Call to artists: overview and instructions
What I Would Have Missed 1st Annual International Art Exhibit
Call to Artists
Organization Website: https://www.whatiwouldhavemissed.com
Contact Email: art.whatiwouldhavemissed@gmail.com
Contact Phone: 727-254-7131
Entry Deadline: 3/31/2023
Entry Fee*: $15.00
Each Additional Image Fee: $5.00
Work Sample Requirements: Images | Minimum: 1 - 3 included in $15 entry fee, Maximum: 10
Call Type: Exhibitions
Eligibility: Must be an individual who has survived a suicide attempt or
Ideation
Location Criteria: All states within United States of America and International Countries
Award: $500 for each selected work, up to 30 works selected
CLICK TO APPLY HERE
*Note: The $15 entry fee covers (3) three entries. You do not have to submit 3 different artworks, but artists have the option to do so for the $15 fee: one image per attachment. Each submission over 3 images costs $5 per additional image, and artists can submit up to 10 works. If you submit more than one image, you must submit all corresponding information (title, year artwork created, art medium, dimensions, retail value.) for each additional optional image.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF CALL TO ARTIST
Description: What I Would Have Missed was founded in 2022 with the mission to build an international movement to prevent suicide and promote mental wellness by cultivating connections, community collaborations, and courageous conversations. In 2023, the organization is launching the inaugural annual What I Would Have Missed art exhibition that features works from individuals who have survived a suicide attempt or ideation with the aspiration to demonstrate works of art the artists would have missed creating and the world would have missed viewing had the artists died by suicide. Each work of art will be accompanied with a brief statement from the artist that explains his/her/their personal journey of searching for hope, healing, and happiness after surviving a suicide attempt or ideation. Up to 30 artworks will be selected and each selected artist will receive a cash award of $500. In return, artists will release ownership of their artwork. The intent of doing so is to provide a conduit of financial support for What I Would Have Missed that connects individual artists personally affected by suicide with the opportunity to contribute to furthering the mission of What I Would Have Missed. The works will be exhibited at the ArtsXchange in St. Petersburg, FL in September 2023, with plans for the exhibit to travel to, at minimum, five (5) other venues in the United States.
Criteria for Submissions
This exhibition is open to functional, non-functional, 2D, 3D, fine art, and fine craft in all mediums and all styles. This exhibition is open to any artist who has survived an attempted suicide or thought about it. This exhibition is open to artists living in the United States and International Countries. Submissions will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Clarity of connection to the theme via the artist statement
- Creativity, uniqueness, and originality of art work
- Quality of artistic composition, technical skill, and design of art work
- Potential to generate future revenue (resale or merchandising) to further the mission of What I Would Have Missed
- Overall impression of the art work
Jurors. This is a juried exhibition. Jurors include:
Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman, PhD: Hordge-Freeman is Associate Professor of Sociology and Interim Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Recruitment, Retention, and Engagement at the University of South Florida. She received her B.A. from Cornell University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from Duke University. She has received numerous awards for her research and published several books and articles on racism in the United States and Brazil. Dr. Hordge-Freeman is also co-creator with McArthur Freeman of the Imagine Blackness project, which leverages AI technology to create images that explore identity, social justice, and Afro-futurism. Hordge-Freeman is also a suicide loss survivor, a collaborative partner who was also a very dear friend died by suicide.
Caryn Nesmith: Board Member of What I Would Have Missed, Caryn Nesmith is a suicide loss survivor. She served for four years on the board and as membership and events chair for the Warehouse Arts District Association in St. Petersburg, FL, and has overseen and served on selection committees for several themed art shows. Caryn studied art history and was a certified docent at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. from 2007 to 2011.
