Cracks are how the light gets in.
Leonard Cohen
The Human Creativity Contest
Overview
At a time when so-called "Artificial Intelligence" is both displacing human arts and being used to justify data centers and mining which annihilate the real verifiable intelligence of Nature, we are holding a contest to celebrate true creativity: not the blind, light-speed obedience of ones and zeroes doing exactly what they're told, but that of living breathing lifeforms whose greatest strengths are our imagination, spontaneity, and imperfection.
Eligible Submissions
We are accepting submissions in ALL mediums, including but not limited to:
- painting
- cartooning
- collage
- dance
- video
- music
- writing
- analogue photography
- and more
The Prizes!
Top Prize: $700
Top Prize: $700
Top Prize: $700
International
+ special feature on social media
+ campaign t-shirt and sticker set
Runner-Up: $200
Top Prize: $700
Top Prize: $700
Second place
+ special feature on social media
+ campaign t-shirt and sticker set
UP Prize: $300
Top Prize: $700
UP Prize: $300
Reserved for residents of the Upper Peninsula (UP residents are also eligible for the Top Prize)
+ special feature on social media
+ campaign t-shirt and sticker set
Other Prizes
All Serious Submissions
UP Prize: $300
We hope to provide additional non-monetary prizes for top placing entries. Do you have a prize you'd like to offer? An online class, a gift card to your business, a handmade craft, or other? Reach out to ProtectThePorkies@gmail.com
The top 20 submissions will be featured on social media.
All Serious Submissions
All Serious Submissions
All Serious Submissions
All serious submissions will be featured on the website, and we will continue to highlight our favorite entries beyond the top 20 for our social media community of 60k+.
Deadline
All Serious Submissions
All Serious Submissions
October 15th at midnight CST
The Rules
All submissions must be something that was possible to create before 1990
Digital art forms are awesome — but we want this contest to elevate all those mediums which are too quickly being swept away and forgotten in this era of unchecked technological progress.
Therefore, photography must be analogue. Video must adhere to a "lo-fi" aesthetic. Visual art must be made by hand. Music should be acoustic or using retro production.
We understand that this is not a clear-cut rule, but submissions will be judged based on how well they comply with the spirit of the contest.
All submissions must be inspired by the theme, "Resistance to Ecological Destruction"
This is a contest for humans using creativity to resist the corporate annihilation of Nature. You don't need to pound us over the head with the message, necessarily: nuance, humor, and metaphor are all possible strategies. However, if a work is clearly unrelated, it will not be eligible.
The painting shown above, made by Rachel Belmore for our 2024 Poster Contest, is a fantastic example of a possible entry: a handmade work showing Nature rising up against ecopathic industry.
Judging Criteria
Winners will be selected by the Protect the Porkies strategy team and guest judges based on how well they:
- fulfill the spirit of the contest,
- comply with the theme,
- exhibit exceptional qualities such as: craft, expression, humor, aesthetics, and other ineffable but crucial characteristics of human creativity
Deadline: October 15th at midnight CST
How to Submit
Submission Instructions
Send an email to ProtectThePorkiesContest@gmail.com containing:
- your submission
- name, location, links to more work (if available)
- a 1-2 paragraph text elaborating on your work
Please also pay the $5 entry fee through Venmo (@ProtectThePorkies) or PayPal using the donation link at the bottom of the page.
Why a $5 entry fee?
From experience we know that internet contests are often plagued by low-quality, AI-generated entries, often from those with no interest in the contest who are only seeking to make money. Thus, we set a very low entry fee to to filter out non-serious submissions.
All entry fees will serve as a donation to advance crucial campaign activities.
For any questions, contact ProtectThePorkiesContest@gmail.com
Help Our Cause!
ProtectThePorkies is run entirely by volunteers dedicating considerable time and energy to this important cause. As a small team, we strive to make efficient and constructive use of funding. Your contributions assist greatly with our mission.
- PayPal (click the button below)
- Venmo: @ProtectThePorkies (if asked for last four digits, 6667)
You may also mail checks to this address:
PO Box 6
Wakefield, MI
49968
Poster Contest Community Winner
KARLA SANDERS
Poster Contest Strategy Crew Winner
TRAVIS EVEN
Poster Contest Submissions
Protect the Porkies