Here, There and Everywhere: The Art of Collaboration

Here, There and Everywhere: The Art of Collaboration

What
The Project - Here, There and Everywhere: The Art of Collaboration – is designed to encourage artists to work collaboratively, culminating in a publication, panel discussion and series of exhibitions radiating out from the Project’s home base in Boston to around the world.

When
Applications for inclusion in the project are due November 15, 2009. Accepted artists and venues will be notified by December 15, 2009.

Exhibitions of the resultant collaborative projects will be presented throughout 2011 with a central exhibition of selected works in Boston from April 8-10, 2011. This exhibition will be open to the public.

Where
Everywhere - including exhibition sites (of selected, accepted works) surrounding the Boston Omni Parker House Hotel, the site of TransCultural Exchange’s 2011 Conference on International Opportunities in the Arts. The Conference will include virtual displays of all the collaborative projects and venues from around the world as well as panel discussions about collaborative practices.

Why - Purpose of the Project
Based on TransCultural Exchange’s mission and the overwhelming interest generated by the organization’s most recent project, Here, There and Everywhere: Anticipating the Art of the Future, TransCultural Exchange is organizing this second edition of exhibitions, highlighting collaborative working methods. The purpose of the project is to encourage artists to work with others in different parts of the world and in different disciplines to create collaborative artworks. The goal is to explore, foster and document the resulting cross-pollination, multi-disciplinary, ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking in order to encourage more of the same in both artistic and non-artistic disciplines.

Specific goals:

1. Expand the artist’s traditional studio practice beyond that of a physically isolated, geographically specific and historically limited enterprise in order to explore new ways of thinking about and making art in the 21st century.
2. Create new avenues of networking and exhibiting for artists and arts organizations.
3. Promote participating arts organizations and artists’ works to new international markets (residency directors, curators and critics) via a panel discussion, catalog and exhibition at TransCultural Exchange’s 2011 Conference on International Opportunities in the Arts.
4. Encourage cross-fertilization and understanding between artists and others of different backgrounds, cultures and disciplines.

Who - Eligibility

1. Collaborative Teams (Individual Artists) - Teams must include at least one member from another country and at least one person from another discipline. Teams are encouraged to secure their own exhibition sites, which can be non-traditional and anywhere in the world. Teams who do not have a venue for presenting their work will be considered for inclusion in one of the Boston or Amherst venues.
2. Curatorial Teams with Secured Venues - Curators can submit proposals for exhibitions of collaborative works at venues other than the Massachusetts sites (i.e. anywhere throughout the world) to be considered as part of Here, There and Everywhere. (Exhibition venues can be non-traditional sites. They do not have to be a gallery, museum, cultural center or other traditional exhibition site.) Curators are responsible for securing such sites.

Individual Artists Seeking Collaborative Partners - Under To Participate on TransCultural Exchange’s website, artists can find a number of “Related Links” – such as Saatchi On-line, ArtNet, Art in Context, etc. – which showcase artists’ work from around the world. There, artists can find other artists to connect with in order to submit a collaborative proposal to Here, There and Everywhere. TransCultural Exchange also has groups on LinkedIn and Facebook, where we encourage you to search for collaborative partners.

Applications

Individual artists, artist groups or organizations interested in submitting an application to Here, There and Everywhere should submit:

1. A minimum of 5 (maximum of 10) representative images of each collaborating artist’s work in low resolution digital format (<150k).>
2. A biography of each collaborating non-artist and a short statement (no longer than 150 words) regarding the relevance of their expertise to the project.
3. A checklist that includes the title, date and medium for all submitted works – and, if desired, a 2-3 line description of the works.
4. A project statement.

Applications should be emailed to bclark@transculturalexchange.org. Please put “Submission” in the subject line.

Individual artists should include a written description of the proposed, collaborative work, including why you selected your collaborator(s) and what you hope to gain/learn from the process.

Be sure to indicate whether you are applying to exhibit at one of the Massachusetts venues* or have secured another exhibition venue and what that venue is.

* Only a very select, few projects will be shown at the Boston venues, although all projects will be featured in a virtual presentation at the 2011 Conference on International Opportunities in the Arts.

