Entries are invited for the inaugural open international exhibition ‘Response to Place’, which will be the centrepiece of a dynamic new bi-annual event - the Craft Biennale Scotland.

The first Craft Biennale Scotland will launch in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital city and renowned world leader in international arts festivals, with a major exhibition at the prestigious City Art Centre in 2018.

The exhibition will be selected by four international curators: Grace Cochrane (Australia), Hyeyoung Cho (South Korea), Lars Sture (Norway) and Maeve Toal (Scotland).

The vision for Craft Biennale Scotland is to create an exciting new platform for discovering and presenting the very best international craft, showing ambitious works by leading and emerging artists, and to provide an experimental space for imaginative new ways to experience and enjoy craft as a fascinating, thought provoking and inspirational art form.  

The exhibition will enable artists to have their work recognised for excellence within an international context. It will be attended by Scottish, UK and international audiences, and will offer an exciting platform for discussion and critical debate.

In order to best represent the broad diversity of terms used by those working in craft around the world, all exhibitors will be termed ‘artists’.  This approach allows us to welcome entries from crafts practitioners, makers, designers, designer-makers, craft artists, material based artists, and those whose work is affiliated to specific disciplines such as jewellery, metalwork, ceramics, furniture, weaving, textile art, costume, millinery, glass, mosaic etc.

Artistic Concept: ‘Response to Place’

Artists are invited to submit work that responds to a place where they live, remember or imagine, or that contributes to individual identity or nationality, and ways in which we create and express our ‘place’ in the world.

Responses may be overlapping and multi-faceted, and might for example, include visual or other sensory responses to their environment; local materials and indigenous craft practices; cultural and ceremonial traditions; experiences related to migration, political or social upheaval; local and social history; geography; archaeology or how particular forms have developed through interaction with materials or have been designed to perform a particular function.

The exhibition will celebrate the values of crafts practice in the 21st century by bringing together work from around the world, that expresses imaginative contemporary ideas through an understanding of materials, skills and traditions, while at times drawing on references to art, design and industry, and old and new technologies.

We welcome inspirational works which aim to challenge perceptions of craft, whether through scale, technique, design, interpretation of materials or display, including installations and the incorporation of multi-media. 

Selection and Exhibition

The selection of work for the exhibition will be made by a panel of four international curators:

Grace Cochrane is an independent curator, writer and historian of contemporary art and design. Based in Australia, she worked at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney from 1988 to 2005, latterly as Senior Curator of Australian Decorative Arts and Design, and is the author of ‘The Crafts Movement in Australia: A History’, published by NSW University Press, 1992.

Hyeyoung Cho is Art Director of Korean Craft & Design Foundation and Korean Representative, Tresor Contemporary Craft, Basel, Switzerland. She has curated numerous projects worldwide including the Cheongju International Craft Biennale 2015.

Lars Sture is Curator for Norwegian Crafts where he is responsible for the international exhibitions programmes. As a freelance curator and artist for more than 25 years, he has organised a broad range of exhibitions both in Norway, Iceland and Internationally.

Maeve Toal is Curator: Exhibitions at the City Art Centre, Edinburgh, responsible for a wide range of exhibitions, largely in partnership with contemporary artists, makers and leading cultural organisations. She was a panel member on the Edinburgh Visual Arts and Crafts Awards Scheme from 2004 to 2012.

The selection panel will consider the conceptual, visual and physical quality of the work submitted, alongside written responses to the theme. They will then make a collective evaluation of selected works by identifying both divergent and common interpretations of ‘Response to Place’. This will inform how the exhibition is curated and how the different threads are presented within the exhibition.

Dates

Deadline for Entries: Monday 4 December 2017, 5pm GMT

Notification of Outcome: Tuesday 19 December 2017

Exhibition Dates: 11 May - 8 July 2018

Delivery of Work: 26-29 March 2018

23 & 24 April 2018 for large scale packages over 60 x 60 x 60 cm

Collection/Dispatch of Work: 13-18 July 2018

Guideline for Entries

• There is no fee for entries.

