Talents Contemporains Competition: Water, 16th Edition

About this call

The Fondation François Schneider, whose art centre in Wattwiller, Alsace, France is dedicated to the theme of water, opens the 16th edition of its Talents Contemporains competition. Visual artists of all nationalities aged 18 and over may submit one work or project on the theme of water in painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, photography, video, textile art or other visual arts; film, performing arts and music are not accepted. Installations and sculptures may be submitted as an existing work or a project with a production budget of up to EUR 50,000; all other forms must be existing works. Expert committees shortlist around thirty finalists and an international grand jury chaired by Jean-Noël Jeanneney selects up to seven winners. Each winner receives EUR 15,000 for the acquisition of the work, which joins the foundation's collection, and the winning works are exhibited at the Wattwiller art centre in winter 2028.

Who can apply

• International applicants
• Medium: Painting / Drawing / Sculpture / Installation / Photography / Video / Textile
• Entry fee: See official site
• Open to visual artists of all nationalities aged 18 and over, except previous winners of the competition. Applicants must demonstrate a professional artistic practice and/or hold an art school degree, and show a recent and sustained track record over the past five years (several exhibitions, publications or artist residencies). The work must be on the theme of water. One work or project per applicant per year; a work entered once may not be resubmitted. Film, performing arts, music and ephemeral works are not accepted. Only installations and sculptures may be submitted as projects (budget up to EUR 50,000); other forms must be existing, unique works. Oil paintings on canvas and drawings must not exceed 320 x 210 cm for a single piece; diptychs and triptychs are accepted. Video works longer than five minutes must be submitted as an excerpt of no more than five minutes, and a soundtrack containing text must have English subtitles. Multi-edition photography or video receives EUR 8,000. Indicate in the caption if an image was generated with the help of AI. Artists may register individually or as a collective. Apply online in French (French-speaking applicants) or English, with registration form and signed rules, ID, CV, portfolio (max 20 A4 pages, 30 MB), statement, technical sheet and 3 to 5 visuals. Winners must deliver the work ready for exhibition with display elements at their own expense and attend the installation. The public pages do not state an application fee.