This competition is now CLOSED. For more opportunities, head to Events.
Synthesis Publications Presents the 2021 Art Competition
Enlighten Us
The Ocular Age
Background art by the National Drawing Day Art Contest Winner, Amuri Morris (“Our Lady”)
From a cryptic Sun Dial to “six centuries before Sherlock Holmes,” Synthesis Publications has been planting Easter Eggs about a highly anticipated 5/30. Here is all you need to know about “Enlighten Us: The Ocular Age,” a competition event that will pique your artistic instincts to the next level, with great rewards in store.
This contest welcomes any artist to submit, in any medium, a piece concerning the philosophies, culture, artwork, and more related to the Renaissance era (particularly, the Age of Enlightenment).
YOU MUST FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM (@SYNTHESISPUBLICATIONS), TAG THREE FRIENDS UNDER THE OFFICIAL “ENLIGHTEN US: THE OCULAR AGE” POST, AND SHARE THIS POST TO YOUR IG STORIES IN ORDER FOR YOUR SUBMISSION TO BE CONSIDERED FOR AWARDS, OR AT ALL.
Three champions (1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place) will be selected, along with seven other finalists (for ten winners in total). Judges will include Raisa Nosova (Professional Artist), Ilhana Kisija (Scholastic Gold Medalist in Art and Synthesis Artist), Julia Meyer (Synthesis Artist), and Elise Tao (Founder of Synthesis Publications).
The submission period will be from May 30th to June 26th at 11:59 PM EST. LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. In addition to a panel of judges, there will be a public voting period open for a week after June 26th. A 300-500 word "Artist's Statement" must be uploaded along with your submission, both of which must obey the prompt.
Prizes will consist of three Archer and Olive notebooks, varying stationary, a free one-year Synthesis Publications membership (coming soon!), an invitation to be a Synthesis contributor on staff, along with other invaluable prizes. We hope to see works Leonardo Da Vinci would smile upon!
Prerequisite Requirements
Follow us (@synthesispublications) on Instagram.
Tag three friends in the comments below this post.
Share this post to your IG Stories.
BONUS: Mention us in an IG Feed Post with the hashtag #SPContest.
The Official “Enlighten Us: The Ocular Age” Prompt & Instructions
When we think of the “Renaissance Man,” illustrious artist Leonardo Da Vinci intuitively comes to mind. He was fittingly proficient in cartography, anatomy, physics, architecture, and engineering. Da Vinci maintained that one’s maximum potential should not be curbed, to preserve the interdisciplinary enterprise of creativity. Respectively, he was a jack of all trades, yet a master unabridged.
Submit a piece of artwork, of any medium(s), that mirrors Da Vinci’s holistic view on life beyond the simplicity of the more recent “Starry Night”: a celestial cosmos bleeding past the corners of a canvas. Be sure to provide an “Artist’s Statement” with your submission (300 to 500 words long) delineating how your piece features the individualism and humanism reminiscent of the Enlightenment. We encourage you to color within (or outside) the depths of your own divine liberation. Please “enlighten us” with how you marinate in the legacy of the likes of Leonardo Da Vinci and other notable artists of the Renaissance (such as Michelangelo) through your personalized expression.
*NOTE: Submissions do not have to be in the classical European art style, but should channel the philosophy as stated above.
(BONUS: Extra points will be rewarded if you can deliver a nuanced [or straightforward] explanation to how your piece tethers the scientific and/or natural world to the cultural genius of Renaissance art, two entities that Da Vinci observed to be one and the same.)
Submit your work.
YOU MUST ATTACH ONLY TWO (2) FILES TO THIS DROPBOX: A PDF titled "Last Name, First Name - Artist's Statement" and the file of your artwork submission. If you would like to submit more than one piece, you must PayPal $1.50 for each additional entry to etao2005@gmail.com (Elise Tao). Please make separate submissions (2 files each) for every piece of artwork that is submitted from one individual.
(REMINDER: Every artwork submitted, which must be one [1] piece each Dropbox submission/upload, MUST be accompanied with an “Artist’s Statement” written in regards to the composition it is paired with.)
Rewards
1st Place: Champion
TWO of Archer and Olive’s 160 GSM Notebooks
Elise’s Champion Stationery Bundle:
Tombow Dual Brush Pens
Canson XL Mix Media Notepad (Acrylic/Watercolor/Pen and Pencil)
Arteza 36 Water Colors
A one-on-one discussion with esteemed artist Raisa Nosova
Premium access to workshop your pieces with the Synthesis Publications Editorial Team
A special website, YouTube, and Instagram feature
Exclusive access to the Judges’ Comments
Automatic invitation and admission to become a Full-Time Staff Member of Synthesis Publications
Free one-year membership to Synthesis Publications (coming soon!)
And more!
2nd Place: Runner-Up
ONE of Archer and Olive’s 160 GSM Notebook
Elise’s Runner-Up Stationery Bundle:
Sakura Pigma Micron 8-Pen Set
Pencil Pouch
Premium access to workshop your pieces with the Synthesis Publications Editorial Team
A special website, YouTube, and Instagram feature
Exclusive access to the Judges’ Comments
Automatic invitation and admission to become a Full-Time Staff Member of Synthesis Publications
Free one-year membership to Synthesis Publications (coming soon!)
And more!
3rd Place: Honorable Mention
Premium access to workshop your pieces with the Synthesis Publications Editorial Team
A special website, YouTube, and Instagram feature
Exclusive access to the Judges’ Comments
Automatic invitation and admission to become a Full-Time Staff Member of Synthesis Publications
Free one-year membership to Synthesis Publications (coming soon!)
And more!
All Top Ten Finalists
A special website, YouTube, and Instagram feature
Exclusive access to the Judges’ Comments
Automatic invitation and admission to become a Staff Contributor of Synthesis Publications
Free one-year membership to Synthesis Publications (coming soon!)
And more!