The Biennale of Graphic Arts, established in 1999, is a cyclical review/competition presenting the works of artists of the young generation, working in the field of graphic arts.[1] Since 2019, the formula of the competition has changed by specifying thematic areas that emphasise alternative values entering into a dialogue with contemporary culture and everyday life. The new formula of the biennale has been adapted to changes in contemporary art related to post-art activities (1: 1 art, ‘utilitarian’ art, material realism) and adapted to transformations conditioned by the role of graphic statements in the context of social activities (activist movements). The theme of the 13th Graphic Biennale, which will take place in spring 2023 in Poznań, is ‘Error’ – an issue which, in relation to art, criticises the existing reality as defective and imperfect, proposing instead improvements and transformations within culture and society. The competition is addressed not only to students of art schools, but also to artists from Poland and Ukraine who are under 35 years of age. In the first stage, preview files of the authors’ graphic works along with short descriptions of the ideas and techniques applied should be sent by 15 February 2023. Works qualified by the jury for the second stage should be sent to the address indicated on the website (grafikaart.pl). The projects nominated for the award will be presented at the post-competition exhibition organised at the Arsenał Municipal Gallery in Poznań and published in a catalogue accompanying the exhibition. More information about the competition is available on the website (grafikaart.pl).
More about the 13th Graphic Biennale
[1] Graphic arts – a field of art related to media message. It includes all forms of creative activity that interact with a common, socially shaped visual language.The area of graphic arts involves all forms of printing (such as offset, photocopying and digital printing), including classic graphic techniques (such as woodcut, linocut, lithography, metal techniques and serigraphy), as well as activities performed using modern information media (such as press, books, internet, television and external screens). It includes artistic activity related to the use of graphic language – simplifications, synthesis, condensation and visual communication (accepted and commonly understood visual content) – aimed at creating new forms of creative expression. Hence, graphic arts include interventions in urban space, artnet, templates, collage techniques, archival records, graphic installations, actions on billboards, murals, comments on existing information carriers, leaflets, original posters, as well as graphic works on paper or canvas and on other surfaces’. Maciej Kurak (ed.), Bunt. Nowe ekspresje, Poznań: Uniwersytet Artystyczny w Poznaniu, 2021, p. 305.