Prize

PRIZE

Erarta Foundation ZⓈONAMACO Art Prize

The largest prize at any art fair worldwide (USD 100,000) was awarded in February 2025 in Mexico City. As per the successful inaugural Prize last year, again it was the visitors to the fair, rather than a panel of experts, who determined the eventual winner.

The amount of one hundred thousand US dollars made it the largest financial prize awarded at any art fair worldwide. In a completely ground-breaking approach, the eventual winner was determined by the public, rather than a panel of experts.

Each individual visitor of the ZⓈONAMACO art fair was able to cast their own vote for their personal ‘Highlight of the Show’ from a selected short-list of works; and the work of art thatattracted the highest number of votes was declared the winner. The prize was then equally split between the artist who created it and the gallery showcasing that work at ZⓈONAMACO.

The prize was officially presented to the winning artist and/or gallery by a representative of the Erarta Foundation at an award ceremony that took placein the Conversation Room at the ZⓈONAMACO art fair on its final day, Sunday 9th February 2025.

Dasha Varvarina, Director of the Erarta Foundation, stated: “We were thrilled to partner again with ZⓈONAMACO. This award represents a unique opportunity for the public to directly reward the artist and gallery that inspire them the most, aligning with our mission to popularize and support contemporary art for the benefit of all art enthusiasts.” She added: “Erarta Foundation was especially pleased to offer the visitors of ZⓈONAMACO art fair the opportunity to participate in financially rewarding the artist that madethe biggest impression on them.”

Zélika García, founder of ZⓈONAMACO, stated, “The continuity of our collaboration with the Erarta Foundation in this new edition reinforces our commitment to advancing contemporary art through initiatives that connect artists, galleries, and the public. This award reflects our shared vision of making art an inclusive, memorable, and participatory experience.”

More about the Foundation:

The Erarta Philanthropic Foundation is a non-profit private foundation established in 2017 and is based in Vienna, Austria. The Foundation is a charitable organisation aiming to champion both emerging and established artists, as well as creating opportunities for them to showcase their work in both small- and large-scale formats that enable the public to discover works of art they will connect to in a meaningful way that will enrich individual lives. In this way, the Erarta Foundation has helped stage and curate large-scale exhibitions, as well as financing and realising large scale installations and sculptural projects.

The Foundation has collaborated with major art institutions such as: The Victoria & Albert Museum (London, UK); The Helmut Newton Foundation (Berlin, Germany); The Salvador Dali Foundation (Switzerland), amongst others.

The Erarta Foundation has also worked with the following artists: Liu Bolin (China), Willem van Weeghel (Netherlands), Mario Testino (Peru/UK), Zhuang Hong Yi (Netherlands/China), Nick Veasey (United Kingdom), Matthew Brandt (USA), The Bounty KillArt (Italy), Andreas Wannerstedt (Sweden), Shintaro Ohata (Japan), MARCK (Switzerland), Max Zorn (Netherlands), to name a few.

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More about ZⓈONAMACO

ZⓈONAMACO, first established in 2002, is one of the largest art fairs globally. Offering exhibition space for approximately 180 galleries from America, Asia and Europe, the selection of exciting contemporary and modern art on display is all-encompassing. Visitors are able to view and purchase photographs, paintings, drawing, sculptures from both established and emerging artists via the gallery spaces within the fair. With around 100,000 visitors expected over the 4-day show, ZⓈONAMACO is the leading art fair for Latin American art. In addition to ZⓈONAMACO México Arte Contemporáneo, there is also ZⓈONAMACO Diseño for works of art, furniture and jewellery, ZⓈONAMACO Salon which displays antiques as well as ZⓈONAMACO Foto for modern and contemporary photography.

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2025 Winner

The official winner of the ZⓈONAMACO Erarta Foundation Prize 2025 was a photograph by Rob Woodcox, represented by Arma gallery, based in Madrid, Spain.

