Contemporary Talents Competition: Water

The Contemporary Talents Competition is an international visual arts prize organized by the Fondation François Schneider, an institution based in Wattwiller, France, dedicated to the intersection of art and water. The call invites visual artists from around the world to present works or project proposals exploring water across aesthetic, poetic, scientific, geographic, or political dimensions.

The competition will select 4 to 7 laureates from a pool of roughly 30 finalists. Each laureate receives EUR 15,000, which serves as prize money and covers the official acquisition of the artwork for the foundation’s permanent collection, with the award reduced to EUR 8,000 for photographic or video works issued in multiple editions. For unproduced sculpture and installation proposals, the foundation also provides a production budget of up to EUR 50,000.

Applications are accepted online during the designated call period, which closes on 22 November 2026. The winning artworks will enter the foundation’s collection and be showcased in a dedicated exhibition at the art centre.

What is funded

The competition funds the official acquisition of contemporary visual artworks focused exclusively on the theme of water. Awarded artists receive an acquisition prize of EUR 15,000 per laureate, which is reduced to EUR 8,000 if the submitted photography or video artwork is produced in multiple editions.

In addition to the acquisition prize, artists proposing new, unproduced sculpture or installation projects can be awarded a separate production budget capped at EUR 50,000. Existing works in painting, drawing, photography, video, textile art, and completed sculptures or installations do not qualify for production support. The foundation also funds a major group exhibition of the winning artists at its Contemporary Art Centre in Wattwiller.

Who can apply

The competition is open to individual visual artists of all nationalities who are of legal age, with both individual and collective registrations accepted. Applicants must demonstrate a solid professional artistic background or hold a recognized degree from an art school.

Eligible candidates must establish a continuous and recent professional track record over the past five years. This track record must be evidenced through several solo or group exhibitions, publications such as monographs and exhibition catalogues, or documented artist residencies.

Conditions and requirements

Eligible artistic disciplines comprise fine and visual arts, including painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, photography, video, and textile art. Performing arts and music are strictly excluded from the competition. Each candidate or collective is permitted to submit only one artwork or proposal per competition cycle.

All submissions must focus exclusively on the theme of water, approached through realistic, utopian, figurative, or abstract concepts. While most disciplines require the submission of an already completed artwork, sculpture and installation candidates have the specific option to apply with an unrealized project proposal that includes a detailed production estimate.

Practical tip. If you are applying with an unproduced sculpture or installation, ensure your production budget does not exceed the EUR 50,000 threshold and is clearly separated from the standard EUR 15,000 acquisition fee, as production budgets are not awarded to completed pieces or other media.

How to apply

Applications must be registered through the foundation’s online portal between 23 September and 22 November 2026. Candidates can complete either an individual or a collective application based on their artistic structure.

Following the closure of the call, applications undergo a multi-stage evaluation. Between December and February, four expert committees review batches of applications to select approximately thirty finalists. The finalists are announced in March, after which an International Grand Jury deliberates in May or June to designate the 4 to 7 laureates.

Applications are submitted on the donor’s page: fondationfrancoisschneider.org.