Altrove Association is hosting the 4th BOit! International Illustration Contest on the theme: The City and Water (La Città e L’Acqua).
BOit! is an international illustration contest born in Bologna and open to a global audience. Its aim is to promote creative work, foster professional growth, and encourage international exchange among emerging illustrators and visual artists.
Three winning works will be awarded with monetary prizes, a solo exhibition, collective exhibition and more.
Each edition challenges participants to engage with a specific shape and theme inspired by the city of Bologna, sparking a broader conversation on topics of universal relevance. From the local to the global: BOit! celebrates the language of illustration through an open and inclusive competition, with a special focus on original, unpublished contributions by young creatives.
4th Edition Theme: The City and Water
The City and the Water. Rivers, canals, waterways: a constant flow that shapes nature and urban development is the motto for this edition.
Like every edition, our journey begins in Bologna, the city where BOit! was born, drawing inspiration from its history and geography to explore ideas with wide- ranging, international resonance. The fourth edition of the contest sets out to explore the deep, visceral bond between water and the city – between water and civilization, between water and humanity itself.
Water is the lifeblood of civilization: from rivers to canals, from streams to fountains, it is a vital force that has always shaped history, cultural evolution, and urban development. For countless cities, great and small, water serves as a common thread, a timeline that weaves together past, present, and future.
This contest invites reflection on water as an origin, a force, and a symbol. Participants are called to explore, through illustration, the intricate relationship between water and the urban landscape – starting from their own city, an imagined one, or even Bologna itself as inspiration, yet always with a gaze that embraces the entire world, whether real or imaginary.
This call is open to all Italian and foreign citizens, whether resident in Italy or abroad, that have turned at least 18 years old before the contest deadline, including any extended deadlines that may be announced.
The jury will select 30 finalist works, which will be displayed at exhibitions. From these, three winning artworks will be chosen. Authors of selected works will be asked to provide a brief biography, which will be displayed during the exhibitions.
The winners will be announced during the awards ceremony and the inauguration of the exhibition of the selected works, which will be held in Bologna by 2026.
4th BOit! International Illustration Contest – Participation Fees
Participation requires the payment of a registration fee of €15, as a contribution for administrative costs.
A reduced fee of €10 is available for students enrolled in art schools and/or universities.
