[BCMA] call for artists

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv]

 Calling all Artists

The Penticton Art Gallery is excited to invite artists working in all
mediums to submit their artwork for consideration in our spring exhibition
program, which will focus on exploring Mental Health. Scheduled to open in
Penticton on Saturday, March 23rd, 2024, this exhibition program will also
play a pivotal role in shaping the upcoming 3rd Annual Ignite the Arts
Festival. We are eager to include your unique voice, experience, and
perspective in this important dialogue.

Each of the three concurrent exhibitions will explore various facets of
Mental Health and its profound impact on individuals, our community, and
society. Recognizing that no one is exempt, our goal is to destigmatize
mental health discussions through both the exhibitions and accompanying
community programming. We aspire to foster a safe and inclusive environment
where open dialogue, acknowledgment, and support for both individual and
collective mental well-being can thrive. Your artistic contributions are
essential in enriching this meaningful exploration.

We are honored to welcome Kagan Goh, a distinguished author, artist, and
noted mental health activist, as our guest curator for the Gifts of Madness
exhibition. Applications are now open for artists working in all media to
submit their works for consideration and inclusion in this exhibition.

All interested artists are invited to complete the online submission form
at the following link:

https://forms.gle/gejrqMnkKYgojf1Y6

Thank you for your time, consideration, and trust. We acknowledge the
sensitivity of this topic and are dedicated to ensuring that the gallery
remains a safe and inclusive space throughout the exhibition.

In light of this, if you or someone you know needs mental health and
suicide prevention support, please reach out by calling or texting 9-8-8.
Trained crisis responders are accessible around the clock, providing
compassionate support and a secure space for meaningful conversation.

Gifts of Madness ~ An Open Call for Submissions

GIFTS OF MADNESS is a Mad Pride mental health-themed touring art exhibition
and festival of live performances by mad artists in partnership with
Penticton Art Gallery, Tempest Theatre & Film Society, Voices with Impact,
Connection Salon, Gallery Gachet, Community Arts Council of Vancouver,
Workman Arts Rendezvous with Madness Festival.

Guest curator: Kagan Goh

ABOUT GIFTS OF MADNESS:

GIFTS OF MADNESS is a Mad Pride mental health-themed art exhibition and
festival that will show the Yin Yang duality of both the negative and
positive experiences and all the grey areas in between the complex spectrum
of living with a mental illness. To quote the famous bipolar musician
Lauryn Hill: our mission is to “develop a negative into a positive picture.”

The exhibition of Mad Pride mental health-themed art exhibition and
festival will explore on one hand the negative aspects of the experience of
mental health, predominantly focusing on the stigma, prejudice, and
discrimination against people with mental illness, and the trauma and
damage suffered by people living with mental illness.

This project will aim to shift the paradigm by exploring the valuable and
positive abilities as opposed to simply the undesirable disabilities of mad
artists “touched” with mental illness who discover the therapeutic benefits
of Art: how their creative gifts of madness have helped them to heal
themselves, and in the process, help to heal others.

WE ARE SEEKING:

We are inviting submissions from artists working in the mad arts/disability
arts movement. Both emerging and mature artists are encouraged to apply.
All artistic mediums are welcome.

This is a multimedia, multidisciplinary art exhibition that will feature
photography, painting, drawing, art installation, sculpture, video, film,
readings, and live performances by stand-up comedians, musicians, spoken
word artists, storytellers, and theatre artists.

The mad artists featured in this Mad Pride-themed exhibition have also
developed reputations as mental health spokespersons, role models, mentors,
advocates, and activists helping to educate the public about mental health
issues, break the silence of mental illness, and fight the stigma,
prejudice and discrimination against people with mental illness.

We will explore their personal life stories and history of mental health
challenges; their hardships, suffering and struggles and how they overcame
adversity through discovering the power of Art to heal themselves and
others, and in doing so, help change the world. GIFTS OF MADNESS explores
how these remarkable mad artists have transformed their lives from victims
to survivors, to activists.

The exhibition in the Main Gallery of the Penticton Art Gallery will
include photography, painting, installation, sculpture, video — any works
that push the boundaries of expression in the medium(s). Select short films
and longer film projects will be presented on a separate night at the
Tempest Theatre & Film Society.

IMPORTANT DATES

1) Penticton Art Gallery

Exhibition Opening: Saturday 23 March 2024 ~ 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Exhibition Closing: Saturday 11 May 2024
Submission Deadline: Thursday 15 Feb 2024

Note: The physical exhibit for the exhibition program will open on
Saturday, March 23 and continue through to Saturday, May 11, 2024. The
opening will be in conjunction with the Ignite the Arts Festival which will
run from Friday March 22 - Sunday March 31, 2024 and the physical exhibit
will continue until Saturday May 11, 2024.

