International Digital Art Contest 2026

International Digital Art Contest 2026 is now open for entries!

The Academy of Fine Arts at the University of Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina), announces an open call for the exhibition of digital artworks with the aim of examining and presenting the contemporary digital art scene.

Short description

The Academy of Fine Arts at the University of Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) announces the International Digital Art Contest 2026 with the aim of presenting current artistic practices in the field of digital art and encouraging international dialogue among artists with diverse poetics and approaches.

Through this project, the organizers seek to showcase the diversity of approaches among contemporary digital artists and to create space for the development of new visual languages within the cultural context of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The contest accepts original digital artworks in two categories:

➜ Digital Static Image Artworks (Code: DSIA) – digital images, digital graphics, and digital photography
➜ Digital Moving Image Artworks (Code: DMIA) – short films, animations, and other works with a time-based dimension

The contest has no predefined theme. Artists are invited to submit the work that best represents their personal poetics, research, or artistic interests. The aim of the exhibition is to present the diversity of contemporary digital practices, from experimental and conceptual approaches to narrative, introspective, or critical forms of digital art.

Each artist may submit one work, and submissions must be individual. Artworks may, but do not have to, be connected with NFT technology; however, tokenization will not be considered a selection criterion.

Works containing insults, hate speech, incitement to violence or discrimination, or works that disrespect fundamental human values will be excluded from the contest.

Only digital artworks that exist exclusively in the digital environment and do not have an equivalent in physical space may be submitted. Works created using artificial intelligence tools will not be accepted. In cases where there is doubt about the creation process, the organizer may request documentation of the working process from the author (sketches, working file versions, project materials, or other evidence of authorship).

Selected works will be presented in two exhibition formats: in the physical gallery space of the Academy of Fine Arts Široki Brijeg and in the Academy’s virtual gallery in the metaverse on the Spatial platform.

The results will be announced on September 15, 2026.

Submission requirements:

Still Image Works

➜ File format: JPG (JPEG)
➜ Color space: RGB
➜ Maximum file size: 20 MB

Moving Image Works

➜ File format: MP4
➜ Video codec: H.264
➜ Recommended bitrate: 20–30 Mbps (VBR preferred)
➜ Frame rate: original frame rate of the work (recommended 24, 25, or 30 fps)
➜ Maximum duration: up to 2 minutes
➜ Maximum file size: 500 MB

Selected artists may be asked to provide a higher-quality version for exhibition purposes.

Who may enter?

Artists from around the world who are at least 18 years old at the time of submission are eligible to apply. Team works are not accepted.

Prize:

A total of four awards will be granted:

➜ Grand Prix – awarded to the best work in the entire competition regardless of category. The Grand Prix recognizes exceptional artistic value, conceptual clarity, innovation, and a strong visual impact within the digital medium.
➜ First Prize – Digital Still Image Artworks – awarded to the best static digital artwork created without the use of artificial intelligence tools.
➜ First Prize – Digital Moving Image Artworks – awarded to the best moving digital artwork created without the use of artificial intelligence tools.
➜ Special Jury Award – awarded to a work distinguished by specific artistic quality, an innovative approach, or a significant contribution to the digital medium that has not received one of the previous awards.