Open Call & Finalists Exhibition Conditions:

§ 1
Introduction:

1. Organizer: Royal B AB, owner of the Royal Blue Visual Arts Gallery.
2. Curator of the Exhibition: Mag Nilsson
3. Gallery: Royal Blue Visual Arts Gallery, LM Ericssons Väg 1, 12636 Hägersten
4. Artist: Professional or Amateur Photographer over 18 years of age, with at least two years of artistic achievements.
5. Applicant: an Artist applying in this Open Call and having full copyright and other rights to the submitted Artworks.
6. Participant: Artist/ Applicant qualified to participate in the Finalists Exhibition.
7. Artwork: Photo file – Photography taken in 2023 (except AI-processed files).
8. Exhibition – an event with specific conditions related to this application.
9. Entry Fee €35.

§ 2
Open Call & Exhibition conditions and dates:

1. Sending an application is not tantamount to qualifying for the Exhibition.

2. An applicant may submit 3 Artworks.

3. Applications:

• Applications will be closed by December 20 28, 2023, and emails confirming participation will be sent no later than February 5.
• Only applications completed following the guidelines, with the required attachments, and with the paid Entry Fee will be considered.

4. Artworks:

• Works uploaded to the app may only undergo basic editing, must be 100% protected by the Artist’s copyright, and cannot be created only using artificial intelligence.
• If third parties, trademarks, other elements, or, e.g., cartoon characters with a registered trademark are presented in the images, the Artist must have appropriate written consent or license. Artists take full responsibility for any possible abuse of the rights of third parties and companies.
• The Artist submits files up to 1MB in size in the application.
• Files could be saved in the RGB color model with 16-bit.
• Artworks do not contain any material that could constitute or encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law, and the Artist takes full responsibility for it.
• The Artist confirms that no people or animals were harmed or manipulated in creating the Artworks.
• The Artist agrees to fully indemnify and hold the Gallery harmless from any royalties, fees, and other amounts payable to any person or company because of the Gallery’s and the Artist’s use of the Artwork and/or violation of any law.

5. Decisive factors:

1/ In the evaluation of Artwork and qualification for the Finalists’ Exhibition

• Subject, message, and context.
• Relationship: emotion/mood/feeling.
• Light.
• Composition.
• Technique and style.

2/ One Artist will be selected for the Grand Prix from among the Participants who confirmed the Participation of their Artworks and timely sent additional materials necessary to participate in the Finalists’ Exhibition. In the decision-making process, the most important will be the assessment of Artwork according to the above criteria. Still, additional points for concept and readiness for a Solo Exhibition evaluation may be awarded.

By the decision of the Contest Jury, a maximum of 40 Artworks from all entries will be qualified for the Finalists’ Exhibition, 1 Artwork from each Finalist.

The Jury’s decision is irrevocable, although in justified cases, e.g., after detecting a violation or failure to comply with the provisions of the contest regulations or a breach of the law, the Jury may disqualify the Participant/Winner and offer this place to another Artist.

6. After qualifying for the Finalists Exhibition, we will contact Apliccants via email:

• The Artist will be asked to immediately email the file selected by the Jury according to the suggested printing guidelines included in the email.
• In addition, we ask the Participant to send a photo of the Artist’s image and a short BIO of up to 300 characters for marketing and promotional purposes.
• We will ask the Participant to generate and send us a signed QR code for Swish, PayPal, or other local or international payment solution for use in the Artist’s blurb. Code size 3-5cm.

Suppose the Gallery does not receive a response, appropriate materials, and information from the Applicant within the deadline specified in the email. In that case, it will not be able to consent to Participation in the Exhibition, and the Participant will be disqualified and replaced by another Applicant.

7. Vernissage of the Finalists’ Exhibition: January 20, 2024, at 18.30. During the opening, all Participants will receive Finalist Certificates.

8. Participants absent during vernissage may collect the Certificate on any other day of the Exhibition or when collecting Artwork at the end of the Exhibition. If the Artist does not collect the Certificate, we will send a digital version via email.