The winning work, ‘Otherworld’, Print on ILFORD Smooth Cotton Rag paper | Photograph, 117.5 × 92.1 cm by Rob Woodcox.
The Prize-giving ceremony

ERARTA FOUNDATION/ZSONAMACO ART PRIZE COMPETITION

NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER THE ERARTA FOUNDATION/ZSONAMACO (EF&ZM; The Organizer) COMPETITION.

ERARTA FOUNDATION IS NOT SEEKING TO ACQUIRE THE WINNING WORK, MERELY TO CELEBRATE ITS CREATION.

ENTRY IN THE ART COMPETITION CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE OFFICIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

BINDING THE AGREEMENT

In order to apply to EF&ZM Art Competition, you must agree to the Art Competition Terms and Conditions. Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully prior to your application to ensure you understand and agree to our rules of engagement. You agree that submission of any and all entries during the application process to the Art Competition constitutes an agreement to these Terms and Conditions. You may not apply and are considered not eligible for the Art Competition rewarding system described in these Terms and Conditions unless you agree to them. These Art Competition Terms and Conditions form a binding legal agreement between you and EF&ZM with respect to the Art Competition. By entering the Art Competition, you agree to comply with and abide by these Terms and Conditions and the selection methods of the Art Competition judges, and you represent and warrant that you meet the eligibility requirements set forth herein. In addition, you agree to accept adjudicated decisions as final and binding as they relate to the content of this Art Competition.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible to enter the EF&ZM Art Competition, an Applicant must: (a) be a confirmed gallery participant of the ZⓈONAMACO 2025 Edition, (b) sign up on the official Submission page and (c) provide a valid email address and fill in all the details specified (d) submit only up to three (3) works by up to three (3) separate artists, all as separate submissions. The EF&ZM Art Competition is open worldwide and void where prohibited by law. The Art Competition is subject to Austrian substantial law and regulation.

ART COMPETITION TIMELINES

EF&ZM Art Competition submission period begins on the 20th of November 2024 and ends on the 18th of December 2024. Consequently, the EF&ZM Consortium choose a preliminary shortlist which they present to the public for voting between the 5th of February 2025 and the 9th February 2025 (the "Art Competition Period"). Applications submitted before or after the Entry Period will not be eligible. All dates are subject to change. All applications must be sent through the official Submission form by the 18th of December 2024 (“Submission Deadline”) in order for the application to the Art Competition to be received as valid.

From the 5th of February 2025 at 10am CST the public can start voting for the ‘Highlight of the Show’ from the preliminary selection that EF&ZM made, in order to choose one winner, who will receive USD $100 000 total.

In order to receive the monetary prizes, the gallerist representing the artists must provide sufficient information in the submission page. The winner of the EF&ZM Prize must also sign the Award Agreement required of EF in order to receive the funds in full. The Prize is to be equally shared between the artist and gallery in a 50/50 split, but the legal onus for the distribution of the USD $50 000 to the winning artist lies with the gallery once they have received the funds. EF does not hold any responsibility legal or otherwise for ensuring that the artist has received the prize money allocated to them. Nor is EF legally responsible for settling any corresponding duties, fees and taxes that the Applicant will have to settle once they receive the funds.

EF is only legally responsible for settling the full prize sum with the winning gallery directly. The Gallerist indemnifies EF&ZM for any legal claims brought against them in the case of non-settlement of the winning sum for the artist by the gallery.

On the 9th of February 2025 the winner of the EF&ZM Prize will be will be celebrated at ZM Art Fair in one of the spaces dedicated to such an event.

Artists whose Artwork will be shortlisted for the Art Competition by the curators and make it into the top 3 voted for works, may be announced on the 9th of February, but they will not receive any Prize, monetary or otherwise.

SPONSOR

The Organizer and Sponsor of this EF&ZM Art Competition is the Erarta Foundation, a non- profit philanthropic organization, founded and currently operating under the laws of Austria. Established in 2017, the Erarta Foundation aims to support artistic creation in the fields of interdisciplinary artistic practice such as: visual arts, photography, sculpture, installation and multimedia, amongst others.

