GRIP invites visual artists from around the world to participate in our new project, “Imaging Illiberalism”. This project aims to shed light on the multifaceted nature of illiberalism and its impact on various societies by engaging with visual artists to capture and reflect on its manifestations through their creative expressions.
“A generation is lost in this transition”, he shared. Promises of formal housing situation, ‘resettlement’ and ‘rehabilitation’ for the urban poor not only fail but also subjects them to life-constraining and threatening circumstances.
Explore the Rise of Illiberalism through Visual Art
Inequality, often perceived narrowly as economic differences and reduced to notions of poverty, has multiple dimensions and assumes many faces. It can entail not only differences between levels of wealth, but it can also include variances between the social status of groups; imbalances in access to education, health, justice; differentiated capacity for individuals and groups to influence political decision-making processes; discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, race and religion; unevenness in access to natural resources and benefits from their exploitation.
GRIP focuses on exploring the diverse forms and implications of inequality, and this year, we are particularly interested in examining the rise of illiberalism, which has been both a cause and consequence of growing inequality.
What We Seek
We invite visual artists from all backgrounds to submit their work for this project. We will collaborate with five selected artists to exhibit their visual material (photography, drawings, illustrations, etc.) that addresses the topic of inequality and the rise of illiberalism in specific contexts.
We are looking for visually compelling and thought-provoking representations of illiberalism and its impact on various communities. Your artwork can (but is not limited to) exploring themes such as:
- The erosion of democratic principles and institutions
- The rise of authoritarian rhetoric and policies
- The suppression of individual freedoms and dissent
- The marginalization of minority groups
- The impact of illiberalism on social cohesion and well-being
The call is open to all visual artists, including photographers, visual anthropologists, illustrators, comic artists, and others who consider themselves visual storytellers. We welcome submissions from artists of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities.
Selected Artists and Compensation
A committee of inequality scholars and visual artists will select successful artistic submissions continuously throughout 2024. The selected artists will receive EUR 300 for their contributions to the project. Their visual material will be featured on our website, exhibited at the University of Bergen, used in our annual reports, newsletters, and social media, and may also be promoted in publications and journals. Artists will be credited for their work, and they will retain copyright ownership.
How to Participate
Submit your visual material following the link below. Your submission should include:
- Three images produced by you that relate to theme of illiberalism.
- A short textual description (500 words) of the context, the themes addressed in your images, and your reflections on the imaging of inequality and illiberalism.
- A short CV (maximum one page).
Please fill out this form to submit your Imaging Inequality contribution.
We encourage you to submit your creative vision and help us shed light on the complexities of illiberalism and its impact on our world. We look forward to receiving your submissions!
For any inquiries regarding the project and submissions please contact gripinequality@uib.no
Background – Imaging Inequality 2022
GRIP launched its first Imaging Inequality project in 2021 aimed at exploring various dimensions of inequality by engaging with visual artists to reflect and illustrate different perceptions, representations, and visualizations of inequality. In 2022 six final artist were chosen to produce visual representations of inequality and present their art in both a physical and digital exhibition.
Their work was exhibited at the University of Bergen and has been featured on our website, publications, social media and is still available in the digital exhibition Imaging Inequality.
You can view the ongoing exhibition here: The Imaging Inequality Exhibition – GRIP (gripinequality.org)
Illiberalism
GRIP’s focus on the rise of illiberalism is linked to the upcoming Annual GRIP Lecture that will focus on the politics of inequality and the rise of illiberal right. Annual GRIP Lecture: Politics of Inequality and the Illiberal Right – GRIP (gripinequality.org)