The call for entries to the inaugural Fivex Art Prize: Billboard Art Reimagined competition has been extended to 16 February 2020.

Conceived and funded by the Fivex Foundation, the Fivex Art Prize recognises and promotes new forms of bold, memorable street art for today’s digital age.

Australia’s first award dedicated to digital billboard art, the Fivex Art Prize is sponsored by Australia’s leading digital billboard company, QMS Media and open to Australian applicants from various creative disciplines including photography, graphic design, street and tattoo art, illustration and architecture.

The Grand Prize includes a purse of $30,000 and an opportunity to have their work displayed on two large-scale LED QMS Media billboards – a horizontal corner ‘wrap’ and a vertical ‘podium’ – prominently located at the corner of Flinders and Elizabeth Streets in Melbourne’s CBD, opposite Flinders Street Station.

The winner’s artwork will be screened among regular programmed advertising and also in designated showcase slots as a form of public art intervention from 30 March until 3 May 2020. Up to five finalists will also receive $1000 each in addition to being showcased on the billboards.

The judging panel has been announced for the inaugural event and includes Jane Devery, curator, Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Victoria; Liss Fenwick, public art project lead, Melbourne City Council; Gary Deirmendjian, artist; Barclay Nettlefold, Group CEO, QMS Media; and Alessio Cavallaro, creative producer, Fivex Art Prize, and media art curator.

Cavallaro said, “The Fivex Art Prize presents a unique contribution to public art. It offers emerging and established artists an exciting opportunity to reconfigure their concepts for artworks that will be seen not in a contemplative gallery environment, but instead within a commercial media context in a dynamic public space.”

QMS chief marketing officer Sara Lappage commented, “QMS is thrilled to provide media sponsorship for this inaugural billboard art award, and we are keen to see what Australian artists can create for such a powerful canvas in the heart of Melbourne.”

Entries to the Fivex Art Prize can be submitted until 11pm on 16 February 2020 (AEDT).

For further information, visit the Fivex Art Prize website. 

Image: Fivex Art Prize exhibition site, QMS Media digital billboards, cnr Flinders and Elizabeth streets, Melbourne; image courtesy QMS Media, edited by Alphabet Studio.