting and printmaking, sculpture, photography, video, objects and installations, new media, etc.) are eligible to apply for the Zvono Award. Potential candidates do not have to be citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina – it is quite enough that they live and work in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that they are connected to Bosnian artistic context. An interdisciplinary approach and experiment are welcomed, which includes the embodiment of design, sound, performing arts, dance, together with other aspects of contemporary visual culture and aesthetics. It is not necessary for applicants to have a formal art education. However, it is important that they can show beyond doubt their continuous and active engagement in art, and that they have a portfolio which suggests a strong commitment to artistic practice.
Selection
As the organizer of the Zvono Award, KRAK Center for Contemporary Culture will announce a competition on its website and appoint a jury that will independently and impartially evaluate the received applications and name four finalists and nominates the winner. The winner will be announced through KRAK communication channels and at the exhibition which will be set up in KRAK. In evaluating the received applications, the jury is guided by the artist's ability to harmonize the theme of his/hers work with the selected medium and that the art work has the power of social relevance through this harmonized unity. The Award is not given only for a single work of art, but for the overall artistic impression which includes several factors such as dedication, focus, and knowledge of the media used; but also, the way they are articulated and the presentation are of great importance. Inventiveness and originality, social responsibility, ethical awareness as well as other universal values of contemporary society are important values which are considered an integral part of a quality work of art.