2) 10 Minute Plays: Ignite the Arts Festival & Tempest Theatre

Performance Dates: March 28 & March 30th 2024
Submissions Deadline: January 6, 2024

Note: The plays will be presented in partnership with the Penticton Art
Gallery's 2024 exhibition 'Gift of Madness', The Tempest Theatre & Film
Society invites you to submit a play of around 10 minutes on the topic of
mental health and/or neurodiversity written by people either living with
mental health challenges or living closely with someone who is experiencing
mental health issues. If chosen, it will be workshopped by professional
writers & directors Kate Twa, Denise Kenney, Isaac Gilbert, and The Winter
Ensemble and ultimately performed at Ignite the Arts Festival in Penticton!
Submissions are due by January 6, 2024, to provide enough time for
workshopping and rehearsal. 2 of these plays will be performed on March 28
& March 30th, 2024 as part of a series of 10-minute plays presented by our
Tempest Actor's Ensemble during the Ignite the Arts Festival in 2024. We
want to hear from you!

3) Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival, Connection Salon and Gallery Gachet

Exhibition Opening: TBA (after May 2024)
Exhibition Closing: TBA

Note: Selected artworks will be chosen for presentation at the Vancouver
Outsider Arts Festival (October 2024), Connection Salon and Gallery Gachet
in Vancouver after May 2024.

Selected artworks will be chosen for exhibition in the Vancouver Outsider
Arts Festival which will pay selected artists at CARFAC rates.

Penticton Art Gallery Exhibition Details:

1) A team of curators from the Penticton Art Gallery with guest curator
Kagan Goh will be selecting artists and aim to feature more than one work
of art for each artist.

2) Selected artists will be paid an exhibition honorarium, the amount paid
each artist will be ultimately determined based on the number of artists
selected and our budget.

3) Installation to be handled by the Penticton Art Gallery.

4) While in our care all of the submitted works will be covered under the
Penticton Art Gallery's insurance.

5) The Penticton Art Gallery will cover the return shipping for all
artworks

6) Shipping or art works for the exhibition:

a) Artists living in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland

Submissions can be dropped off with our community partner the Gathering
Place Community Centre. Please deliver your submission on February 27, 2024
(drop off times between 12 pm - 6 pm)
Location: 609 Helmcken St, Vancouver, BC V6B 5R1 ~ Phone: (604) 665-2391
Note: The works will all be shipped to the Penticton Art Gallery from there.

b) All other submissions

For all other submissions please arrange delivery of your work to the
Penticton Art Gallery between March 1 and 9, 2024. Please note any
submissions arriving later may not be included in the exhibition

Shipping Address:

Gifts of Madness Exhibition
c/o Penticton Art Gallery
199 Marina Way
Penticton, B.C. V2A 1H5

Phone: (250) 493-2928
Email: curator at pentictonartgallery.com

Overall Project Timeline

* December 15: Call for Artist opens through online submission

* January 6, 2024: 10 Minute Play ~ Submission Deadline
* February 15, 2024: Gifts of Madness submission deadline

* February 15-February 20, 2024: Selection of artists

* February 21, 2024: Selected Artists Contacted

* February 27, 2024: Selected artists living in the lower mainland can
drop-off their artwork between 12 pm - 6 pm at The Gathering Place
Community Centre, 609 Helmcken St, Vancouver, BC V6B 5R1 / Phone: (604)
665-2391

* March 1: Art pick up in Vancouver for delivery to the Penticton Art
Gallery

* March 23: Gifts of Madness exhibition opening at the Penticton Art
Gallery 7:00 - 9:00 pm

* March 22 - 31: Ignite the Arts Festival, Penticton, B.C.

* May 11: Gifts of Madness exhibition closing

July 1 - August 19 - Exhibition at Connection Salon in conjunction with the
Mad Pride Cabaret (at The Gathering Place Community Centre, Vancouver)

October 2024 - Exhibition at Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival (at
Roundhouse Community Centre, Vancouver)

DATE TBA - Media / films - at Gallery Gachet

-- 



Paul Crawford

Director/Curator
(He/Him/His)
*1.250.493.2928*
199 Marina Way, Penticton, BC V2A 1H5
pentictonartgallery.com <https://www.pentictonartgallery.com/>

We acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the unceded,
traditional territory of the syilx (Okanagan) People.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20231226/f94ff725/attachment.htm>