HOW TO APPLY

Applicants are invited to apply for the EF&ZM Art Competition by filling out the official Submission form on the EF website (https://erartafoundation.org/prize/). The application must fulfill all requirements provided in the instructions on the form. Applications that are incomplete or do not adhere to the rules or specifications of the Art Competition may be disqualified at the sole discretion of EF&ZM. You must provide the information requested. You may not submit more than three applications per gallery or use multiple email addresses, identities, or devices in an attempt to circumvent the rules. If you use fraudulent methods or otherwise attempt to circumvent these terms and conditions of the Art Competition, your application may be disqualified at the sole discretion of the EF&ZM.

LIMIT TO THREE (3) ENTRIES PER APPLICANT

In case of a fraudulent or multiple applications on behalf of one individual gallery, any and all subsequent applications may be disqualified. Machine or computer-generated mass applications will be disqualified. To be considered for the Art Competition, applications must be: (i) complete (as determined above); (ii) received by the 18th of December 2024 ; and (iii) in English (unless otherwise specified). Any application not meeting the aforementioned criteria will be disqualified. EF&ZM accepts no responsibility for lost, delayed, damaged, defaced, or mislaid applications, however caused. Proof of submitting the form and an artwork does not constitute proof of applications.

EF&ZM REQUIREMENTS

The Applicants and their applications to this Art Competition must meet the following criteria ("EF&ZM Requirements"):

The Applicant must be a Gallery representative who is a confirmed participant of the ZⓈONAMACO 2025 Edition.

The Applicant must submit a work by one of their artists. An artist is not able to submit an application directly.

The Applicant can submit up to three (3) works by up to three (3) separate artists per gallery, but all must be separate submissions.

The Applicant can also submit two or three works by the same artist, but the total maximum submissions per gallery is three overall.

The work must be shown at the corresponding gallery booth in the fair for the whole 5 days, even if sold.

The Artworks must not be derogatory, offensive, threatening, defamatory, disparaging, libellous or contain any content that is inappropriate, indecent, sexual, profane, tortuous, slanderous, discriminatory in any way, or one that promotes hatred or harm against any group or person or otherwise does not comply with the theme and spirit of the Art Competition.

The Artworks must not contain content, material or any element that is unlawful, or otherwise in violation of or contrary to all applicable federal, state, or local laws and regulations including the laws or regulations in any state where the Art Competition and supporting statements and artworks are created.

The Artworks must not contain any content, material or element that displays any third party advertising, slogan, logo, trademark, representation of characters indicating sponsorship or endorsement by a third party, commercial entity or that is not within the spirit of the Art Competition, as determined by EF&ZM, at their sole discretion.

The Artworks must be original works that do not contain, incorporate or otherwise use any content, material or element that is owned by a third party or entity.

The Artworks cannot contain any content, element, or material that violates a third party's publicity, privacy or intellectual property rights.

The Applicant’s submission is not subject to any actual or threatened litigation or claim.

The Applicant does not include any disparaging remarks relating to EF&ZM or a third party.

The Applicant’s Artwork is submitted in the prescribed form and made available to the EF&ZM team through the channels indicated above.

During the Art Competition Period, the EF&ZM team, its agents and the Judges (defined below) will be evaluating the submissions (selecting for the public voting) and the supporting Applicant’s statements made on social media to ensure that they meet the EF&ZM Art Requirements. The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any Applicant who submits the application and supporting statements which do not meet the EF&ZM Art Competition Requirements. Incomplete applications or applications not complying with these Terms and Conditions are subject to disqualification.

The value of awards to Applicants is considered taxable income which the gallery, artist or his/her legal representative takes charges of independently and individually.

Artists will be rightfully credited as the creators of their artwork. However, EF&ZM cannot be held responsible for inadvertent or clerical errors committed by third parties in the publishing of the artwork and/or credits for same. Artists shall hold the right to object to the mistreatment of their artwork if such mistreatment is prejudicial to the reputation of the Artist. If the artwork submitted by contestants is materially altered or distorted (reasonable cropping may occur), the Artists reserve their right to demand the withdrawal of the artwork from public use or display.