9. Finalists’ Exhibition: Collection of Artworks

• The print will be ready for collection without a frame. The black frame and white passe-partout are temporary solutions for the Exhibition’s duration and remain in the Gallery.
• Artworks not collected on January 29-30, 2024 (12:00-18:00) will be treated as abandoned and will destroyed or donated by the Gallery to a charity, e.g., for children or retirees.

10. Photography printed by Gallery:

• The file should be prepared for printing and sent by email to the Gallery after qualifying the Artwork for the Finalists’ Exhibition, preferably in JPEG, TIFF, or PNG format, 300PPI, in print size from A4 to A2 and RBG or ICC color profile. Details of preparing files for printing will be agreed upon individually.
• The Artist accepts this depending on the technical parameters of the files or the Gallery’s decision; the prints will be made in one of the following sizes: A4, A3, or A2 on photographic or Fin Art Paper.
• Regardless of the proportions, the image should be appropriately entered into the ratios of the paper and the margin without cropping. For consistency of exposure, one size of white margins will be determined and provided along with guidelines for preparing files for printing sent by email.
• If the files for printing are not correctly prepared, the Gallery will do it automatically without any additional arrangements with the Artists.
• The Gallery prints are of high quality. The Gallery has calibrated equipment, ICC profiles, a high-quality pigment ink printer (12 colors including 4 shades from black to gray and Chroma Optimizer for a smooth gradient.), and Photo and Fine Art Papers.
• The Artist can manually sign and describe the Artwork before the Exhibition.
• For the Exhibition’s duration, the Artwork will be framed in a black frame with a white passe-partout and marked with an embossed Gallery stamp in the right corner.
• The Gallery makes every effort to ensure that the printing effect is consistent with the expected one. Still, the Artist acknowledges that some deviations may occur, e.g., due to differences in computer equipment and individual settings.

11. The Gallery does not charge a sales commission in this Open Call. Customers will pay for Artwork directly to the Artist via, e.g., SWISH or PayPal. Additional prints will be sold only by individual arrangement with the Artist.

§ 3

1. Grand Prix: One week Solo Exhibition in the Gallery & one-month Virtual Reality/ 3D Online Exhibition

• Grand Prix – The main prize in this Open Call is a Solo Exhibition of the Artist at the Royal Blue Visual Arts Gallery in Stockholm. Since the contest is international, which may be difficult for some Artists to implement, we offer Grnad Prix winners a choice of one of three prize options:
  1/ One-week Exhibition in the Gallery – The Artist delivers Artworks ready for the Exhibition and collects them afterward. One-month Virtual Reality/3D Online Exhibition – The Artist uploads files and captions to Artworks.
  2/ One-week Exhibition in the Gallery – The Artist sends digital files, and we print the Artworks with a 20% discount + free framing for the Exhibition’s duration in available black frames and white passe-partout. And one month online the Virtual Reality/3D Exhibition.
  3/ The Artist chooses only the online one-month Virtual Reality/3D Exhibition.

2. Alternatives

• Let’s assume that the Artist declares that they will deliver, e.g., 10-20 Artworks to the Exhibition, send a shipping confirmation to the Gallery, and the Artworks do not reach the Gallery on the specified date or arrive damaged. In such a case, the Exhibition will be held only in the form of a digital presentation on 2 TV sets and using a projector during the opening.
• If the Artist chooses an exhibition with print and Artworks framing at the Gallery and does not pay the agreed fee by the deadline – the prints will not be made, and the Exhibition will only be held online.
• If the Artist does not send the agreed photo files to the Exhibition by the deadline, neither the Virtual Reality/3D exhibition nor the digital presentation on TV will be possible.
• The Artist is not entitled to compensation for the above restrictions or other unforeseen circumstances.

The Exhibition should take place no later than 3 months from the date of notification to the Artist, considering available dates for exhibitions in the Gallery.

3. Prizes and distinctions awarded cannot be redeemed for cash.

§ 4

Security: