The Art of Hoping Open Call

Organization: The Fifth Element (The Club of Rome)

Type: Competition

Location: Global

Deadline: September 30, 2026

Funding: No Funding

The Fifth Element, a programme of The Club of Rome, is inviting artists and creatives anywhere in the world to submit work that responds to the theme of hope. They are looking for pieces that imagine how the systems we live in, the way we learn, work and care for one another and the planet, could change for a fairer and more regenerative future. Selected work goes into an online exhibition, and a curated selection is printed and shown at the Club of Rome conference in Bucharest in November 2026. **What you get:** - A place in an online exhibition on The Fifth Element's website, also shared across their LinkedIn, Instagram and WhatsApp channels - A curated selection reproduced as high quality prints and displayed at the Club of Rome conference 'No Limits to Hope: Sense-making for alternative futures' in Bucharest, 4 to 6 November 2026 - An introduction to The Fifth Element's network, connecting featured artists to fellows and programme participants whose work resonates - Cross promotion with partner organisations - Attribution every time the work is shown, including your name and, where applicable, your affiliation and country of residence - You keep full copyright and ownership of your work throughout, and can request its withdrawal at any time **What you'll do:** - Make or choose a piece responding to the theme of hope, in any accepted format: pictures and photographs, paintings and artwork, poetry and short text, or videos, motion graphics, illustrations and animations - Email the work to the Communications Officer at The Fifth Element, with your name, any affiliation, your country of residence, the title of the piece and an artist statement of no more than 100 words - Send the highest quality file you have, because selected pieces may be reproduced as prints. PNG or JPG for images, a Word document or designed PDF for text, MP4 for video - Submit in any language, providing an English translation alongside text pieces and artist statements that are not in English - Submit more than one piece if you want to. The guidelines state an artist may submit more than one **Key dates:** - Submissions close September 30, 2026 - Artists notified October 14, 2026 - Online and in person exhibitions launch November 4, 2026 - Club of Rome conference runs November 4 to 6, 2026, in Bucharest and online **More information:** - Full guidelines, covering formats, rights, the AI disclosure rule and how to submit, are published as a PDF linked from the call page - This is an unpaid call. The organisers state plainly that there is no fee to take part and that they cannot offer payment, a prize or an honorarium for selected work. What is offered is visibility - Selection does not come with travel, accommodation or a conference pass. Work chosen for the in person exhibition travels as a high quality print rather than as an original, and the guidelines nowhere offer artists a place at the conference - The conference can be followed online through the organisers' Zoom registration page linked from the event listing - Questions go to the Communications Officer named in the guidelines

The Fifth Element (The Club of Rome)Competition

The Art of Hoping Open Call

This one has closed

Archived

Opportunity type

Competition

Funding

No Funding

Location

Global

Deadline

Archived

About this opportunity

What you get:

A place in an online exhibition on The Fifth Element's website, also shared across their LinkedIn, Instagram and WhatsApp channels
A curated selection reproduced as high quality prints and displayed at the Club of Rome conference 'No Limits to Hope: Sense-making for alternative futures' in Bucharest, 4 to 6 November 2026
An introduction to The Fifth Element's network, connecting featured artists to fellows and programme participants whose work resonates
Cross promotion with partner organisations
Attribution every time the work is shown, including your name and, where applicable, your affiliation and country of residence
You keep full copyright and ownership of your work throughout, and can request its withdrawal at any time

What you'll do:

Make or choose a piece responding to the theme of hope, in any accepted format: pictures and photographs, paintings and artwork, poetry and short text, or videos, motion graphics, illustrations and animations
Email the work to the Communications Officer at The Fifth Element, with your name, any affiliation, your country of residence, the title of the piece and an artist statement of no more than 100 words
Send the highest quality file you have, because selected pieces may be reproduced as prints. PNG or JPG for images, a Word document or designed PDF for text, MP4 for video
Submit in any language, providing an English translation alongside text pieces and artist statements that are not in English
Submit more than one piece if you want to. The guidelines state an artist may submit more than one

Key dates:

Submissions close September 30, 2026
Artists notified October 14, 2026
Online and in person exhibitions launch November 4, 2026
Club of Rome conference runs November 4 to 6, 2026, in Bucharest and online

More information:

Full guidelines, covering formats, rights, the AI disclosure rule and how to submit, are published as a PDF linked from the call page
This is an unpaid call. The organisers state plainly that there is no fee to take part and that they cannot offer payment, a prize or an honorarium for selected work. What is offered is visibility
Selection does not come with travel, accommodation or a conference pass. Work chosen for the in person exhibition travels as a high quality print rather than as an original, and the guidelines nowhere offer artists a place at the conference
The conference can be followed online through the organisers' Zoom registration page linked from the event listing
Questions go to the Communications Officer named in the guidelines

Who can apply

Open to artists and creatives anywhere in the world. No nationality or residency restriction is stated
Open to all ages. If you are under 18, your submission must be accompanied by the written consent of a parent or legal guardian
You must be the original creator of the work, or hold all rights necessary to submit it, and it must not infringe the rights of any third party
Human made work is preferred. AI assisted pieces are welcome only if any use of generative AI is clearly disclosed in the artist statement, naming which tool was used and how. Fully AI generated work with no human authorship will not be accepted
Work must be respectful and inclusive. Hateful, discriminatory, violent, defamatory or otherwise offensive work will not be accepted
Text pieces and artist statements that are not in English need an English translation alongside the original
Accepted file types: PNG or JPG for pictures, photographs, paintings, artwork, graphics, illustrations and animations; Word document or designed PDF for poetry and short text; MP4 for video

AI Verification

✓ AI Verified

Our AI read the official sources and cross-checked the key facts. Here is what held up, and what it could not confirm.

We could not fully verify this organization or all of its details. Check it independently on the official website before you apply, and never share sensitive personal or financial information until you are sure a request is genuine.

LOT Verification ScoreSolid

Cross-checked 19 of 23 key facts

Confirmed Our best read Not stated

Good to know

+Free to enter, with no qualifications, portfolio, arts training or nationality requirement, and no limit on entries.
+Open to all ages. Under 18s can take part with a parent or guardian's written consent.
+You can submit in any language, and it accepts painting, photography, poetry, short writing, video, animation and illustration.
+You keep full copyright. The licence is non exclusive and royalty free, you are credited every time the work is shown, and you can withdraw it on request.
+Selected work goes into an online exhibition, with a curated selection shown at a Club of Rome conference.
+The Club of Rome has existed since 1968 and published The Limits to Growth, and a named staff member handles submissions and questions.

Worth checking yourself

!Nothing is paid. There is no prize, no fee and no honorarium, so what you get back is visibility rather than money.
!Being selected does not get you to the conference. Your work travels as a print, and nothing covers travel, accommodation or a pass if you wanted to attend in person. You can watch online for free.
!You submit by email rather than through a form, so there is no automatic receipt confirming your entry arrived.
!The call does not say who judges, how many pieces are chosen, or how the selection works.
!Closes 30 September.

Sources checked

VIvist.lyOfficialTHthefifthelement.earthApplyTHthefifthelement.earthApplyTHthefifthelement.earthApplyTHthefifthelement.earthApplyTHthefifthelement.earthApplyTHthefifthelement.earthApplyCLclubofrome.orgOfficial

LOT finds and checks opportunities from public sources. Always confirm details on the organiser’s own page before applying.