• Entries are invited from British and International artists of all ages and at different stages of their careers, from those without formal training and undergraduates to established professionals.

• Entries must comprise one or more craft disciplines but may be enhanced by other media such as technology, sound, light, smell etc. We also welcome films - perhaps supported by remnants - of work of a more ephemeral nature, such as non-permanent pieces in site-specific locations.

• Artists are invited to submit a maximum of three individual pieces of work. These can include groups of inter-related objects – such as a set of pieces of jewellery or ceramic vessels, a diptych/triptych of panels etc.

• Exhibits will be selected from images of the work.  Each entry should be supported by up to two high res jpg images (300 dpi), clearly captioned.  Application constitutes consent for Craft Biennale Scotland to use the images in printed materials, publications and other forms of publicity. 

• Each entry should be accompanied by a short, written statement (max. 250 words) describing how it relates to the exhibition theme - ‘Response to Place’ - and other details requested on the entry form.

• Entries should have been produced between May 2016 and November 2017.

• Craft Biennale Scotland reserves the right to refuse any artwork that does not meet the selection. 

The panel will not accept work which:

- contains human materials and flora and fauna that falls under the Cites Convention. Please check the following websites for further information: https://www.cites.org and https://www.gov.uk/guidelines/cites-controls-import-and-export-of-protected-species

- is constructed from materials which are inherently nondurable or unstable or if change or decay is an intended feature of the work or materials employed.

- displays any signs of infestation or is deemed hazardous to the public.

- is inaccessible to visitors of all ages and abilities.

• Restrictions to Scale and Weight

Packaged works must be of a scale which can be safely delivered into the gallery.

Doorway 1:  226 (h) x 101 (w) cm

Doorway 2:  214 (h) x 112 (w) cm

Lift:  210 (h) x 130 (w) x 267 (d) cm.  Weight restriction 1.950kg.

Weight: The average superimposed live load per floor must not exceed 400kg per square metre. We cannot accept work over 1 tonne in weight.

Gallery ceiling height: max 320cm

• Display

- Artists should ensure that any work with integral electric components meet UK regulations.

- Artists must list any specific display materials either integral to the work or required from the venue, including Audio-Visual equipment, and any specific display requirements such as whether your work is to be on open or closed display/presented in a blacked-out space/suspended from the ceiling/spread across a wide floor area etc.

• Delivery and Collection of Work

- Artists will be responsible for the delivery and collection of their work to and from the City Art Centre, Edinburgh.

- Costs related to import/ export duties, where applicable, will be covered by Craft Biennale Scotland and administrated by an international shipping agent based in the UK. If exported for exhibition only – i.e.: not for commerce -  no duties should be payable by artists when their work is returned at the end of the exhibition.  Advice is available from Craft Biennale Scotland can on economical, specialist carriers operating in Europe and the UK.

• Insurance

- Insurance cover will be in place for the duration that the artworks are on the City Art Centre premises subject to the approved submission of an inventory of items together with their values. 

- For insurance purposes the artist must be the owner of the artwork and any related equipment. 

- Insurance for any damage and loss of works ‘in transit’ to and from City Art Centre in Edinburgh is the responsibility of the artist.

• Sales of Artwork

Exhibition works will not be available for sale from the City Art Centre or from Craft Biennale Scotland. 

Artists will be advised by Craft Biennale Scotland of any expressions of interest regarding the purchase or commission of artwork.

Any artworks sold by private arrangement with an artist  living outside Europe, will be subject to charges re import duties and VAT.

How to Submit your Proposal

Only online applications will be accepted.   

Deadline for submissions:  Monday 4 December 2017, 5pm GMT

If you have any questions please check the FAQ section.  If you wish to discuss your proposal in advance of submitting your form, or have any other questions, please email Craft Biennale Scotland:  Laura Hamilton, Exhibitions Manager or Tina Rose, Director, Craft Biennale Scotland through Curator Space.

We look forward to hearing from you!