A NumFOCUS email I just received:

"SciPy John Hunter Excellence in Plotting Competition for 2018" aims to highlight the importance of data visualization to scientific progress and showcase the capabilities of open source software. Participants are invited to submit scientific plots. Prizes: 1st, $1000; 2nd, $750; 3rd, $500.

(You need a Google account to submit the form, though :/)

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdpr5RxQcoXqF768vFcUi5G3R5q8u_k_tgdNanChqerr-2YIw/viewform

@scott, maybe this is of interest for vis.social :)