On September 6th, 2021 / Rosh Hashanah 5782, with the heralding of the Jewish New Year, the Jewish people will enter the shmita year in our cycle of the seasons. Jewish tradition teaches about a shmita year occurring every seven years, a time of release with Biblical and contemporary applications to our relationships with land, food, debt, work/rest, equity and more.

Jewish tradition is rooted in ritual objects, texts, music and practices that facilitate both a personal and collective engagement with the Jewish cycle of the year. At Hazon and with our international partners, we are harnessing the power of the arts to explore the wisdom teachings and the contemporary practices of shmita. The Shmita Prizes award artists – from all levels of experience and age groups – for works of art that bring into focus the relevancy and application of shmita values in our contemporary world. These art works will offer creative avenues with which to prepare for, mark and engage with the shmitah year.

The Shmita Prizes invites works in the following artistic categories:

Fine Art: 2 & 3D works including painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, illustration, fiber arts, ceramics, book arts, comix, mixed media, installation and other applicable mediums

Film/video: Non-performative works that engage film and video as a contemporary art medium

Performance Art / Music / Liturgy: Performative works that exhibit one or more of the following – new expressions of ritual, liturgy, dance or original music.

Literary Arts: Written word including prose, poetry and essay

Ritual Object: Works created in this category can be in any medium. We are particularly interested in ritual objects that lend themselves to the Rosh HaShana or Shabbat table and/or that could be activated in a newly imagined Shmita ritual. Artists creating works for this category should consider and indicate the capacity to reproduce this object for wide distribution.

Each artistic category will be juried separately for youth and adults as indicated in the submission form.

Three Shmita Prizes will be awarded in each artistic and age category accordingly.

First Prize: $xxxx
Second Prize: $xxxx
Third Prize: $xxx

Artists can apply in their designated category as individual artists or as a collective/group/classroom.

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Please direct any questions to: email

SUBMIT YOUR WORK HERE UNTIL DATE!