We’re commissioning pitches for features (1,200-2,000 words), personal stories, photo series and photo essays, infographics, illustrations and comics that tackle the themes below. We welcome all voices, and particularly encourage young people to pitch!
The deadline for submissions is 11 March, but early pitches will be considered.
Commissions will be remunerated and appear in print in the third issue of Bozar—Centre for Fine Arts’s MAYDAY Magazine.
Why MAYDAY?
Europe Day on 9 May marks the anniversary of Robert Schuman’s declaration which, in 1950, launched European unification. Every year it is an ideal opportunity to take stock—where does Europe stand, and where is it going?
For Bozar—Centre for Fine Arts, Europe Day is the start of “May Days”: a month-long programme of debates, lectures, exhibitions and performances reflecting on topics germane to Europe. For the past two years, as the pandemic made it difficult to organise large, in-person events, MAYDAY Magazine has been central to this debate.
This year’s topic:
Europe at War
A sudden event has shaken Europe to its core. On 24 February 2022, many of us woke up to the news that a war that had long been brewing had broken out on the continent, threatening the decades-long peace that is at the foundation of the European project itself.
People across the continent are protesting against a destructive war many can’t make sense of, and politicians are ill-prepared to respond to a campaign that smacks of an era we thought belonged to the past. Response to Russia’s war against Ukraine is the new priority. What does this mean for Europe and its citizens? What are its consequences in the countries affected and elsewhere? And what are its implications for the as-yet unsolved conflicts in Europe—around identity, democracy and sustainability?
This year’s edition of MAYDAY Magazine is looking for journalists, academics, writers, artists, photographers and illustrators to zoom in on the wars that are taking place in Europe today, and reflect on what we—citizens of Europe and the world—can do about them.
Looking for inspiration?
Here’s some of the questions we’d like to explore:
- has Europe been “at war” all along, but we just haven’t seen it?
- is the “European Peace” a fragile illusion, or a solid achievement that is worth fighting to defend?
- what does Russia’s war against Ukraine mean for west vs. east, or rest-of-the-world narratives?
- what are the ideological implications of this war?
- how does Russia’s war against Ukraine impact struggles over identity, sustainability, democracy in Europe?
- what communities are being disproportionately, and perhaps less visibly affected?
- how does the war question Europe’s approach to energy and the green transition?
- what are the struggles and conflicts affecting the youth in Europe today?