A Lust For Life is excited to invite artists to submit work for the upcoming group exhibition Comfort Zone: Vulnerability In An Age Of Oversharing. This exhibition is part of First Fortnight 2020,.

Submission form deadline is 31 October, 2019. 

Expenses covered, no submission fee.

Art delivery deadline is 6 December 2019.

“Shame derives its power from being unspeakable” - Brené Brown.

We live in an age of hyper-awareness of mental health issues. We’re all aware: yet somehow we remain isolated, unable to make the connections we need to create change. A barrier to creating a connection between two people is the fear of vulnerability. The fear, that, if I display my internal world, my authenticity, I will be forever exposed. 

But when we see an expression of this shared internal world, and we witness our universal struggles laid bare; this builds strength and has the power to change the narrative that we are not as alone as we think we are. We can collectively embrace the fear surrounding vulnerability and dispel with the shame attached to it. We can use art when words fail. 

THEME

Comfort Zone aims to navigate, discuss and re-frame how we see shame and vulnerability. It asks: if vulnerability is essential to human connection, can art provide an opening to a conversation that so many of us find difficult to have?

SUB-THEMES

Artists should consider the following sub-themes when submitting work. Existing and new works will be accepted (see submission form for details). 

• The link between shame, inadequacy, regret and disconnection.
• The fear attached to expressing feelings of shame and how people numb feelings of shame, leading to addiction, depression and eating disorders. 
• Sexual self-concept and shame.
• The art of faux-vulnerability and over-sharing online.
• The lack of empathy in online interactions, the death of nuance, and the disappearance of body language.
• How art has been used in the past or will be used in the future to connect people.
• Experiences of connection through expressions of vulnerability, with a focus on mental-health. 
• Art and its therapeutic benefits in addressing complex emotions in relation to the above sub-themes. 

Further reading https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/the-staggering-power-of-vulnerability-if-you-can-overcome-the-shame

SUBMISSIONS

Artists should be living Ireland.

Artist’s work should be (but not exclusively limited to): sculpture, paint, film, photography, drawing, performance, ceramics, textiles or new media.

All artists included in the exhibition will be paid a stipend of €70 to cover costs and travel.

Artists will have to organise delivery and collection of works. Delivery Deadline is 6PM 6th December.

The group exhibition will feature 20-30 artists.

A small selection of established artists will be invited to present at Comfort Zone. 

EXHIBITION DETAILS

Comfort Zone will take place at Creighton Gallery, 50 City Quay, Dublin 2.

This exhibition is part of First Fortnight 2020, a series of mental-health events programmed for this coming January.

This pop-up gallery is a riverside, freshly renovated building that covers 2250 sq ft over four floors and six rooms. Two 16ft x 16ft rooms are available for audio, video or performance installations.

Opening night Fri 3 Jan, 7pm.

Tickets are free of charge but limited availability.

This exhibition runs from Sat 4 January 2020 to Sun 19 January 2020

12pm - 3pm and 5pm - 8pm Monday to Friday.

12pm - 6pm Saturdays and Sundays.

SELECTION PROCESS

This exhibition is curated by Jason Kearney. 

Submissions will also be subject to a panel from A Lust For Life.

Submission deadline is 31 October, 2019.

A Lust for Life is an award winning Irish wellbeing movement created to transform how we talk about and treat mental health. Our Vision is of a world where the wellbeing of humanity is the headliner on the main stage and everything else is a support act. Our Mission is to support, inspire and empower people to take care of their own minds; change societal/cultural norms around mental health; and to change societal infrastructure, so that our culture and society always catch people when they fall.

www.alustforlife.com/whenwordsfail