Regulations of the 19th CRIDEM Edition

2026

National Visual Arts Competition for Persons with Intellectual Disability

Chapter I
General Provisions

Article 1 | Scope

These regulations define the rules for the 19th Edition of CRIDEM – National Visual Arts Competition for Persons with Intellectual Disability, applicable to the years 2026 and 2027.

Article 2 | Designation

This edition of the competition shall be designated CRIDEM 2026 – 19th National Visual Arts Competition for Persons with Intellectual Disability, hereinafter referred to as CRIDEM 2026.

Article 3 | Framework

  1. CRIDEM 2026 is organised by APPACDM do Porto – Associação Portuguesa de Pais e Amigos do Cidadão Deficiente Mental, hereinafter referred to as APPACDM do Porto, in partnership with Fundação Manuel António da Mota and Fundação Montepio, hereinafter jointly referred to as the promoters.

  2. The organisation of CRIDEM 2026 benefits from institutional support provided by Humanitas – Federação Portuguesa para a Deficiência Mental and INR, I.P. – Instituto Nacional da Reabilitação.

  3. CRIDEM 2026 may also benefit from the support of other public and private entities, as well as social, educational, and cultural institutions.

Article 4 | Theme

CRIDEM 2026 does not impose a specific theme, allowing participants full freedom in their artistic expression.

Article 5 | Objectives

  1. The objectives of CRIDEM 2026 are:

    1. To encourage visual artistic expression by persons with intellectual disability or impairment, recognising it as an instrument for promoting autonomy, personal development and social inclusion;

    2. To promote democratic access to culture, celebrating diversity and recognising artists with intellectual disability or impairment as active contributors to the contemporary art scene;

    3. To raise awareness of the artistic and practical skills of persons with intellectual disability or impairment;

    4. To foster the circulation and visibility of submitted works, creating opportunities for interaction and dialogue among art, artists, institutions, audiences, and communities;

    5. To encourage the dissemination of good practices among institutions supporting persons with intellectual disability or impairment, and to value the work of their professionals;

    6. To consolidate CRIDEM as a nationally recognised cultural event and to promote its international projection.

Article 6 | Organisation

  1. The organisation and implementation of CRIDEM 2026 shall comply with the following allocation of responsibilities:

    1. Communication, dissemination and publicity of CRIDEM 2026 shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto;

    2. The submission of works to CRIDEM 2026 shall be the responsibility of the participating institutions;

    3. Receipt of the submitted works shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto;

    4. The appointment of the jury responsible for evaluating the submitted works shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto, the promoting entities and the curator appointed for this purpose, Rui Maia;

    5. The conception, coordination and supervision of the exhibitions arising out from CRIDEM 2026 shall be the responsibility of the appointed curator, Rui Maia;

    6. The transport of the submitted works between APPACDM do Porto and the exhibition venues, their packing and unpacking, as well as installing and dismantling of exhibitions and related furniture, shall be the responsibility of the company contracted for this purpose;

    7. Insurance of the submitted works shall be the responsibility of the company contracted for this purpose;

    8. The conception, planning and organisation of the exhibition openings shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto, the appointed curator, Rui Maia, and the exhibition venues;

    9. The production of visual content during the exhibition openings shall be the responsibility of the company contracted for this purpose;

    10. The designing of the Cridem 2026 awarded trophies shall be the responsibility of the appointed sculptor, José António Nobre;

    11. The production of the Cridem 2026 awarded trophies shall be the responsibility of the company contracted for this purpose;

    12. The pecuniary prizes for the awarded participants of CRIDEM 2026 shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto and the promoters;

    13. The delivering of the awarded trophies to the winners of CRIDEM 2026, as well as the participation certificates and honourable mentions shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto;

    14. The conception and production of the CRIDEM 2026 catalogue shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto, the appointed curator, Rui Maia, and the company contracted for this purpose;

    15. The conception, planning and organisation of supplementary activities to promote CRIDEM 2026 shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto and the appointed curator, Rui Maia

    16. The promotion and, if applicable, commercialisation of the submitted works shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto;

    17. The return of the submitted works to their respective institutions shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto and the company contracted for this purpose.
       

