Stele with a Heart
art contest
Announcement of the Winners
On the 27th, 8. In 2024, the winners of an open, one-time art competition for the design of funeral steles, titled “STELE WITH HEART,” were announced. Visitors were able to view the selected winning designs at the Černá labuť Art & Event Gallery through September 30, 2024. This event was made possible with the support and contributions of the Arte Bohemien Endowment Fund and the Prague 1 City District.
Among the selected and featured authors are:
Dagmar Pánková and Leoš Smejkal, Marieta Tedenacová, Zuzana Kubelková, Jiří Černický, Pavel Baxa, Dalibor Novák, Karolína Kučerová, Lucie Jindrák Skřivánková and Robin Fišer, Byoungchan Yun
Fused Glass as Both Art and Craft
On September 12, 2023, in Prague, the Glaz Bridge group, a producer of funerary art, with the kind contribution and support of its partners, announced an open, one-time art competition for the design of funerary steles titled STELE WITH HEART.
The Context of the Funeral-Themed Contest
The physical departure from earthly life is currently viewed by our society as an unappealing topic that lies on the fringes of public interest. Since 2021, the Glaz Bridge group has been developing the Funeral Art program, with the aim of paying tribute to the deceased through artistic means, as was once quite common. In 2023, the first part of the project, titled GLASS SOUL. The goal was to create a collection of funeral urns using a unique fused sculpture technique. Twenty-one leading Czech artists from various fields contributed to its creation, reflecting on the role of funerary sculpture in today’s society. The collection of urns was exhibited at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague (May 17–September 17, 2023) and is now embarking on its next exhibition tour.
What is Stélé?
Building on the success of the Glass Soul / Pietas I project, we are now moving forward with the next phase of the program: the Stele with Heart / Pietas III project. The goal is to create artistic interpretations of funerary stelae, which were erected in place of monuments on graves in the Greco-Roman world. A stele (Greek) was a vertical stone object that served as a tombstone—and, in rare cases, as a monument—and typically took the shape of a column or a slab. This type of memorial commemorating the existence of the deceased or the deceased’s grave has undergone various modifications within European civilization, whether located in cemeteries or in open spaces.
STELE WITH HEART Contest Brief
To design a stele (funeral monument) and pay tribute to the deceased using contemporary artistic means. The vertical stele must be designed so that it can be placed either on an individual grave or in an open space (outdoors); private or public (e.g., a garden complex). The stele must include a clearly legible area for the funeral inscription (epitaph); the name of the event, the name of the deceased, the year, and, if applicable, a dedication. The stele may also feature a recessed, covered compartment for a memento of the deceased, etc. *a memorial service for a specific person (or people) and a specific place
Material of the stele: Mold-cast glass combined with materials such as stone, concrete, metal, blown glass, laminated glass, or other materials... (Each object must contain molten glass.) Height of the stele: min. 0.5 m, max. 2 m
Requirements for a Competition Entry*
Conceptual Outline – Text: max. 1 A4 page
3 sketches, possibly accompanied by a 1:5 scale model
1–2 sketches—spatial placement
Material Description
Construction Schedule
Implementation Budget for the Construction of the Stele
Layout of the digital version of the design*
*The author must submit the proposal in electronic form in Czech or English to office@glazbridge.com. The administrator will confirm receipt and inclusion in the competition within 5 business days of receipt. Alternatively, competition entries may be submitted in person by prior telephone arrangement (+420 608 842 717).
ENSURING COPYRIGHT PROTECTION IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE AUTHOR AND THE CLIENT
- Confidentiality
- Rejected proposals will not be published or used for any other purpose
- Legal System: Czech Republic
Requirements for a Competition Entry*
No prizes will be awarded, but up to 12 competition entries will be selected for implementation, without ranking them. The reward for up to twelve winning entries will be, upon agreement, the opportunity to have them implemented at the project’s expense. A maximum of 500,000 CZK will be distributed among the selected authors as design fees. Conditions for concluding a contract for the subsequent commission: the Glaz Bridge group, together with its partners, will oversee the production of the selected works.
Submitters of competition entries participate in the competition without being entitled to a fee or reimbursement of expenses associated with their participation.
Contest Dates
- Announcement: 12. 9. 2023
- End date: 29. 2. 2024* Due to high interest and requests to include this in the competition, we are extending the deadline for STELE WITH HEART. To submit competition entries, see the “Guidelines” by June 30, 2024.
- Evaluation and jury meetings: 2024
- Minutes and Evaluation: 2024
- *Submission of competition proposals: 3Q 2024
- *Exhibition: 2024 / 2025
