Prizes for Academic Writing, Theatre, Visual Art and Writing

In 2022, the Alpine Fellowship will grant five awards for the best responses in academic writing, theatre, visual art, poetry, and writing to the theme ‘Freedom’.

The winner of each prize will receive a cash prize (amount varies by award) and in some cases an additional grant towards travel in order to attend the Fellowship’s annual symposium in Fjällnäs, Sweden. All food and accommodation during the symposium is covered by the Alpine Fellowship.

Runners up will also be invited to attend the Fjällnäs symposium, all food and accommodation covered. Travel expenses will be reimbursed up to a total of £500.

The prizes are open to all nationalities.

Deadline: 1 April 2022

Freedom

The language of freedom fires rebellions even as it inspires institutions designed to build and preserve. Freedom announces obligations and binds us to promises that are often overlooked in favour of its caricature. At a moment in history when freedom is simultaneously feared, threatened and exalted, thinking about freedom is necessary. That is why the Alpine Fellowship in collaboration with the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College will be hosting the 2022 Symposium on Freedom.

We are interested in the following questions:

• What types of freedom are there?
• Are we political beings whose freedom is actualized together in a world shared with others?

What does it mean to be personally free? Is subjecting personal freedom to obligation necessary and helpful?

• Is there a notion of freedom accessible beyond worldly constraints? Can inner freedom be developed by relating to one’s own experience in new ways?
• What role does language have in shaping freedom?

If we accept freedom is a worldly and political imperative, how can we actualize freedom in the following areas?

• Freedom of expression
• Big tech and AI
• Academia
• Public health and government mandates
• Human rights

What is artistic freedom and is it special in any way?

• What social role do artists have in supporting and actualizing freedom?
• Does the threat of public opprobrium have a limiting effect on artistic expression?
• How could the notion of “a Zeitgeist” inform the discussion on freedom?