For Applying Curators with Secured Venues
Curators interested in submitting an application to Here, There and Everywhere should submit:

1. A minimum of 5 (maximum of 10) representative images of each collaborating artist’s work in low resolution digital format. Any image not submitted in this format, will not be considered. We are also interested in looking at your website if you have one but we will not jury from a website - only from the digital images submitted.
2. A biography of each collaborating non-artist and a short statement (no longer than 150 words) regarding the relevance of their expertise to the project.
3. A checklist that includes the title, date and medium for all submitted works – and, if desired, a 2-3 line description of the works.
4. A project statement.
5. Applications should be emailed to bclark@transculturalexchange.org. Please put “Submission” in the subject line.
6. A brief description of your proposed exhibition, rationale for the chosen artists’ and non-artists’ works, and other information you feel might help the judges evaluate your proposal.
7. A short bio and/or resume of yourself.

DEADLINE: Applications must be received by email no later than 5 pm EST on November 15, 2009. Only emailed applications will be considered. The email address to submit your application to is bclark@transculturalexchange.org. Please put “Submission” in the subject line. Late submissions will NOT be considered.

All artists and curators with secured venues accepted for Here, There and Everywhere must agree to do the following:

1. Submit a 1-2 page statement about your project to be used for the catalog text no later than September 20, 2010.
2. Submit both, high-resolution images for the Project’s catalog by October 1, 2010 and low resolution images for TransCultural Exchange’s website.
3. Ensure the delivery/retrieval of your work to your respective exhibition venue by the respective venues posted dates.
4. Abide by all of the other project’s requirements.

Criteria for Judging

Applicants must be committed to working in a truly collaborative manner in which each artist works in partnership with the other artist(s), accepting and embracing the challenges and possibilities inherent in working in different physical locations. Those submitting applications from outside venues must also be committed to presenting work of a truly collaborative nature.

The following factors are taken into consideration when assessing applications:

• The likely delivery of a high quality, contemporary work with the potential for contributing to the stated aims of the project.
• The applicant’s professional experience.
• The quality of the applicant’s previous work.
• A demonstrated interest in cross-medium (discipline) work as evidenced by the applicant’s previous work or application statement.
• A professional commitment to international exchange and collaboration.
• An enthusiasm to cooperate with international practioners and to actively engage with international networks.

Delivery of Art Work

All teams whose projects are chosen for the University of Massachusetts, Amherst exhibition sites are solely responsible for delivering and retrieving their works to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst’s galleries by the dates determined by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst’s Central and Hampden Galleries. No exceptions will be made.

Exhibition and delivery of works for all teams whose projects are chosen for the Boston sites will be discussed with the teams and determined by January 2011.

Because of a desire to show a range of projects, teams may be asked to submit project models or photo documentation instead of actual works. Projects with secured venues outside of Boston will also be considered for exhibition at one of the Boston sites.

TransCultural Exchange also reserves the sole right to withdraw any artist’s work or venue from Here, There and Everywhere that the organization feels deviates from the Project’s stated aims.
TransCultural Exchange’s Obligations

TransCultural Exchange will provide the following for all accepted, participating artists and venues:

TransCultural Exchange will create a dedicated portion of its website for Here, There and Everywhere. This microsite will include a list of all the participating artists’ works, exhibition venues, and exhibition dates. Links to artists’ websites and exhibition venues will be included.

TransCultural Exchange will produce press and publicity materials for distribution to all participating artists, venues and press - primarily in New England, but also throughout the world. In addition, Here, There and Everywhere will be promoted directly to TransCultural Exchange’s database of more than 6,000 members.

A catalog will be produced that will include a selection of works from all the exhibition sites.

The total project (works from all the exhibition sites) will be discussed and presented at TransCultural Exchange’s 2011 Conference on International Opportunities in the Arts, April 8-10, 2011. During the Conference, works chosen for the Boston exhibition venue will be on view and images of the works from the other venues will be presented as a multi-media presentation.

TransCultural Exchange will arrange an opening reception, invitations and promotion for the Boston exhibition site

In cases of extreme need, TransCultural Exchange will try to provide limited honorariums ($100 - $200) to artists and will write letters of invitation for the international artists in order to help them secure funds from their respective governments towards their works for the Project. Requests for honorariums must be submitted with the application. TransCultural Exchange cannot provide travel funds for the international artists to attend the Boston opening or for any artist’s travel to attend any of the Project’s openings.