Tamayouz Excellence Award is delighted to launch its newest award, the biannual Dia al-Azzawi Prize for Public Art, as part of its programme of championing and celebrating the built and urban environment worldwide. The new award is named after the internationally celebrated Iraqi artist Dia al-Azzawi, one of the pioneers of modern Arab art, and will run biannually.
AIMS
- Recognise artworks within the urban context that have had a transformative impact on their community.
- Empower and support young and emerging artists, architects, designers and studios.
- Respond to a challenging phase for public art in the Near East and North Africa — a phase overshadowed by vulgarity and decline in public taste.
- Create educational material in both Arabic and English based on the academic review, analysis and research undertaken on the submitted entries.
- Introduce emerging and established regional artists to a wider community, nurturing a long-lasting network and community of like-minded individuals interested in the betterment of regional urban environments.
- Establish dialogue with local authorities responsible for public art with the mission of improving the state of public art in the Middle East and North Africa.
ELIGIBILITY
The Dia al-Azzawi Prize for Public Art seeks transformative permanent and temporary projects of all types ranging from murals, sculptures, monuments, urban performances, installations, public spaces, graffiti, architecture and planning. These artworks should not be exhibited in private spaces or as part of private collections, but rather in public spaces ensuring their accessibility to wider communities.
