Pixel Feelings: Competition for the Overall Image

About this call

For Parma European Youth Capital 2027, ESTATICO ETS runs an international competition to choose the artist or collective who will design the overall image of PIXEL FEELINGS, a participatory installation at SPINA, the independent contemporary art space in Parma railway station, Italy. On 20 November 2026 secondary school students in Parma and its province will each draw the emotion they feel at that moment; their drawings are digitised and laid over the winning image as emotional pixels, so the work reads as one image from afar and as many drawings up close. Results are announced on 30 November 2026. The final image measures about 18 x 3.5 m and will be shown at SPINA throughout January 2027. Technique and subject are free.

Who can apply

• Open to applicants of any nationality
• Medium: Drawing / Mixed Media / Installation
• Free entry
• Open to artists and collectives of any nationality, age, residence and training; one proposal per individual or collective, and a collective names one contact person. Applications must be in Italian. The proposal must keep the 36:7 ratio of the final image (about 18 x 3.5 m, delivered as a high resolution digital file), with free choice of technique, and allow a regular modular grid for overlaying the students' drawings. Send one email to info@spinaoffspace.com with subject PF_consegna concorso and four PDFs of at most 3 MB each, named PF_CODE_A3.01.pdf and so on, where CODE is a four capital letter code you choose: A3.01 overall image, A3.02 free sheet (photomontages, details, diagrams, references), A4.01 contacts, short biography and main experiences (Helvetica 12 pt), A4.02 concept, compositional choices and approach to integrating the students' drawings. These documents are the only basis for evaluation. Questions by 10 November 2026 (subject PF_domande concorso); contacting jury members about the competition is not allowed. Results are communicated by email on 30 November 2026. The winner must be available in December 2026 for development and coordination with SPINA; the fee is paid on completion, after delivery of the final files. Accepting the commission assigns ESTATICO ETS the exclusive economic rights to the overall image, without territorial or time limits, included in the fee. Digitisation, printing, production and installation costs are paid by the promoter. A commendation does not include a commission.