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CuratorSpace | Project management tools for curators and artists

Saltaire Arts Trail SHOWCASE 23-25 May 2020 *NEW for 2020*

Deadline: 24/01/2020

City: Saltaire, Bradford  |  Region: West Yorkshire  |  Country: United Kingdom  |  Saltaire Inspired Team

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**DEADLINE EXTENDED to Friday 24th January 2020** Call for unique proposals from visual artists to exhibit work as part of the *new* SHOWCASE strand of the Saltaire Arts Trail Open Houses 23-25 May 2020. The annual Arts Trail opens up the UNESCO World Heritage Site to visitors by presenting great contemporary art within its public and private spaces, and the Open Houses make use of Grade II listed mill cottages at the invitation of the owners, turning them into mini-galleries and giving artists a unique exhibiting opportunity.

Who are we?

Largely volunteer-led, Saltaire Inspired creates exhibitions and projects in unique spaces. We promote and develop artists and their practice, showcase and sell high-quality contemporary craft and design, engage and inspire the local community and aim to make visual arts accessible and engaging through the use of private and public buildings in the UNESCO World Heritage Site as venues. Visit the Saltaire Inspired website to find out more.

Our premier event, Saltaire Arts Trail, takes place annually, in 2020 this will be the late May bank holiday weekend, 23-25 May. Over three days, Saltaire becomes a magnet for visitors, with an estimated 6000-8000 attending each year since 2007. There are commissioned exhibitions and installations, a high-end contemporary craft designer/makers fair, free creative family workshops, and of course the famous Open Houses - a village wide gallery of contemporary art in the Grade II listed homes of Saltaire residents. 


*SHOWCASE* Open Houses

Kindly offered by the local residents of Saltaire, the Open Houses encourage visitors to explore the parts of the village not traditionally on the tourist map.  The Open Houses are hugely popular, with many visitors taking the opportunity to see inside the small industrial cottages (average floor space 12ft x 12ft) and to see the wide variety of art on offer. Visitors do come prepared to take an interest in the art on show in the houses, and each year are looking for exciting and innovative projects which really set apart our Arts Trail from others in the UK. The houses are without doubt one of the unique selling points of the Saltaire Arts Trail, providing a village-wide gallery space, a truly unique venue in which visitors can appreciate contemporary art in an informal domestic setting, within the UNESCO world heritage site of Saltaire.

 

The SHOWCASE opportunity offers a limited number of spaces within the Open Houses for artists wishing to explore innovative ideas for engaging and exciting art projects, installations, performances, or socially engaged practice. SHOWCASE will offer artists a platform to explore new experimental works, and is open to artists who do not wish to make their work available for sale. 


What we are looking for?

We are looking for proposals that will captivate our audiences and create a talking point across the wider Saltaire Arts Trail event. This opportunity is offered to artists wishing to submit proposals for projects or artworks not intended for sale - this could include, but is not limited to; performance art, live art, socially engaged practice, small scale installations, film/video, sound art, interactive audience engagement, curated projects, etc. 

 

  • Proposals that reference location or are site-specific in nature are strongly encouraged.
  • As in all strands of the Arts Trail, we are looking for work that is of gallery standard, contemporary and interesting, and that will make our events stand out as exceptional in quality and interest. 
  • We are keen to welcome submissions from both recent graduates/artists in the early stage of their careers as well as from established artists.
  • Space in the houses is limited and we do not have sufficient volunteers to invigilate them throughout the event. You'll need to be prepared for, and excited about, showing your work in a domestic setting, alongside other artists, and being present to welcome visitors. Artists must be available to install and take down their own work, as well as helping to invigilate and welcome visitors during the weekend.


Applicants are strongly encouraged to read our 'Opportunity FAQs' for more information about the event before applying.


How to apply

Make your submission via Curatorspace, uploading between 4 - 10 good quality images. Please ensure that you upload and attach each image individually.


A non-refundable administration fee of £6 will be required for all submissions. As a volunteer-led charitable organisation, this helps us to cover the administrational costs of carrying out a fair and unbiased selection process with an independent panel of industry professional judges.

The administration fee should be paid no later than the closing date of Friday 24th January 2020, in order for your application to be considered. The £6 administration fee does not guarentee you a place within the Open Houses, all applications are subject to a selection process.

Before you submit your application, you will be directed to Curatorspace's secure payment portal in order to make payment of the application fee and to complete your submission.

Submission fees

The following submission fees apply to this opportunity.

  • Application Fee - SAT2020 Showcase - 6.00 GBP

The appropriate fee will be payable using a debit or credit card after the first submission has been completed. If the submission fee allows you to submit more than once, you will be able to make further submissions after the first. Contact the curator if you have any questions about the opportunity or the submission fee, or email help@curatorspace.com if you have any questions about the payment process.