Art Competition applicants agree to receive emails, where they can choose to unsubscribe at any time and are aware EF&ZM team may contact them by email.

RIGHTS AND WARRANTIES

By applying for the EF&ZM Art Competition and providing your original artwork (e.g., oil on canvas, sculpture, photo, video, text, etc.), the Applicant understands and agrees that EF&ZM and anyone else acting on behalf of the EF&ZM or its respective licensees, successors, affiliates and assigns, shall have the right, where permitted by law, to print, publish, broadcast, distribute, and use in any media now known or hereafter developed, in perpetuity and throughout the world, without limitation, your entry, name, portrait, picture, voice, likeness, image, statements about the EF&ZM Prize Campaign, and biographical information for news, publicity, information, trade, advertising, public relations, and promotional purposes without any further compensation, notices, review, or consent.

By applying for the EF&ZM Art Competition, you represent and warrant that your entry is an original work of authorship and does not violate any third party’s proprietary or intellectual property rights. If your application and submitted artwork infringes upon the intellectual property right of another, you will be disqualified at the sole discretion of the EF&ZM. If the content of your entry is claimed to constitute an infringement of any proprietary or intellectual proprietary rights of any third party, you shall, at your sole expense, defend or settle against such claims. You shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless EF&ZM from and against any suit, proceeding, claims, liability, loss, damage, costs or expense, which EF&ZM may incur, suffer, or be required to pay to arise out of such infringement or suspected infringement of any third party’s right.

INDEMNIFICATION

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Applicants indemnify and agree to keep indemnified EF&ZM at all times from and against any liability, claims, demands, losses, damages, costs and expenses resulting from any act, default or omission of the Applicant and/or a breach of any warranty set forth herein. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Applicants agree to defend, indemnify and hold EF&ZM harmless from and against any and all claims, actions, suits or proceedings, as well as any and all losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) arising out of or accruing from:

(i) any submission, statements or other material uploaded or otherwise provided by Applicant that infringes any copyright, trademark, trade secret, trade dress, patent or other intellectual property right of any person or defames any person or violates their rights of publicity or privacy;

(ii) any misrepresentation made by Applicant in connection with the Art Competition;

(iii) any non-compliance by Applicant with these Terms and Conditions;

(iv) claims brought by persons or entities other than the parties to these Terms and Conditions arising from or related to Applicant’s involvement with the Art Competition;

(v) acceptance, possession, misuse or use of any prize or participation in any Art Competition-related activity or participation in the EF&ZM Art Competition;

(vi) any malfunction or other problem with the EF&ZM Site in relation to the entry and participation in the EF&ZM by Applicant;

(vii) any error in the collection, processing, or retention of entry or voting information in relation to the entry and participation in the Art Competition by Applicant and in the voting process by consumers;

or (viii) any typographical or other error in the printing, offering or announcement of any prize or winners in relation to the entry and participation in the Art Competition by Applicant.

JUDGING

The preliminary list of artworks for the Art Competition will be selected by EF&ZM Judges ("Consortium") and consequently submitted to the public for voting. Frontrunners of the Art Competition will be notified via email on or before the 24rd of December 2024. All Frontrunners will receive an email from info@erartafoundation.org. Consequently, the Winner will be voted for by the public during the Art Competition Period and announced on the 9th February 2024 at the ZM Art Fair.

EF&ZM shall have no liability for a Winner's failure to receive notices due to spam, junk e- mail or other security settings or for a Winner’s provision of incorrect or otherwise non- functioning contact information. If the Winner cannot be contacted, is ineligible, fails to claim the prize within 30 (thirty) days from the time award notification was sent, or fails to timely return a completed and executed declaration (Award Agreement) and release as required, the prize may be forfeited and an alternate Winner selected. Receipt of the prize offered in the EF&ZM Campaign by the Winner is conditioned upon compliance with any and all federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Any violation of these official Terms and Conditions by the Winner at the Sponsor's sole discretion will result in the Winner's disqualification as a Winner, and all privileges as winner will be immediately terminated.

