International Poster Competition

Keeping the Memory Alive – Journeys through the Holocaust

From March 2013 to March 2014, Canada is chairing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). In conjunction with the chair year, Canadian students in Graphics, or Art and Design, were invited to compete with students from around the world in an International Poster Competition on the theme “Keeping the Memory Alive – Journeys through the Holocaust.”

This joint initiative of IHRA and Yad Vashem in Israel seeks to bring substance, meaning and educational value to Holocaust commemoration.

As part of the competition, Holocaust education seminars were held at five colleges and universities across Canada, as well as online, with support from local Holocaust Centres.

In total, 46 entries were received from across the country. Dr. Carson Philips (Head of Education at the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre in Toronto) and Mr. Charles Pachter (internationally renowned contemporary Canadian artist) selected seven Canadian finalists to advance to the international judging committee, two of which finished in first and second place. Another two of the Canadian finalists were also selected as top-16 international finalists. The posters will be displayed around the world starting January 27, 2014 to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Top 16

Canadian Finalists

Competition prizes

Canada will select up to 20 posters to advance to the international judging committee.

The international panel will select 12 winning posters, which will be displayed around the world starting January 27, 2014, to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Cash prizes will be awarded for the top 3 designs:

  • 1st Prize is €500
  • 2nd Prize is €300
  • 3rd Prize is €200

The designers of the 12 top-ranked posters will be notified in summer 2013.

Winning designers may be invited to attend a finalist seminar and/or national and international launches, with some travel costs covered.

Eligibility

Canadian participants must:

  • Be a student in Graphics or Art and Design
  • Be enrolled in a post-secondary institution
  • Be 18 or older
  • Be a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident
  • Participate in an authorized educational seminar on the Holocaust.
Additional information
  • There are no restrictions on layouts, colour schemes and designs. Posters will be evaluated based on the originality of the design and how it conveys the message of this year’s theme.
  • All posters must be the independent work of the artist.
  • Participants can submit more than one poster, but they must make separate entries for each one.
  • Participation in the competition authorizes project managers to use and publicize the posters for educational and public use after the competition ends. The artists will not receive payment for this use, but they will receive credit.
  • Charles Pachter and Carson Phillips, experts in design and Holocaust education, have been nominated to sit on the Canadian judge’s panel.
  • The 12 winning posters will become the property of the project, and will be displayed extensively across the participating International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance countries and at the United Nations on January 27, 2014, to mark the International Holocaust Memorial Day.
  • Posters will be copied and redistributed at the project organizers' discretion.
  • The 12 winning posters will feature the logos of all participating organizations and sponsors.
  • View the winning poster designs from last year’s competition.

For more information, contact us at holocaust-poster@cic.gc.ca

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