Chapter II
Competition Procedures
 

Article 7 | Criteria and Conditions for Participation

  1. Participation in CRIDEM 2026 is free of charge.

  2. All non-profit institutions based in Portugal that support or provide services to persons with intellectual disability or impairment aged 18 years or over are eligible to participate.

  3. Each institution may submit up to three works.

  4. The submitted works may be of individual or collective authorship.

  5. Works may be submitted in the following categories, in accordance with the established dimensional limits:

    1. Drawing and Painting (up to 1.20 m in height and 0.80 m in width);

    2. Sculpture (up to 0.80 m in height, 0.80 m in width and 0.80 m in depth);

    3. Tapestry (up to 1.80 m in height and 1.20 m in width);

    4. Other Visual Art Forms (up to 1.20 m in height and 0.80 m in width).

  6. APPACDM do Porto reserves the right to propose the reclassification of submitted works whenever it considers that the assigned category is unappropriated, which may affect their evaluation and potential awarding.

  7. The materials and techniques used in the creation of works must ensure appropriate standards of safety, stability and conservation.

  8. Any works that exceed the dimensional limits set out in paragraph 5 of Article 7 will be automatically disqualified.

Article 8 | Submission of Works

  1. All works must be sent to the headquarters of APPACDM do Porto, located at Travessa da Costibela, no. 85, 4100-186 Porto. Delivery may be made in person or by post.

  2. The submission period runs from 18th to 31st May 2026.

  3. The submission of works is the sole responsibility of the participating institutions.

  4. Works must be carefully packed, and APPACDM do Porto shall not be liable for any damage caused by external or unrelated factors.

  5. Each work submitted to the competition must be accompanied by a completed registration form, which will be available online from 1st May 2026.

  6. Each work shall be assigned an identification number automatically sent to the email address provided in the registration form.

  7. Failure to complete the registration form correctly and in full may result in the disqualification of the work.

  8. APPACDM do Porto reserves the right to request additional information about the participating institutions and the authors of the submitted works.

  9. To ensure impartial evaluation, works must not display any element revealing authorship or origin. If signed, the signature must be discreetly placed on the reverse or base of the work.

  10. Works submitted to the competition, particularly those in the Drawing and Painting category, must be delivered unframed. APPACDM do Porto is responsible for preparing them for exhibition.

  11. By submitting their works, participants grant APPACDM do Porto permission to use images depicting them for the promotion and communication of CRIDEM 2026.

  12. All works submitted and deemed eligible to compete will be included in the CRIDEM 2026 catalogue.

Article 9 | Evaluation

  1. The evaluation of eligible works will be based on the following criteria:

    1. The artistic and aesthetic quality of the pieces;

    2. The expression, creativity and originality of the proposals.

Article 10 | Jury

  1. The CRIDEM 2026 jury will consist of specialists in visual arts, culture, social inclusion, and intellectual disability or impairment, who will be appointed in due course by APPACDM do Porto, the promoters, and the appointed curator, Rui Maia.

  2. The jury will be chaired by the appointed curator, Rui Maia, who will have the casting vote in the event of a tie.

  3. APPACDM do Porto is responsible for communicating the jury’s decisions.

  4. The jury’s decisions shall be communicated by APPACDM do Porto.

  5. The decisions of the jury are final and not subject to appeal.

Article 11 | Prizes

  1. The prizes awarded at CRIDEM 2026 are organised into the following categories:

    1. Pecuniary prizes:

      1. Fundação Manuel António da Mota Prize, worth €3,500, awarded to the institution that submitted the work with the highest overall score in the competition;

      2. Fundação Montepio Prize, worth €2,500, awarded to the institution that submitted the work with the second highest overall score in the competition;

      3. Porto Prize, worth €1,500, awarded to the institution that submitted the work with the third highest overall score in the competition;

      4. Aires Moreira Prize, worth €1,000, awarded to the institution that submitted the best collection of works in the competition.

    2. Category prizes (non-pecuniary):

      1. Trophies awarded to the three highest-scoring works in each category of the competition, as defined in paragraph 5 of Article 7. These trophies cannot be awarded in combination with the pecuniary prizes.

    3. Honourable mentions:

      1. Certificates awarded to works submitted to the competition that, although not winning a prize, are deemed deserving of recognition.