Contact the curator
Who is eligible for this opportunity?
Established and emerging visual artists resident in the UK and working in a variety of media. Work submitted for this opportunity should not be available for sale during the Arts Trail weekend.
When is the deadline?
Friday 24th January 2020.
Is there a fee to apply?
There is a non-refundable administration fee of £6 required for all submissions. As a volunteer-led charitable organisation, this helps us to cover the administrational costs of carrying out a fair and unbiased selection process with an independent panel of industry professional judges.
Before you submit your application, you will be directed to Curatorspace's secure payment portal in order to make payment of the application fee and to complete your submission.
The administrational fee should be paid before the closing date for entries, of Friday 24th January 2020. If the £6 fee is not paid by the closing date, your application will not be considered.
Please note that this £6 administrational fee does not guarantee you a place within the Open Houses, all applications are subject to a selection process.
What other fees / commission are there?
These limited number of SHOWCASE spaces within the Open Houses are not subject to participation fees or commission - this is to encourage proposals from artists wishing to showcase work of an experimental or innovative nature, as an opportunity to give new ideas a platform. Artwork proposed for this opportunity should not be for sale during the Arts Trail weekend.
How many/what kind of images should I submit?
You can attach up to 10 images as part of your application. To help us with selection, please upload a minimum of 4. It is vital to the selection process that the images you submit are of a good quality and give a true idea of the work you wish to exhibit. If the application is for a project proposal, please attach sketches of how you envisage the final work to look, or any other supporting material that would give the selection panel the best impression of what would be produced.
Please upload JPG images, no larger than 1MB. If you are selected, the images will be used initially as part of an online gallery, so we only need them to be web-size at this stage. Please note: You will need to upload each image separately to ensure that they successfully attach to your application, please check your completed application to make sure all images appear.
What kind of proposals are you looking for?
Engaging, innovative, and exciting art that will captivate our audiences and create a talking point across the wider Saltaire Arts Trail event.

Proposals that reference location or are site-specific in nature are strongly encouraged.

Please remember that the venues available to display work are small domestic settings, so please consider this when formulating your proposal.
What is the decision making process for the proposals?
An independent committee of arts professionals will assess all applications and make the selection at a date to be agreed in February 2020. You will be informed as to whether your application was successful as early as possible after selection. The panel will be given the task of putting together a well-balanced show, considering new and returning exhibitors, emerging and established artists and an interesting mix of genres. It is important that the images you submit are representative of the quality of the work you wish to show. The panel will be able to research your website, but time is always tight and first impressions from the submitted images are crucial. The decision of the selection panel is final and unfortunately no discussion can be entered into once the selection has been made, though we will be happy to give general feedback.
I'm an artist living in Saltaire, and I want to open up my own house. Do I still have to apply?
No, you do not need to apply through this Curatorspace opportunity. We have a strand of the Arts Trail specifically for Saltaire Artists. You will not need to apply if you want to show work in your own home in the village. However, if you want your house or studio to be promoted as part of the Trail in the Trail Guide and Map, your artwork to feature in our online gallery on the website and to appear in all our associated publicity and marketing, you will need to register. There's a fee for this which varies depending on whether you're inviting other artists to share your space. Please contact us directly through the 'contact the curator' section of this page, or email team@saltaireinspired.org.uk if you are interested in this option.
What happens if my proposal is chosen?
You will be contacted shortly after selection, and by no later than 16th February 2020. All artists who have submitted work will be contacted even if unsuccessful on this occasion. If selected, you won't know the location of your Open House until a little while after selection, as we need to match work selected to venues available. Once this is done, we will put you in touch with your host so that you can plan your exhibition together. If your application is successful, you must be able to install your own work in the week running up to the event and be available to deinstall afterwards, you also will ideally be able to share invigilation duties with the other artists exhibiting in your allocated house, and will be asked to agree to our terms of participation. Payment of the participation fee must be paid by the deadline date to be provided in order to secure your place within the Open Houses.
How much/what type of work can be shown?
It will depend on the venues available, which vary from year to year. The Open Houses are small domestic spaces which come to us through the kindness of their owners, so we take a lot of care in curating them. It is likely that you will be sharing the house with one or two other artists, and space will be allocated fairly.

In terms of displaying work, we aim for a gallery appearance, not a shop look, and do NOT intend to salon hang floor-to-ceiling, so do please think 'quality over quantity'. If your work is of a larger scale, you should expect to show fewer pieces, as space will be allocated fairly amongst artists.
When can work be installed?
The event opens to the public on Saturday 23rd May 2020, and houses must be ready for visitors by 10am. Work can be installed in the week prior to this, following close liaison with your allocated Open House host and the Saltaire Inspired team.
When does work need to be taken away?
Work should be removed at the close of the Arts Trail weekend, 5pm on Monday 25th May, or as soon as possible after this by arrangement with your host.
What are the exhibition opening hours?
Saturday 23rd - Monday 25th May 2020, 10am - 5pm each day.
Does the location have disabled access?
Due to the peculiarities of the domestic settings, most houses are not accessible to those with mobility needs.
What publicity will be provided as part of the opportunity?
Saltaire Inspired will market and promote the Open Houses as one of the highlights of Saltaire Arts Trail 2020, through the production and distribution of printed matter, an online social media campaign and by generating press releases and distributing them to appropriate media. Exhibiting artists will be featured on the Saltaire Inspired website in an online gallery and on a printed programme brochure and map.
I'm not sure whether to go for this or the OPEN HOUSES opportunity. Can I put a joint application in
No, do please try to choose one or the other, as the opportunities have different criteria and offer different experiences for the artist - please refer to the opportunity description and FAQs to inform your decision. If you wish to show work for sale, you will need to apply for the OPEN HOUSES opportunity.
There will be more spaces available to artists on the OPEN HOUSES strand, however there will be a fixed fee to take part in this strand of the Arts Trail, whether your work is for sale or not.
If you are still really torn, you can add a note in the 'Additional Requirements' box to say you'd be interested in the OPEN HOUSES if not selected for the SHOWCASE - please note that your application will be judged primarily for the opportunity you apply for, and will only be considered for your 2nd choice opportunity if time allows on the selection day.

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