Art contest for peace and security

News item | 17-02-2025 | 09:00

Third edition

NATO unveiled its first public mural in January 2024. Made by street artists in Vilnius, Lithuania, in honour of the 2023 summit, it symbolises the alliance’s collective defence mission. The contest continued in Washington, DC, on the occasion of NATO’s 75th anniversary in 2024. This year the honour goes to The Hague, where young artists will have an opportunity to design the NATO summit mural.

The mural contest is part of the campaign #ProtectTheFuture, an alliance-wide programme to encourage involvement by young people, which stresses the importance of freedom, security, democratic values and peace.

The mural created for the first NATO art contest, entitled ‘Life Under a Peaceful Sky‘, was designed by the young Lithuanian artist Žygimantas Amelinas and can be found on a wall next to the Reformers Park in Vilnius. The second mural, entitled ‘Security through Cooperation’, was designed by the young Danish artist Eske Toubourg and painted by Washington muralist Hamilton Glass in the centre of Washington, near the Walter E. Washington Convention Centre.

Criteria

The contest is open to everyone between the ages of 18 and 35 from one of the 32 NATO countries. This includes both aspiring artists and anyone else interested in sharing a visual design related to this year’s theme, ‘Maintaining Our Shared Future’. Artists are encouraged to create an optical illusion of a three-dimensional design for a two-dimensional surface. Entries must be submitted via the NATO website no later than 31 March 2025.

Unveiling

One of the members of the jury is Michiel Corver, director of The Hague Street Art. The winning work will be unveiled in The Hague in June 2025, and will be visible to world leaders and representatives at the summit.