Julie A Rocco: Founder of What I Would Have Missed, Julie A Rocco is a suicide attempt survivor and a suicide loss survivor. She is using her personal experiences to connect with others on a journey of hope, healing, and happiness that may be found after a suicide attempt or ideation. Julie, in 2020 in partnership with many community organizations, led the creation of You Good?, a mental health campaign launched in Pinellas County, Florida. A call to artists for mixed mediums and murals generated awareness and educational opportunities that remain today. Julie is a mental wellness advocate, activist, and speaker who believes art is a provocative tool that may be deployed to promote dialogue regarding challenging topics, including suicide and mental wellness.
Jonathan Vaz Gar: Los Angeles native Jonathan Garcia aka Jon Vaz Gar is an installation and visual artist, and a first generation Mexican-American homosexual male living and creating magic in L.A. His medium is the body and the space around it. He works across the spectrum of "the male standard" and "the male standard of the time" through visual reincarnations in an on-going series of photographic self-portraits entitled #minibeefcake. His works push, pull and blur the line of "the male standard" representation in the social media-inclined zeitgeist. Jonathan manages Couturier Gallery, a contemporary American and Latin American art gallery in Los Angeles; is a fine arts handling specialist for some of Los Angeles’ major art institutions; and is co-developing a queer/trans/ non-Binary art collective called Savage Ranch. One of Jonathan’s most rewarding curatorial projects has been his co-curatorial work with QUEER Biennial, an international survey focusing on current moments in OUT/QUEER/LGBTQ+ art and culture and will showcase emerging, mid-career, and established artists. Mental and spiritual wellness has always been the crux of his artistic exploration and work. Many dark nights of the soul have befallen Jonathan because of the misalignment of his own mind/ body connection, thus making partnering with this initiative so near and dear to his heart.
Venue
The What I Would Have Missed exhibition will be held at the Tully/Levine Gallery of the ArtsXchange compound in the Warehouse Arts District in St. Petersburg, Florida. The ArtsXchange is an artistic enclave of 28 affordable working artist studios, over 2,500 square feet of gallery space, educational classrooms, an outdoor courtyard and event space including an artist incubator. Located along the Pinellas Trail in the heart of the Warehouse Arts District, the ArtsXchange features highly curated art in the Tully-Levine Gallery and is a cultural arts destination. The ArtsXchange gives resident artists from all different mediums a place to hone their artistic crafts with affordable studio space and is part of an artist-led transformation of the district. This artist hub is a project of the Warehouse Arts District Association (WADA), a member-based organization founded by a group of artists who sought to transform this once-neglected commercial district into an arts destination that is pulsing with art and commerce. It is open Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment.
Ranked as a top arts and cultural destination among cities its size, St. Petersburg, Florida is home to world-famous museums and independent galleries, a thriving performing arts scene, film festivals, live music, a vibrant literary arts community, a close-knit community of working artists and crafts-people, and a whole lot of public art and outdoor installations.
Exhibit and Programming Details
The exhibition will be on view throughout the month of September 2023. Opening reception will be on Friday, September 8, 2023 at 6pm. All selected artists will be invited to attend virtually and in-person. We are preparing for a variety of programming during the month centering the exhibit theme of What I Would Have Missed, and the hope, healing and happiness that can occur after a suicide attempt or ideation.
This is an in-person exhibition but this exhibition will also be featured digitally on the What I Would Have Missed website and other social media channels, including Facebook livestream during the opening reception. The show will be coupled with opportunities to hear from suicide prevention and mental wellness advocates, peer navigators, and therapists. There will also be an opportunity for attendees to create a community piece of art that brings both awareness and healing.
Additionally, the exhibit will travel to a minimum of five (5) venues across the United States. Media exposure will be coordinated at each venue, including print, audio, and video coverage.
Mental Health & Wellness Partner
What I Would Have Missed is partnering with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. NAMI provides advocacy, education, support, and public awareness so that all individuals and families affected by mental illness can recover. At each curated exhibition, NAMI will provide education, awareness, and information about available resources.
IMPORTANT DATES
Call Open: March 1 - March 31, 2023
Call DEADLINE: March 31, 2023. Must complete application, and submit payment via the Paypal or Venmo links provided by this date.