REWARDS

The Winner(s) of the EF&ZM Prize Art Competition (the "Winner(s)") will receive the following reward:

USD $100 000

All selected participants of the public voting will be evaluated by the EF&ZM judges. Substitution of the prize or transfer/assignment of the prize to others by the Winner is not permitted. Any and all prize-related expenses, including without limitation any and all federal, state, and/or local taxes shall be the sole responsibility of the Winner. Acceptance of the prize constitutes permission for the EF&ZM to use the Winner’s name, likeness, and entry for purposes of advertising and trade without further compensation, unless prohibited by law.

The Winner undertakes to sign the Award Agreement, drafted exactly as shown on erartafoundation.org/prize/. The Winner of the Art Competition must sign the Award Agreement on or before 23rd February 2025 (“the Acceptance Deadline”), to get the Award.

The Winner must not submit any artworks for the consideration of the Art Competition unless they are happy to sign the Award Agreement without amendments, except for the details of the artwork, artist and the gallery. Please consult with your legal and tax advisors beforehand if you need further advice.

Unless the Award Agreement is signed by the Winner of the Art Competition (gallery, with acknowledgement of the artist) on or before the Acceptance Deadline, the obligation of Erarta Foundation to pay the Award to the winner shall cease on the day following the Acceptance Deadline.

ELIMINATION

Any false information provided within the context of the Art Competition by Applicant concerning identity, mailing address, email address, ownership of right or non-compliance with these Terms and Conditions or the like may result in the immediate elimination of the Applicant from the Art Competition.

EF&ZM's failure to enforce any term of these Terms and Conditions will not constitute a waiver of that or any other provision. EF&ZM reserves the right to disqualify any Applicant who violates the Terms and Conditions or interferes with this Art Competition in any manner. If an Applicant is disqualified, EF&ZM reserves the right to terminate that Applicant’s eligibility to participate in the Art Competition.

Any attempt by an Applicant to deliberately damage any website or undermine the legitimate operation of EF&ZM may be a violation of criminal and civil laws. Should such an attempt be made, the Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages to the fullest extent permitted by law.

CHANGES TO THE ART COMPETITION

If for any reason the EF&ZM Art Competition is not capable of proceeding as planned, including infection by computer viruses, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Art Competition, EF&ZM reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the EF&ZM Art Competition.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

By entering the EF&ZM Art Competition, the Applicant agrees to release and hold the EF&ZM and its subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies, partners, representatives, agents, successors, assigns, employees, officers and directors harmless from any liability, illness, injury, death, loss, litigation, claim or damage that may occur, directly or indirectly, whether caused by negligence or not by (i) such Applicant’s participation in the EF&ZM Art Competition and/or his/her acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of any prize or any portion thereof; (ii) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the EF&ZM Art Competition; (iii) electronic or human error in the administration of the EF&ZM or the processing of entries; (iv) technical errors of any kind, including but not limited to the malfunction of any computer, cable, network, hardware, or software, or other mechanical equipment; (v) the unavailability or inaccessibility of any transmissions, telephone, or Internet service; (vi) printing errors; (vii) lost, late, postage due, misdirected, or undeliverable mail.

JURISDICTION AND DISPUTES

These Art Competition Terms and Conditions shall be governed by, subject to, and construed in accordance with the laws of Austria, excluding all conflict of law rules. If any provision(s) of these Terms and Conditions is held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect. Would any dispute arise in connection to the EF&ZM Art Competition, parties shall aim to resolve such dispute amicably. To the extent permitted by law, the rights to litigate, seek injunctive relief or make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Art Competition are hereby excluded, and Applicant expressly waive any and all such rights.

PRIVACY

EF&ZM Art Competition is organized under and bound by the laws of Austria. By entering the Art Competition, the artist or his/her legal representative agree on the EF&ZM Art Competition Terms and Conditions and the EF&ZM’s Privacy Policy.