Belonging

A multi-disciplinary art competition

The competition

The competition's theme is Belonging, the interpretation of which is up to each artist or collective. We want to see a range of projects from talented artists across the globe. We actively encourage entries from artists from backgrounds who are currently underrepresented in the art industry, however, we are open to applications from everyone as we wish to make the art industry for everyone.

The winner

The overall winner of this years competition was Oleg Gant with the project Transgression. Oleg is a Lithuanian artist, whose work has been exhibited internationally. He also creates NFTs for sale through his Foundation page. If you’re unsure what NFTs are, the Design & Artists Copyright Society wrote an amazing piece explaining there, which you can read here.

Artist statement

The “Transgression” project is an exploration of creating portraits of people I have encountered in my life, people whom I believe I know well. However, it turns out that none of these portraits physically resemble their subjects. In each piece, I strive to uncover the hidden passions, emotions, fears, joys and hopes of those I photograph and paint.

I turn these concealed emotions inside out, possibly distorting their perfect external images, revealing them as open and perhaps vulnerable. I search for the colors, light, and even the darkness hidden deep within them.

This is how I see them, how I feel them - they are beauty.