About Art in General
Guidelines, Terms of Eligibility, and Review Process
Eligibility
Application Review Process
How to Prepare Your Online Application Through This Website
About Art in General
Founded in 1981, Art in General facilitates the production and exhibition of new work and aims to provide artists with an optimal support structure and venue in which to realize and present their work, whether this format entails an exhibition, event, performance, location-based work in the public domain, or the very platforms of discursive space (i.e. publication, website, etc.). There are a variety of programs that support this mission, including solo commissioned exhibitions and projects, residencies, a site-specific elevator program, and off-site projects.
Every year, Art in General hosts an OPEN CALL, which is an opportunity for artists to present their current practice to a group of arts professionals, curators, critics, and fellow artists.
This year, on the occasion of our 30th Anniversary, which launches in September 2011, we will be reviewing applications to commission artists for a variety of special projects. We will also be selecting artists for the following year of programs (September 2012-July 2013). In contrast to previous years, this year we ask artists to present a portfolio of their work for review, rather than a specific project.
The selection process takes into account the many and diverse artistic practices that artists develop and use, with the purpose of presenting exhibitions that respond to different ways of being, experiencing, and producing in the world today.
Guidelines, Terms of Eligibility, and Review Process.
Artists interested in being considered for Art in General’s OPEN CALL must prepare and send an online application using the website http://opencall.artingeneral.org. The online application form can be accessed starting January 10th, 2011 and ends on February 15th, 2011.
GUIDELINES
Artists applying should present 8 samples of their recent work in electronic format with corresponding captions. The work itself can be in any medium or discipline, e.g. painting, sculpture, installation, sound or performance art, film/video art, digital work, and other undefined types of art or interdisciplinary work. Artists will also be asked to submit an artist statement and resume.
ELIGIBILITY
- Artists living and working in the greater New York City area (any city of New York or its neighboring states located within a 60-mile N-S-E-W distance from Manhattan), regardless of age, gender, and nationality.
- Artists who are or will be enrolled in a college or university art degree-granting program are not eligible to apply.
- Artists who have participated in Art in General’s Artist Residency Programs or the New Commissions Program are not eligible to apply. Artists who have participated in other programs at Art in General are still eligible.
The application and review process includes 3 phases:
Phase 1
The OPEN CALL launches on January 10, 2011 Applications are prepared and sent online and will be accepted through February 15, 2011. Incomplete, late, or printed and mailed applications will not be accepted or reviewed.
Phase 2
The Executive Director, Curator, and an Advisory Panel will review the online applications and select a short list of up to 15 artists. The Advisory Panel will be made up of artists and prominent art professionals who are influential in critical presentations and discussions of contemporary art. The Advisory Panel rotates annually in order to achieve a wide range of views and selection criteria of artists, and thus supports diverse artists and types of projects. For this reason, even if an artist applied and was not selected in the past, artists are strongly encouraged to re-apply.
Artists selected in Phase 1 are invited to participate in a studio visit with Art in General curatorial staff. Prior to the studio visit artists will be asked to send a packet including:
- ( a ) 1-2 page text describing their artistic practice in more detail, further explaining the concepts that inform it, the forms it takes, and the rationale or motivations behind their work;
- ( b ) a list of 3 professional references with contact information;
- ( c ) 8 additonal images of works, and;
- ( d ) a corresponding image checklist. Art in General curatorial staff will then conduct studio visits and engage in conversations with the short list of artists to learn about their ideas, work, and working processes.
Phase 3
Art in General will select artists based on the artistic strength, vision, and professional capability, as well the artist’s relevance to curatorial concepts identified for the upcoming programming year at Art in General. The selected artist will then work with Art in General to develop a work/project to be presented at Art in General.
How to Prepare an Online Application Through the OPEN CALL website
Art in General will only be reviewing online Applications at: http://opencall.artingeneral.org.
There are 7 steps of the Application:
1. READ ABOUT ART IN GENERAL, GUIDELINES AND THE REVIEW PROCESS
If you are reading this, you are following rule #1. Please also visit our website and online archive to learn more about our exhibitions and commissions.
2. CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
You will be required to have a valid email address to set-up an account and fill out an application. Your email address will be your account Username. To create your account, fill out all the required fields: name, address, telephone,email and password. Click Create Account.
Once you login, you will be able to draft and edit your application. During this period of time, your information will be secure and your Application will only be accessed by logging in with your email and password. For this reason, we suggest that you keep your password confidential. We also recommend that you set up an account at least 3 weeks before the deadline, so that you familiarize yourself with the application process.
If you lose your password a new one can be emailed to you from the login page.
Please continue reading the next 5 steps before you create and log-in to your account.
3. FOR THE RECORDS
This section has five demographic questions. Your responses will help us learn who is applying, and it will help us identify ways in which we can better serve artists.
4. YOUR ARTIST STATEMENT
In this section, write your artist statement. Your statement cannot exceed 600 words. Please describe your current artistic practice and the concepts that inform it, and the rationale or motivations behind your current body of work. Word limits are measured automatically, and cannot be extended.
Note: If you are selected for Phase 2 of this application process, you will be invited to submit a more detailed statement about your work and to meet in person to discuss your practice in depth.
5. YOUR RESUME
Upload a PDF version of your artist resume.
6. IMAGES/SAMPLES
Along with your artistic statement you are required to upload 8 samples of your work. Entries can include images, audio recordings, and/or videos. Please refer to the descriptions below for details regarding the format of these entries.
Each item you upload must include a title and caption. Captions should be formatted to include Title, Date, Medium, Dimension, Edition, Printer/Publisher, and a short description of the work.
- Images — All images must be jpgs, tiffs, gifs or pngs and less than 1 megabyte. Any image resolution will be accepted.
- Audio — Audio entries must be MP3 files. The file must be less than 5 megabytes in size. Only excerpts of each audio file will be reviewed.
- Video — Please upload a frame/image from your video and on the next screen you will be prompted to enter a URL. For a video to be reviewed you must find a place on the internet to host your video. Sites you can use include YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, or your personal website. Upload your video at the hosting site, and then enter the link to the hosted video in the URL field of the title and description section. Only excerpts of each video will be reviewed.
7. REVIEW
This section will show you the overview of your Application. This is the time to double check for errors or omissions. If you need additional time to prepare your application press “Logout.” You can log back in using your email address and password anytime until the deadline, 11:59 pm on February 15, 2011. If you lose your password, a new one can be emailed to you from the login page.
When your Application is completed, press “Send” and Art in General will receive it. Once sent you will get a confirmation receipt email. Please note that once you press send, you will not be able to edit your application again. Remember, the deadline to send your application is February 15, 2011.
For additional information, please consult the Frequently Asked Questions.