Open Call
Poster Competition
Are you an illustrator, graphic designer, painter, photographer, or a visual artist working in any 2D medium? We invite you to create a poster inspired by the historical role of rivers. Look into how rivers have shaped human life over time — as pathways, borders, resources, and as a vital part of our cultural and historical identity.
The Collective Foundation is the creator of the initiative “Rivers of the City”, which connects neighbourhoods with urban rivers through art and architectural installations. The organisation gives a voice to rivers by engaging tens of thousands of people in annual festivals and initiatives to improve riverside spaces. The project shows how rivers can contribute to a better quality of life.
TaM is a space for culture and social initiatives in Veliko Tarnovo, founded in 2012. It provides a stage for contemporary arts and showcases emerging and established artists from around the world. The programme also includes events that encourage participation in the city’s social processes.
The European partners in this project are EUNIC Global with the Bulgarian branches of the cultural institutes of the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom, as well as the Austrian Embassy.
Since ancient times, people have settled along rivers and streams, recognising their power to sustain life. River valleys and floodplains offered an abundance of resources—clean water, fertile soil, flora and fauna, as well as natural routes for transportation and communication between communities.
Rivers are not merely a source of physical survival—they lie at the heart of our spiritual and cultural worlds. Legends, rituals, and celebrations are often connected to the flow of water, the cycle of the seasons, and the very idea of movement and change.
Over time, rivers also became a driving force behind human progress. Goods, ideas, and destinies were carried along their courses. Canals, mills, and bridges were built, and later, dams followed. Water power began to fuel cities, irrigate fields, and serve industry. But this intervention disrupted the balance—once freely flowing rivers were diverted, enclosed, or even erased from the map. Villages and cultural landmarks were submerged, natural rhythms were disturbed, and migration routes of fish and birds were cut off.
In many places, rivers have been confined to stone or concrete channels that destroy their natural appearance, designed to quickly drain water from urbanised areas. Rivers are often seen as spatial barriers within the city or as polluted canals, rather than as spaces that connect people with nature.
Today, we are looking back and asking: what did we lose when we silenced the voice of rivers?
It is time to remember and to hear them again—through art, memory, and imagination.
Create a poster on the theme “Rivers of the Past”. Artworks can be inspired by specific events, cultural practices, legends, local traditions, or industrial processes related to rivers. The projects may focus on the distant past or recent history, highlighting the interaction between humans and rivers.
We are looking for visual interpretations that tell stories, awaken memories, or offer a new perspective on the role of rivers in people’s lives.
You can approach the theme either abstractly or realistically—the choice is yours. Use the mediums that best express your idea: illustration, text, photography, collage, or mixed techniques.
The artworks will be displayed in a temporary open-air gallery as part of the “48 Hours Varusha south” festival, taking place from August 15 to 17. The festival aims to activate and reimagine the social and cultural life of the Old Town in Veliko Tarnovo. This year’s edition includes the neighbourhoods of Varusha, Sveta Gora, and Asenova Mahala—areas whose identity is closely connected to the flow of the Yantra River.
Since ancient times, the Yantra River has played a key role in the development of these territories. Its distinctive meanders and valleys provided natural protection, making the river a central axis around which fortresses such as Tsarevets, Trapezitsa, and Momina Fortress emerged. Over time, the river continued to shape Veliko Tarnovo’s defining elements, such as its steep streets, terraced houses, and numerous bridges.
12 selected artworks will be exhibited at an open-air gallery, which will be located near one of the key bridges over the Yantra River – the Vladishki Bridge, connecting the Tsarevets and Trapezitsa hills on opposite rivebanks. In the immediate vicinity are the historic Shishmanova Bath and the Church of St. Peter and Paul – a place rich in cultural and historical layers from various eras.
The open-air gallery is being developed, and will be built this summer together with local youth from the ‘Design by Yantra’ workshop. This open call is part of the larger project “Transformative Urbanism,” which aims to leverage art and youth participation to activate the riverside area and reimagine it as a contemporary cultural space, accessible to the city’s residents and visitors, and to restore Veliko Tarnovo’s connection with its river.
April 25
May 9
June 16
June 30
June 30 – July 30
August 15 -17
August 16, 2025 – Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria
You are welcome to attend the ceremony. Please note that attendance is not mandatory to receive your award. We are unable to cover travel and accommodation costs. You can choose to self-finance your attendance, for example by using a portion of your monetary award, in case you are a recipient.
The competition is open to artists residing in any EU country, as well as Ukraine, Serbia, and North Macedonia.
Visual works in the following techniques are accepted: print and digital graphics, photography, and mixed media.
Only original works that have not been submitted to or exhibited in other exhibitions or competitions will be accepted. Participants are encouraged to submit artworks created specifically for the “Rivers of the Past” competition.
Works entirely created with AI will not be accepted.
The selected works must be suitable for digital printing on various materials. We will exhibit prints, rather than originals, and only accept digital versions of artworks.
Vertical or horizontal images in A1 Size (594 mm x 841 mm), or larger, in similar proportions.
Free of charge.
For the People’s choice award, the twelve shortlisted artworks will be included in an online public vote on the Rivers of the City Instagram page. These works will also be part of an open-air gallery exhibition near the Yantra River in the city of Veliko Tarnovo, created in collaboration with the young participants from the ‘Design by Yantra’ workshop.
Award sums will be disbursed by 31 October 2025. Awards may be subject to tax withholding in the recipient’s country, in accordance with local law.
Upload your work with the following details in the submission page:
About the artist:
About the artwork:
/ Landscape architect and founder of the Collective Foundation /
/ Director of the Polish Institute in Sofia, representative of EUNIC /
/ Representatives from TaM /
We did not limit the number of entries in order to allow you to unleash your imagination.
Yes! We believe that by dreaming together, we can come up with bolder ideas.
It is not mandatory to include text; we chose not to make it a condition and rather to give you the freedom to compose your posters as you see fit. If you believe that your application needs a title, you can add it. However, please note that we reserve the right to add text later if necessary.
Yes; we want to give you the maximum freedom to express your dreams and vision! You decide how to make your work stand out, whether with or without a message.
Only vertical orientation image is accepted. In А1 size (594 mm x 841 mm)
