This deadline has now passed. Thank you to everyone who submitted work. The Open Evening for the exhibition will be on the 19th August from 6pm at Exchange Place Studios, Sheffield.
An open call inviting people from all backgrounds to submit work for an exhibition on the theme of Unity.
Artists Michael Borkowsky and Sharon Mossbeck present Unity, an open call to all artists over all disciplines to submit work under the theme of unity.
Unity is a direct response to the EU referendum, which has seen a vote for Britain to leave the European Union. The immediate aftermath from this has seen a nation disordered, bewildered and divided.
We all hope the negotiations that take place over the coming two years will steady the uncertainties in the UK. However, in the short term we seek to look past our differences and turn to creative action – celebrating the virtues of unity, what unity means and what it can provide in times of uncertainty.
We are asking artists of all backgrounds, abilities and disciplines to submit work that adheres to the theme of unity. This may be interpreted in any way you wish, though bear in mind that the exhibition does have overarching notions towards Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.
We are also looking to develop a programme of events during exhibition opening times. Therefore, if you can offer anything along the lines of performance, we’d love to hear from you.
In the spirit of unity, we intend for the exhibition to be welcoming and supportive of all work. With that in mind, we aim to include all work submitted in the exhibition, providing we deem it to fit within the theme of Unity and depending on the volume of submissions received.
The exhibition is an immediate reaction to the current political situation, and therefore submission dates and deadlines are tight. Work must be submitted by 7pm on Friday 29th July and successful artists will be notified by 1st August
The exhibition will be held at Exchange Place, Sheffield, from 18th – 25th August. The exhibition will be open every day from 10 – 4.
The Open Evening for Unity will be on the 19th August from 6-8pm. All invited.
A programme of events will be revealed in due course.
How to Submit
Artists may only submit one piece of work. If a piece of work is made up of separate components, (e.g, a painting made up of three separate canvases) then we will still deem it to be one piece of work.
To submit work, please email up to 3 images of the work you want to show to unity.exhibition2016@gmail.com along with the following:
your name
title of the piece
dimensions of the piece
Price (if appropriate)
A statement of up to 100 words (if desired)
If you wish to submit work that is as yet incomplete then you may instead submit a statement of intent plus the intended dimensions of the work when it’s complete. The submission date remains the 29th July and we may refuse work that deviate from the stated dimensions, or work which we do not deem to fit within the theme of unity.
If the work you intend to submit is performance based, we will do our best to accommodate you in allotted times over the course of the exhibition.
People wanting to submit Audio/visual work must bring their own equipment (TV, tablet etc.). Unfortunately there will be a limit to how many piece of work of this nature we can accommodate. The exhibition will be manned at all times, but equipment will be left at your own risk. Artists may want to consider having their own insurance for their work.
If your work needs to be printed out then it is your responsibility to do so.
Hand in Dates
If your work is submission is successful, the exhibition hand in date is Tuesday 16th August. On this day we ask that you bring your work to Exchange Place Studios, Sheffield between 10 and 5pm.
Alternatively, you may post your work to Exchange Place Studios, Exchange St, Sheffield S2 5SZ by the 16h August. We cannot be held responsible for work that gets lost or damaged in the post.
If neither of the above options are appropriate, you may be able to arrange a mutually convenient time with us for you to hand us your work.
Collection Dates
After the exhibition, you may take your work back on either Friday 26th August, or between 29th – 31st August.
If you cannot manage any of these dates then you may arrange a more convenient time with us. We have no storage space but can retain your work until 30th September, after which work may be discarded. You may also make arrangements for us to post your work back to you, but this will be at a cost to you and will be at your own risk.
All work must be…
In keeping with the theme of Unity. We reserve the right to exclude any work considered to be inflammatory
Complete and presented as you wish it to be exhibited (e.g. framed if desired) when given to us on the hand in date
Ready to hang when given to us on the hand in date (e.g. attachments such as mirror backs should already be in place).
Donations and Sales
We would kindly ask that all artists with work admitted to the exhibition to donate a £1 fee to help towards the cost of hosting the exhibition, and to enable us to provide refreshments and an open evening.
We will take a 10% commission of all sales, 5% of which will go to charity.