Bloodstock Open Air is making plans to return in 2021 and every year festival founder Paul Gregory curates a selection from other heavy-metal-friendly artists, both established and new, who has caught his attention the previous year. In 2021, Paul wants to give a chance to artistic newcomers to win the opportunity to hang a piece of their work alongside his own and other respected creatives in the on-site RAM Gallery, so he’s devised an art competition. To enter you need to design and create your own piece of artwork, based around and inspired by one of the bands performing at Bloodstock 2021. Paul will jointly judge the competition alongside friend and fellow artist, Mark Wilkinson (illustrator of album sleeves for Marillion, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, The Darkness), and the winner will have their work professionally framed, lit, and hung in the RAM Gallery on-site next August. In addition to this honour, the winner will bag a pair of weekend festival tickets, a personal tour of the RAM Gallery on-site with Paul Gregory, and the potential to watch 3 songs from the side of the stage of the band they’ve chosen to create their artwork for (subject to closed stages).
Paul tells us: “It’s time to get your creative imaginations into overdrive and bring the art and music together in the Rock and Metal gallery. This is what the Ram, Rock and Metal Museum champions. Myself and Mark look forward to seeing your work. Horns high. See you all soon.”
To enter, you need to submit a hi-res image of your artwork, as well as a photo of yourself either holding or (if it’s big) standing next to your artwork. Please keep image sizes below 2MB each.
A shortlist of finalists will be announced mid-February, before the final winner and two runners-up (who’ll both win a pair of weekend tickets and a personal tour of the RAM Gallery with Paul Gregory) are announced on 28th Feb.
Remit for the artists/illustrators:
Be original – don’t copy the style of the band’s previous album art.
Choose the title of a song on any album the band has in their catalogue and theme the artwork to the song title.
You can use any medium; acrylics, pastel, oil on canvas, watercolour, drawing, digitally-created, etc.
Submit the lyrics of the song alongside your artwork.
Deadline for submissions is 11.59pm, 31st Jan 2021, emailed to comps@Bloodstock.uk.com.
Winners will be contacted directly and also announced on Bloodstock’s web platforms on 28th Feb 2021.
Bloodstock will run for an additional day (Wednesday) in 2021. Bloodstock’s 2021 main stage headliners include Devin Townsend (Friday), Mercyful Fate (Saturday) And Judas Priest (Sunday). The Festival also features Dimmu Borgir, Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals, Skindred, Paradise Lost, Life Of Agony, Bury Tomorrow, Black Dahlia Murder, Diamond Head, Jinjer, Vio-lence, Sacred Reich, Gloryhammer, Dark Tranquillity, Butcher Babies, Cattle Decapitation, Bloodywood, Memoriam, Ramage Inc, Green Lung, Conjurer, Orange Goblin, The Night Flight Orchestra, Unleash The Archers, Saxon, Sylosis, Toxic Holocaust, Winterfylleth, Nekrogoblikon, The Crawling, Raised By Owls, Anakim, Acid Reign, Svalbard, Soen, Dog Tired, Bailer, Blasphemer, Black Tongue, Liberty Lies, Pist, & Sharks In Your Mouth so far. Many more bands performing across the weekend are still to be announced. Read our review of the 2019 festival.
Besides standard weekend tickets, one day tickets, child tickets and parking tickets for 2021’s event are also available now at the ticket store. VIP and campervan tickets for 2021 are already sold out.
Bloodstock 2021 takes place at Catton Park, Derbyshire from 11th-15th August 2021. For more info, click to https://www.Bloodstock.uk.com.