Jury Period: April 1 - May 12, 2023
Notifications (by email): May 14, 2023 at 5pm
Accepted Works Arrive By: August 1, 2023, 5pm
Exhibition dates: September 8 - September 30, 2023
Reception: Friday, September 8, 2023, 6:00 - 8:00pm
All accepted works must arrive by the deadline. Hand delivered works are accepted through pre-arrangement; please contact: art.whatiwouldhavemissed@gmail.com.
Payment to Selected Artists: By September 22, 2023
Submission Fee: $15.00 for up to 3 works (one image per attachment) $5 for each additional image submission (up to maximum of 10, and one image per attachment). Payments must be submitted via the Paypal or Venmo links provided.
Paypal: https://www.paypal.me/whatiwouldhavemissed
Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/whatiwouldhavemissed
Awards: Each artist selected will be awarded $500. Up to 30 artworks will be selected.
Ownership of Art: What I Would Have Missed will take full ownership of art with permission to sell the art at the end of the national exhibit circuit as well as reproduce the art on various merchandise. The intent of doing so is to provide a conduit of financial support for What I Would Have Missed that connects individual artists personally affected by suicide with the opportunity to contribute to furthering the mission of What I Would Have Missed. All proceeds derived from the sale of the art and any and all of its reproductions will be used to further the mission of What I Would Have Missed. Artists will receive full credit for all art, either original or reproduced, in perpetuity.
Submission Instructions: Fill out the application form, which includes uploading images of either current works of art you are entering and/or renderings of proposed works of art that will be newly created, and including an artist statement. Submission is not complete without submission of payment via paypal or venmo.
Artist Statement: Artist statements will be displayed with the artwork and should be no longer than 500 words, should include a description of your connection to suicide and your personal journey of seeking hope, healing, and happiness. Also describe why you chose to depict the art you are submitting.
Limitations:
Works cannot exceed a weight of 50 pounds. Work can not be longer/larger than 60 inches in its longest dimension. *** Works outside these size and weight restrictions may be considered only by contacting What I Would Have Missed. prior to submission. If you have a question about if your work qualifies, please email art.whatiwouldhavemissed@gmail.com.
All 3D works that require presentation other than standard pedestals must include those items with the works. Works that require special installation must come with clear instructions. Any works that require complicated specialized installation must be installed by the artist. ALL WORK MUST BE HANG/PRESENTATION READY. We reserve the right to reject work for the exhibition that differs significantly from the submitted images and/ or for craft issues.
Liability:
- Team members will take great care handling artworks for exhibition. However, What I Would Have Missed, its staff, volunteers, gallery and community partners are not responsible for any damage that may occur. We strongly recommend artists insure the works themselves, and also purchase insurance from the shipping company used, although this is not a requirement. Shipping your work means you agree to this. **Disclaimer: What I Would Have Missed insurance does not cover damage to art during shipping and transit to or from the business address and to the exhibit spaces. Artists should insure all work to What I Would Have Missed.
- What I Would Have Missed will mail exhibition award checks to the address designated by the artist up to 15 days after the exhibition reception date. It is the artist’s responsibility to ensure that their mailing address is correct. If the artist fails to list their address correctly, What I Would Have Missed is not responsible for any fees associated with canceling and re-issuing a new award check to the artist.
- On receipt of the artist’s submission, What I Would Have Missed assumes full ownership rights to the art. All proceeds derived from the original work of art and its reproduction in any and all forms will be used to support the mission of What I Would Have Missed. The artist knowingly and willingly forfeits any and all rights to the reproduction or sale of the original art, with the specific provision that all proceeds will be directed to What I Would Have Missed.
- If shipping, the artist is responsible for shipping costs to the business.
Works selected will be mailed to:
What I Would Have Missed
℅ Julie A Rocco
3779 31st Avenue North
St. Petersburg, Florida 33713
Hand delivered works are accepted through pre-arrangement; please contact
