The innovative global competition where art and technology meet to empower a new generation of artists is back. In Red Bull Doodle Art, participants let their minds wander and draw doodles – those spontaneous creations that happen when pen meets paper, and the imagination runs free. In this “phygital” experience involving both the physical and digital realms of art, the national winner will be invited to the World Final in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where the 2023 Red Bull Doodle Art winner will be chosen by a panel of renowned experts. The application window is now open until 11 March 2023.

The pen-on-paper concept of Red Bull Doodle Art dates to the very first edition in 2012, and across the decade since, the competition has remained true to that inclusive concept, while evolving to expand the horizons of participants through the latest technological innovations. In 2014, World Finalists created doodles on a digital platform, while the 2017 World Finalists brought their doodles to the world of virtual reality, which was the biggest of its kind at the time. The 2023 edition marks the first time that Red Bull Doodle Art will be bringing doodles to the blockchain through NFTs (non-fungible tokens) created by artists and creatives. 

In Mzansi, Red Bull Doodle Art will host a series of workshops at application events around the country including Cape Town, Eastern Cape, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Free State, Pretoria and Johannesburg where participating students and creatives will put pen on paper to see where their imagination takes them.  Participants can also submit their doodle digitally or on official Red Bull Doodle Art frame, which all be downloaded and submitted at www.redbulldoodleart.com.

All participants who submit a valid doodle will have access to a digital collectible in the form of an NFT on the Polygon blockchain. National winners will not only receive participant digital collectibles but will be awarded with a unique finalist's digital collectible to commemorate the honor. All NFTs will be available to claim for free via a custom blockchain wallet for participants.   

Red Bull Doodle Art is open to everyone 18 years of age and older who is a current resident of South Africa. To take part in Red Bull Doodle Art, go to the official website, select your country, download the template and submit your doodle or visit www.redbulldoodleart.com to see where and when your local application events are taking place.

The South African national final will see the work of regional finalists displayed in an exhibition open to the public at a curated event in Cape Town. From those, a panel of experts will select the winner based on the criteria of creativity, artistic skill, and the way the doodle expresses a love for life. The winner will collaborate with a professional artist to get ready to represent South Africa with an exclusive doodle NFT at the World Final in Amsterdam.

From 25 to 28 May 2023, the World Final will bring together all the national finalists globally for a three-day immersive experience in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. This will feature workshops, exclusive “phygital” creative sessions, public gallery, and the announcement of the global winner of Red Bull Doodle Art 2023. 

“The experience as a winner was out of this world, traveling to San Francisco to meet other creatives and create art in a virtual form was mind blowing. I learned so many things such as communication skills and different cultures that affect design. Overall I learned “How to be me”, how to be unique, to challenge myself and defeat the norm.” said South Africa 2017 Red Bull Doodle Art winner Sabastien Pillay.