CALL FOR 2025
1. PRESENTATION – STATEMENT OF MOTIVES
The mission of the Lleida City Council, through its Cooperation Department, is to raise public awareness of the structural causes of global poverty and inequality, within the framework of what is now known as Education for Social Transformation (EpTS).
HUMORÀLIA is a global graphic art exhibition that brings together artists from around the world to explore the theme of Human Rights and to promote a culture of peace through creative expression. Art and humor serve as powerful instruments for inspiring a world where peace leads the way.
Graphic humor is a truly universal medium for social transformation, appealing directly to emotion while encouraging reflection on inequality and stimulating debate on how to overcome it. Education plays a crucial role in preventing attitudes that promote discrimination, and humor becomes an e ective and engaging tool in both educational and pedagogical processes, particularly for younger audiences drawn to visual art.
The philosophy of Humoràlia is to approach humor and humorism as serious subjects for debate and study—through artistic, humanistic, and scientific disciplines—setting aside clichés and superficial or uncritical humor. Within this broad concept, expressions such as irony, satire, sarcasm, white and black humor, comedy, entertainment, jokes, wit, and many related forms all have a place. Humoràlia seeks to showcase works with humorous content from any artistic field—visual, literary, performing, or even musical—and to analyze, debate, and reflect upon humor itself.
This promotion of artists and their work also fosters emerging talent through Humoràlia’s competitions and exhibitions.
From 2009 to 2023, the Humoràlia Exhibition was organized by the Humoràlia association together with the Coordinator of NGOs and other Solidarity Movements of Lleida. During that time, it recognized and celebrated the professional contributions of thousands of artists from across the globe, in alignment with the principles of Awareness Raising and International Cooperation.
In 2025, the Lleida City Council is launching the ninth edition of the Exhibition, aiming to revive a rights-based event deeply rooted in our city and to honor those who work internationally to promote and defend the rights of all people.
2. NAME “GRAPHIC HUMOR SHOW – HUMORÀLIA”
3. APPLICATIONS: REQUIREMENTS
Any person of legal age, from Lleida or anywhere in the world, whether a professional or amateur artist, is invited to participate.
4. SPECIFIC BASES
The Graphic Humor Exhibition – Humoràlia will be organized every two years by the City Council of Lleida and Humoràlia.
The theme of the 2025 edition is ARMED CONFLICTS AROUND THE WORLD.
For the purpose of this call, “armed conflict” refers to any confrontation carried out by regular or irregular armed groups involving continuous and organized violence (i.e., resulting in at least 100 deaths per year and/or causing serious damage to the territory— such as the destruction of infrastructure or natural environments) and threatening human security (through injury or displacement of populations, sexual and gender-based violence, food insecurity, impacts on mental health and the social fabric, or disruption of essential services, among others).
These factors are compounded by elements such as the trade in weapons and dual-use materials, the exploitation of natural resources, and civilian industries that profit from war. Beyond the direct consequences of armed violence—deaths, injuries, and destruction—there are lasting e ects that scar communities for generations.
Many conflicts lead to mass displacement, the recruitment of combatants (often minors), and increased sexual violence, all of which cause profound psychosocial damage and intensify hostility between communities.
Through this theme, Humoràlia seeks to promote the values of a culture of peace and to deepen understanding of today’s world, with particular emphasis on the conflicts that, regrettably, still persist internationally. The aim is to encourage reflection on ongoing conflicts and the need for peaceful resolution.
Currently, there are approximately 58 active armed conflicts worldwide, most of which began in the mid-20th century and continue to this day. Africa remains the continent most a ected (15 conflicts), followed by Asia (9) and, more specifically, the Middle East (6).
Humoràlia aims to raise awareness of these ongoing conflicts, underscore the importance of peace and conflict resolution, and highlight the disproportionate impact of war on women and children—groups that require special attention and visibility.
Submissions must be made personally by the artist exclusively via the online form available at
cooperacio.paeria.cat/humoralia. The system will automatically generate a confirmation receipt for each submission.
Given the non-competitive, educational, and non-profit nature of the Exhibition, no monetary prize will be awarded. However, the organization commits to sending two printed copies of the exhibition catalogue to each selected artist. The works:
• May be created using any technique, in DIN A4 format (210 × 297 mm) or proportional.
• Each participant may submit up to three works, in black and white or color, preferably without text. If text is included, it must be in Catalan, Spanish, English, or French.
• Files must be in JPG or JPEG format at 300 dpi (or a comparable print resolution).
• A maximum of 50 works will be selected.
The selected works will be chosen from the eligible submissions by a Jury of six members, through majority vote: one acting as president (the Mayor or a delegated representative), one deputy from the Cooperation Department of the Provincial Council of Lleida, two members of the Humoràlia organization, and two technical sta from the Cooperation Department.
The Mayor of Lleida, or their delegate, will appoint the president and members of the Jury. The president will hold a casting vote in the event of a tie. The composition of the Jury will be published on the website
cooperacio.paeria.cat/humoralia.
The Jury’s composition must comply with Organic Law 2/2024 of 1 August, guaranteeing balanced gender representation (a minimum of 40% for the underrepresented sex).
The Jury’s decision will be final and binding.
Participation in the Exhibition implies authorization for the organization to reproduce and display the submitted works in a traveling exhibition, a printed catalogue (distributed in various cultural spaces), and an online catalogue published on social networks and digital platforms, including
cooperacio.paeria.cat/humoralia.
All reproductions will serve solely educational and awareness-raising purposes, never for profit, and the author’s name will always be credited.
By submitting their work, participants—whether as authors or holders of exploitation rights—grant the Department of Cooperation a free license for reproduction, distribution, and public communication (including online dissemination) for the purposes of managing and promoting the Exhibition. All use will remain strictly non-commercial, and authors will be duly credited.
Participants guarantee that their submissions are original works, that they do not infringe third-party intellectual, industrial, image, or other property rights, and that they possess full legal capacity to transfer the rights specified herein to the Department of Cooperation and Humoràlia.
Since the works are submitted digitally, they will not be returned to the authors.
5. NOTIFICATION OF SELECTED WORKS
The organization will notify selected participants electronically once the Jury’s decision has been finalized.
6. SUBMISSION AND SELECTION PROCEDURE
The submission period will open on 1 November 2025 and close on 15 December 2025, both dates inclusive.
The launch of the call and the opening of the submission period will be announced through a press release and on o icial institutional websites.
Proposals must be submitted exclusively through the online form available on the Department of Cooperation’s website (cooperacio.paeria.cat/humoralia).
The electronic form will include the following mandatory fields:
• Title of the work
• Name and surname of the author
• Pseudonym (if applicable)
• Postal address
• Telephone number (with international prefix, if applicable)
• Email address
• Social media accounts
• Attached graphic work
Submissions received after the deadline will not be accepted.
7. SELECTION AND DECISION
The Jury will meet after the submission period closes and will announce its verdict within one month of the deadline.
8. DATA PROTECTION
Participants’ personal data will be incorporated into the processing activity “Awards, Contests, and Promotions,” managed by the Lleida City Council (Pl. Paeria, no. 1, 25007 Lleida).
Data subjects may exercise their rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The purpose of data processing is to manage the prizes, contests, and promotions organized or supported by the City Council.
Data processing is lawful under Article 6.1(b) of the GDPR as it is necessary for the execution of a contract with the participant. Data will not be shared with third parties except as required by law or stated in these rules.
Participants have the right to access, rectify, delete, port, restrict, or oppose the processing of their data.
9. ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS
Participation in this call implies full acceptance of these terms and express submission to the interpretive decisions of the Lleida City Council.
