@Volker_E we should use that space for different calls to action or special announcements. As you say, the current message is not relevant at this point in time. The most important thing we want people to do now when they come to the website is to see the announcement about the international winners of Wiki Loves Monuments 2018. I don't have the full picture of what the blog looks like at this stage (MVP) though. If that message is not redundant, I would say: "Explore the winning photos" on the button, remove the message under the button and leave the left-hand-side empty. Or, just leave the full bar empty if the winners are visible in the bottom of it anyway.

@LilyOfTheWest The blog contents are untouched by the work on the theme. All you can see on the current blog, will be on the relaunch.
I think a call to action button makes sense even though there will be an entry on top immediately after.
The blog tagline seems helpful to me as a short introduction what the site is about. Not sure if the “win prizes” statement should remain though?

@Volker_E how about the following:
For blog tagline: "More than 250,000 photos of the world's monuments were uploaded in 2018 to improve Wikipedia."
For the button: "Explore the winning photos"

Amended proposal:
Blog tagline: “Wikipedia photo contest with 250,000+ images of the world's monuments contributed in 2018”
Button: “See the winners ->”