Visit Maldives launches an international art competition titled, “Thasveeru: Maldives Through Art” for the first time on 15th July 2021. The main aim of the competition is to promote the natural beauty of the Maldives by showcasing local and international talent through art. It also hopes to inspire not only the international art community, but discerning travelers across the world to discover the unique beauty of the destination.

The competition invites local and international artists to paint and interpret the Maldives under the theme, “Celebration of Nature: Beautiful Ecosystems'', in collaboration with the Maldivian Artist Community (MAC). The theme was selected to show that Maldives has a diverse range of natural habitats and offers more than the award-winning beaches it is known for. The competition accepts paintings, digital art, and mixed media as the mediums for the submitted artworks. All submissions are to be submitted to Visit Maldives through the specially created microsite for the art competition (thasveeru.visitmaldives.com).

Out of all the submissions, the 12 best artworks (6 international and 6 local) will be selected by an independent judging panel based on creativity, concept, originality, completion and the fluency of the chosen medium. The 12 artworks will be posted on the Visit Maldives’ official Instagram page. The final

winners are selected based on 50% of instagram likes and 50% of the total score given by the judging panel for the artwork. The competition will select a total of 4 winners (2 international and 2 local). The 1st winner and 2nd winner from both the international and local category will win a cash prize of $3000 (MVR 46,350) and $2000 (MVR 30,900) respectively. The selected artworks will be used in the future promotional activities of Visit Maldives.

During the campaign period, the artworks of local artists, art murals in local islands and artworks in various resorts of the destination are also promoted on the official social media handles of Visit Maldives. This is to provide further exposure to the artistic interpretations of the destination. A “like-and-share” contest will also be held on the Instagram page within the period and random winners will win a Maldives goodie bag.

The competition is a unique initiative launched for the first time under the social media strategies of Visit Maldives in order to promote the destination as a top choice for travelers in the global market and increase engagement on the Visit Maldives social media platforms. Additionally, it empowers the local artist community and utilises a variety of creative mediums to highlight the awe-inspiring beauty of the destination and its natural ecosystems.

To take part in or learn more about the competition, please visit thasveeru.visitmaldives.com. The final date for submission is 15th August 2021 before 12 PM. Visit Maldives looks forward to receiving the unique visions of the destination through the eyes of both local and international artists around the world.