    4. Participation certificates:

      1. Certificates awarded to all works submitted to the competition.

  2. Prizes shall be awarded at a formal ceremony at Fundação Manuel António da Mota, Porto, in September 2026, as part of the opening CRIDEM 2026.

  3. All costs associated with attending the prize-giving ceremony shall be borne entirely by the participating institutions and may not be charged to APPACDM do Porto.

Article 12 | Exhibitions

  1. All works submitted to the competition and deemed eligible to participate in CRIDEM 2026 will be included in its inaugural exhibition.

  2. APPACDM do Porto shall inform participants of the date, venue and duration of the opening ceremony and exhibition.

  3. A selection of works submitted to CRIDEM 2026 will be included in a travelling exhibition following the opening exhibition, hereinafter referred to as CRIDEM GALLERY 2026.

  4. The selection of the works to be included in CRIDEM GALLERY 2026 shall be the responsibility of the appointed curator, Rui Maia.  Participating institutions must comply with the selection and the deadlines for the return of their works.

  5. The notification of dates, venues and duration of CRIDEM GALLERY’s 2026 exhibitions to the participants, shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto. As well as informing them of the inclusion of their works, when applicable.

Article 13 | Works Commercialisation

  1. The selling promotion of the submitted works shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto, whenever the intention to do so is explicitly stated by the participating institutions in the respective registration form.

  2. Sales conditions are outlined in the registration form and are deemed tacitly accepted upon indicating the respective price.

  3. The price of the works must be determined by one of the following entities:

    1. The author;

    2. The legal representative of the author;

    3. The person responsible for submitting the work on behalf of the participating institution.

  4. The sale of works may take place through:

    1. Exhibitions;

    2. Charity auctions;

    3. Physical stores;

    4. Digital platforms.

  5. From the proceeds of the sale of the works:

    1. 90% shall revert to the participating institution;

    2. The remaining percentage shall be used to cover costs related to organisation, publicity, production, transport, insurance, or other related expenses.

  6. The management of sales transactions shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto.

  7. Informing participating institutions of any sale shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto.

  8. The delivery of sold works to their respective buyers, within deadlines to be agreed upon the parties involved, shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto and the contracted company for this purpose.

Article 14 | Return of Works

  1. The works submitted to the competition will be returned to the participating institutions in stages, depending on whether they are selected for inclusion in CRIDEM GALLERY 2026.

  2. The return of the works to the participating institutions shall be the responsibility of the contracted company for this purpose.

  3. To inform the participating institutions about the procedures and deadlines for the return of their works, shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto.

  4. The return of the works under conditions that ensure their integrity shall be the responsibility of APPACDM do Porto.

  5. Participating institutions shall be responsible for receiving the returned works.

Article 15 | Copyright

  1. The copyright of the works submitted to the competition remains with their creators.

  2. APPACDM do Porto does not acquire any intellectual property rights over the submissions to CRIDEM 2026, except for those necessary for the promotion, organisation, and exhibition of the works, as well as for their authorised sale.

Article 16 | Data and Privacy

Personal data collected for participation in CRIDEM 2026 will be processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable legislation.

Chapter III
Final Provisions

Article 17 | Entry into Force

  1. These regulations will come into force on 1st February 2026.

  2. The submission of works to the competition implies tacit acceptance of all the rules outlined in these regulations.

Article 18 | Gaps and Omissions

Any gaps or omissions in these regulations will be addressed by the Board of APPACDM do Porto, which may consult the promoters.

Article 19 | Revision and Revocation

These regulations have been approved by the Board of APPACDM do Porto and accepted by the promoters and may be revised or revoked at any time by them.

Article 20 | Contacts

  1. Interested parties may contact APPACDM do Porto for further information regarding CRIDEM 2026 and CRIDEM GALLERY 2026, using the following contact details:

    1. Email:

      1. cridem@appacdmporto.com.

    2. Phone (available from 09:00 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 17:00):

      1. +351 226 197 467.

    3. Mobile (available from 09:00 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 17:00):

      1. +351 912 844 169.



Approved by the Board of APPACDM do Porto on 22 January 2026.

 



Regulation download