Free Entry
Build a story through AI-generated images and video for the chance to receive a $1,000 grant and be featured in Prompt Magazine.
NightCafe launches NightCafe Select, a new international competition dedicated to artists and storytellers using AI to create complete and intentional narratives.Â
The first edition, titled The Architecture of Feeling, invites participants to transform an emotion into a visual story with a clear beginning, development, and conclusion. Rather than submitting a single image or standalone clip, artists are asked to present a cohesive Body of Work in which every element contributes to the same narrative vision. Entry is free and open to artists aged 18 and over worldwide, wherever permitted by local law.Â
AWARD CATEGORIES
Participants may submit more than one Body of Work. However, each artist may receive only one prize, awarded to their highest-scoring entry.
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Best Overall
Best Storytelling
Most Creative
Community Favourite
Highly Commended, awarded to ten artists
Participants may submit more than one Body of Work. However, each artist may receive only one prize, awarded to their highest-scoring entry.Â
AWARDS AND PRIZES
The winner of Best Overall will receive a USD $1,000 cash grant, together with a feature in Prompt Magazine, a printed copy of the publication, a verified NightCafe Select portfolio, the NightCafe Select Seal of Excellence, an official winner badge, and a certificate. The winners of Best Storytelling, Most Creative, and Community Favourite will also receive a feature in Prompt Magazine, a printed copy of the magazine, and the official NightCafe Select recognition package.The ten Highly Commended artists will receive a dedicated badge and a printed copy of the Prompt Magazine edition connected to the competition.Â
How to Enter
To participate in NightCafe Select, artists must:
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Create a cohesive Body of Work responding to the theme The Architecture of Feeling.
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Write an Artist Statement of at least 30 words.
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Submit the project through the official NightCafe Select portal.
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Share the entry with the NightCafe community.
Artists may use post-production tools to edit their NightCafe creations before uploading the final project.
Participation is completely free, and no purchase is required. Entrants must have a valid NightCafe account.
Entries close on Sunday, 12 July 2026, at 11:59 PM UTC.
From Community Qualification to Expert Judging
NightCafe Select is a skill-based competition with no element of chance.
During the first round, each entry that receives at least 20 likes from registered NightCafe community members will advance to the expert judging stage. Likes act only as a qualification threshold and do not determine the winners, except in the Community Favourite category.
The judging panel will evaluate the qualifying submissions according to four equally weighted criteria:
Concept
The originality of the idea and the world created around it.
Craft
The technical and artistic quality of the execution across the chosen formats.
Cohesion
The ability of the individual elements to function as one intentional and unified Body of Work.
Intent
The depth and clarity of the Artist Statement and the creative vision behind the project.
The expert judging period will take place from 13 to 17 July 2026, with the winners announced on 20 July 2026.Â
CONCEPT
The Architecture of Feeling
How can an emotion become a place, a structure, or an entire visual world?
For this edition, artists are invited to begin with a feeling; wonder, longing, awe, joy, or something more intimate and difficult to define; and construct a narrative around it.
The submission may consist of a collection of images and videos presented together as a NightCafe collection or uploaded within a single post. Alternatively, participants may submit one video created from multiple clips or still images edited together.
The project should not function simply as a mood board or a selection of unrelated works. It must tell a deliberate and coherent story from beginning to end.
Each submission must also include an Artist Statement of at least 30 words, explaining the intention, story, and creative direction behind the work.Â
14 Artists Selected for Prompt Magazine 18
A total of 14 artists will be selected through NightCafe Select and featured in Prompt Magazine 18.
The publication will include the winners of Best Overall, Best Storytelling, Most Creative, and Community Favourite, together with the ten artists receiving the Highly Commended distinction.
The four main category winners will receive greater editorial prominence, while the Best Overall winner will be presented with the leading feature in the dedicated NightCafe Select section.