It’s that time again: get ready for the colourful world of High Art 2022! Each year professional and amateur artists create themed works through a variety of mediums to compete for $50,000 in prize money and to see their work featured across The Natural Cannabis Company products. This annual art competition, now in its 9th year, is the most psychedelic international art competition out there. Spanning various visual mediums, High Art always has plenty to keep artists and art lovers engaged. And with a different theme each year, The Natural Cannabis Company ensure each annual competition is different and pushing the boundaries of inspiration for artists.
So, what is this year’s theme? It’s none other than: music.
“Music is something spiritual. It’s something that everyone can enjoy. It can get you pumped up or ease your anxiety. We’re asking you this year to take the inspiration of music – whatever it means to you – and channel it into your art.”
Noa Commendador, High Art Art Director
Enter High Art 2022
Note: High Art 2022 will open on February 20, 2022, at 4:20 AM PST
Key Dates:
February 20, 2022, at 4:20am PST – March 20, 2022 at 4:20am PST
April 9th: Top 150 Finalists Announced
April 20th 4:20pm US/Pacific: Top 20 Winners Announced
Prizes
1st Place: $15,000 and a $10,000 donation made in the winner’s name to one of the following international charities of their choice: Amnesty International, UNICEF, PETA, Doctor’s Without Borders, The International Red Cross, or The International Campaign to Ban Landmines
2nd Place: $5,000 USD
3rd Place: $2,500 USD
4th – 20th Place: $500 USD
High Art 2022
High Art 2022 prides itself on being open and inclusive. Last year saw this annual art competition grow to new heights: 4,000+ entries from a record of 148 countries! Excitingly, the competition is open to entries from all over the world. The High Art team encourage you to push the boundaries of your creativity using cannabis and other psychedelics, if it is legal for you to do so. Ultimately, they want artists to tap into the many different ways that one can stimulate creativity – all revolving around the emotionally-charged theme of music.
What is most integral is that entrants are aged 18+ – and that they follow the theme we provide.
There are no boundaries when it comes to the styles of art or the mediums used. Whether you are a painter, drawer, digital designer, mixed media artist, photographer or even sculptor, get your favourite music on and prepare your entries! You can even check out the official High Art profile on Spotify and explore their multiple playlists to get you in the mood.
Read the full FAQ here to for the full rules for entry.
High Art prizes
As well as the monetary prizes, the Finalists and the Winners will have their artwork, and the stories relating to their art, read and seen by purchasers of The Natural Cannabis Company (NCC) products. Additionally, the winning entries will be featured at the contest’s online gallery for one year. They will then remain in the gallery’s archives. Furthermore, winners will also enjoy their art being shared in the tantalising annual art book, posters, email newsletters, online press releases, online event promotions and social media marketing, as well as through exhibits and displays at prestigious international art and culture events [pandemic pending].
“The Top 150 Finalists get printed in our High Art Book every single year. These books are distributed all over the world as well being for sale online. The Book includes each of the Top 150 artworks, plus artist bios and social media links. Therefore you can easily discover more about these talented artists!”
This is an amazing opportunity to share your art with the world and see your creations on official NCC packaging and shared in international exhibits and events!
To whet your appetite in anticipation for this year’s delights, check out last year’s winners here.
High Art Gallery and online shop
As well as their main shop, NCC also have a special online gallery to better support annual winners. However, it was also created as another avenue for artists to enter the contest. This is because NCC are aware that even accessing their main website can be an offence in some countries.
As such, artists can also enter via the High Art Gallery website as a safer option. One important element to the Gallery is to provide a safe web link for those in countries where cannabis is still illegal, allowing artists to safely enter this art competition without any fear of repercussions.
Additionally, are you an artist looking to meet like-minded creatives? There is also the official High Art Facebook group, which welcomes all into the community. The group is a safe space to share art and discuss ideas – all overseen by Art Director, Noa Commendador.
About High Art by the Natural Cannabis Company
Fascinatingly, artists have been inspired by marijuana for decades, and the cannabis art movement has evolved throughout different cultures. This movement has only grown as more and more countries have legalised this plant. High Art was created by The Natural Cannabis Company in 2014 as a crowd-sourcing solution to packaging design. But amazingly, from its humble beginnings, the competition has developed into an internationally known art contest with thousands of entries annually from 130+ countries all over the world.
One of the goals of the competition is to celebrate this creativity and the real-life experiences linked to using cannabis. Submissions can be inspired by or produced as a result of cannabis. However, while this is a focus, it is not compulsory for artists to have been affected by this psychotropic drug in order to submit an entry into the prize.
As we wait for this year’s entries to roll in, enjoy more submissions from the previous years below.
High Art Social Media Accounts
Gallery + Shop | Instagram | Facebook | High Art Spotify
Natural Cannabis Company Social Media Accounts
Website | Gallery + Shop | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
