Dezi Art Prize Terms and Conditions

The Dezi Art Prize is organized and administered by Phistream LLC (“Phistream,” “we,” “us”). The prize is an initiative of Dezi, a career platform for visual artists. By applying, you agree to these terms.

• You must be 18 years of age or older.
• The prize is open to visual artists worldwide.
• The prize is open to artists working in the following mediums: Painting, Drawing and Illustration, Sculpture, Filmmaking, Photography, Design, UI/UX Design, 2D/3D Animation, Fashion, and Fiber and Material Arts.
• The work you submit must be your own original work, and you must be its sole copyright owner.
• One entry per artist per cycle.

• The application fee is $30 USD, payable at submission.
• The fee is non-refundable, except if Phistream cancels the prize cycle, in which case all paid application fees are refunded.

• All submissions are first reviewed for eligibility. Eligible submissions are then distributed among members of our independent jury of working arts professionals for scoring.
• Winners and finalists are selected solely on the basis of artistic merit, at the jury’s discretion. Selection is based on the quality of the work, not on chance. This is a juried competition, not a lottery or game of chance.
• Each entry is scored on four equally weighted criteria: quality of the work, originality and point of view, the artist statement, and the pitch for the grant.
• Jurors disclose any personal relationship with an applicant and recuse themselves from scoring that application.
• The decision of the jury is final.
• Phistream may decline to award the prize, or select fewer winners, if in the jury’s judgment the submissions do not meet the standard of the prize. The prize is contingent on the cycle being run.
• Some applicants are invited or nominated to apply by Dezi’s own development and outreach team. This nomination is only an invitation to submit an application, made solely by Dezi staff, not by the jury. It is not a guarantee of advancement, a finalist spot, or a win. The jury is independent of Dezi’s outreach and development team and scores every application, nominated or not, on the same criteria.

Phistream may reject or disqualify any application, without refund, that: breaks these rules; contains work that is not the applicant’s own, is plagiarized, or infringes another party’s rights; contains unlawful, hateful, or harmful content; or where the applicant misrepresents their eligibility or identity.

• Two winners each receive a $1,000 USD unrestricted cash grant, a full profile, and a featured post across the Dezi website and social media.
• The top 30 ranked applicants (including the two winners) are featured in Dezine, Dezi’s magazine, and receive a named profile on the Dezi website. Only the two winners receive a cash grant; the remaining featured applicants do not.
• The top 20 of those 30 featured applicants each additionally receive a free one-on-one career audit with the Dezi team, using Dezi’s career navigation framework (see Section 9).
• Every applicant, regardless of ranking or selection, is offered a post-close career consultation with the Dezi team, for consideration for a Dezine article, social feature, and career guidance where Dezi is able to provide it. This offer does not guarantee a feature or any specific outcome.

• Winners and featured applicants will be notified by email. A winner must respond and complete the required acceptance and tax paperwork (see Section 10) within 30 days of notification.
• If a winner does not respond or complete the paperwork within that window, they forfeit the prize, and Phistream may select an alternate at the jury’s discretion.

• You retain all copyright and ownership of your submitted work.
• By applying, you grant Phistream a limited, non-exclusive license to display and reproduce your submitted work to operate and promote the Dezi Art Prize and Dezi, including on our website, social media, email newsletters, and in promotion of future prize cycles. This license applies to all applicants, not only winners.
• You warrant that the work is your own original work, that you are its sole copyright owner, and that it does not infringe the rights of any other party. You agree to indemnify and hold Phistream harmless from any claim, loss, or expense arising from a breach of this warranty, including any claim that your submitted work infringes a third party’s rights.

By accepting the prize, each winner agrees to:

• Credit the Dezi Art Prize on any new work created using the grant funds.
• Share the finished work created with the grant within one year, for possible inclusion in a future Dezi exhibition (online and/or physical, at Phistream’s discretion).

Winners also agree that their name, likeness, artist statement, biography, and submitted work may be published by Phistream on the Dezi website, in our publications, and across our social media and newsletters, in connection with announcing and promoting the prize.

• Winners based in the United States receive the full $1,000 and are issued an IRS Form 1099. You are responsible for reporting and paying any tax due. You will provide a completed Form W-9 to receive the prize.
• Winners based outside the United States will provide a completed Form W-8BEN to receive the prize. Residents of countries that have a US income-tax treaty (including India, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and most of Europe) may have reduced or zero US withholding under the relevant treaty.
• Winners based in countries without a US tax treaty are subject to 30% US tax withholding as required by US law (you receive $700; $300 is remitted to the US tax authorities on your behalf).
• Winners are responsible for any tax obligations in their own country of residence.

• We collect the information you provide in your application (including name, email, location, social handle, artwork and captions, artist statement, and your responses) to operate the prize, contact applicants, and improve Dezi.
• By applying, you consent to this collection and use, and to your data being processed and stored on our service providers’ systems, which may be located in the United States.
• You may request access to or deletion of your personal data by contacting info@deziart.co.
• We do not sell your personal data.
• Our full Privacy Policy explains what we collect, who we share it with, and your rights in detail.

If the submission platform experiences problems near the deadline, you may submit your application by emailing info@deziart.co before the deadline.

The prize and website are provided “as is.” Phistream is not responsible for incorrect, incomplete, or lost submissions, technical failures, or for any damages arising from your use of the website. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Phistream’s total liability is limited to the amount of your application fee.

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, USA, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising from the prize will be resolved in the courts located in Delaware.

Phistream may update these terms. Material changes will be posted on the prize page.