Kochi | LaVA'com has launched a global competition inviting artists and creative practitioners from across the world to celebrate football's cultural significance through poster art.
Titled "COMMON GROUND: FIFA World Cup 2026 International Poster Awards," it is the inaugural international project of Laboratory of Visual Art Commune (LaVA'com), a platform dedicated to promoting collaboration and dialogue across art, design, culture, knowledge and technology.
The awards carry a total prize pool of Rs 17.5 lakh, including three jury awards of Rs 10 lakh, Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh, organisers said in a statement on Tuesday.
Inspired by the FIFA World Cup 2026, the initiative seeks to explore football's ability to bring together people across borders, languages and cultures.
The competition is open to participants aged 17 years and above, including artists, designers, architects, illustrators, photographers, students and other creative professionals.
Entries can be submitted in any two-dimensional medium, such as painting, drawing, collage, photography, printmaking, textile-based works, mixed media and digital formats, it said.
An international jury comprising noted personalities from the fields of art, design, journalism, architecture and culture will evaluate the submissions.
A total of 101 posters will be selected for exhibition, with all chosen works to be professionally mounted and displayed by LaVA'com.
The exhibition is scheduled to open on September 7 at Mather Square in Ernakulam with the support of the Mather Group.
Following its debut in Kochi, the exhibition is expected to travel to other cities, including Goa and Kolkata.
The submission deadline is July 6, while the list of selected entries will be announced on July 13.
The initiative traces its roots to LaVA, an educational and travelling art project conceived by artist Bose Krishnamachari in 2005, the statement added.
