Art Master Africa kicks off its fifth edition

In its fifth edition, Art Master Africa, (AMA) a ballpoint pen art competition organized by BIC is set to kickoff.

AMA, which is BIC’s flagship art competition, invites talent across Africa and the Middle East to express their creativity by producing artwork using the infamous BIC ballpoint pen.

Art Master Africa is an annual competition that is open to artists and creatives across the Middle East and Africa region. The competition was incepted in 2017 in South Africa. Following its success, Art Master Africa expanded into the Africa region in 2019 and into the Middle East in 2021.

With this year’s theme ‘Celebrating Africa’ artists are expected to present their identity as well as their different perceptions of the African continent and cultures.

Artists can enter the competition by submitting up to three original artworks of what ‘Celebrating Africa’ means to them. Submissions will then be reviewed and shortlisted by a panel of judges including artists, art professors, art collectors, as well as winners from the 2019 and 2021 competition – Gayi Eric and Oscar Ukonu. The submission phase will run from 15-06-2022 until 31-08-2022. Once the judging phase is completed in September, winners will be announced and celebrated by the 15th of October 2022.

Commenting on the occasion, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Middle East and Africa at BIC, Peter Van den Broeck said: “We are ecstatic to announce the kick-off of the fifth edition of the Art Master Africa competition. Our flagship competition speaks to our belief in the importance and power of creativity and self-expression. Through Art Master Africa we have touched and impacted many across the region, and we plan to continue to motivate and encourage the younger generation and creative community to express themselves innovatively, as we build on and elevate our campaign year-on-year.”

First, second, and third place regional winners will be named Africa’s Art Masters and celebrated in their respective countries. They will also receive cash prizes of USD 2,000, USD 1,000, and USD 500 respectively. The first-place regional winner will also get their online personal gallery as well as the opportunity to join the BIC Art Collection exhibited in Paris, France. National winners will receive a prize of USD 500 each. To find out more about the Art Master Africa competition, visit the website here.