Call for Artists

The Sculpture Center

W2S 2021 Call for Artists Will Open in Early Fall 2019. Check Back Then!

The Sculpture Center invites early career artists of our greater region whose practice includes sculpture, installation, mixed and expanded media, relational aesthetics, and performance to apply for inclusion in our annual W2S series (Window to Sculpture Emerging Artist series). Through W2S, begun in 1990, The Sculpture Center promotes the careers of exceptional sculptors and expanded media artists from our region during the first ten years of their profession. Four – six artists are selected annually by our Exhibition Committee for one-person, full gallery exhibitions of new work in either the Main (1000 sq. ft.) or Euclid Avenue (750 sq. ft.) Gallery with a group catalog (if funding is available). We encourage and fully support risk taking and new directions of creative by the artists selected for W2S.

This series supports the careers of promising sculptors by invigorating their momentum and promoting their professional and artistic development. Unique among its kind, the W2S series provides opportunity for a sculptor to heighten their profile, prompting leads toward gallery representation, graduate school admission, university positions or tenure, and, most importantly, a maturing of their artistic oeuvre through the creation of new work, free of external constraints.

[Excerpt from the W2S 2016 catalog introductory essay by Robert Thurmer, Chair of the Exhibition Committee, Sculpture Center board member, and Director and Chief Curator of the Galleries of CSU]

Our region encompasses Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, the western half of Pennsylvania, western New York (Rochester and west), and the province of Ontario, Canada. The artist must have a significant connection to the region by having lived, worked, or attended school here, but doesn’t need to be currently living in the region.

For the W2S series, The Sculpture Center defines an early career sculptor as an artist who is a year beyond training (academic, apprenticeship, or self taught) and no more than 10 years into their career at the closing date of the call.

Artists apply through our call for artists that opens each fall and closes in early January. The solo exhibitions are held the following year. Call or email (info at sculpturecenter.org) any time if you have questions about this exhibition opportunity.

Join our Email List to receive our annual call for W2S artists and annual call for After the Pedestal, the summer juried group exhibition of small sculpture from the region.

Sara O’Keeffe, Associate Curator at the New Museum in New York City

Call Closed – check back in fall 2019 for our next
Cleveland Sculptors Network
Master Reviews & Collective Discussion

Master Reviews & Collective Discussion
with Sara O’Keeffe
Saturday, June 22, 2019 from 9:30 a.m. – noon
Location: The Sculpture Center (1834 E. 123rd Street, Cleveland, Ohio)
No fee to apply.

The Sculpture Center’s visiting curator and juror, Sara O’Keeffe, will lead a private group critical feedback discussion of the work presented by selected sculptors (four to six) of our region. The reviews are held within the group and are not open to the public.

The Master Reviews & Collective Discussion is preceded on Friday, June 21 by the ninth panel of the Cleveland Sculptors Network/Getting There from Here, Beyond the Walls: Support for Artist Driven Research and Production, with visiting curator Sara O’Keeffe and Amanda D. King. They are joined by moderator Key Jo Lee, Assistant Director and Academic Outreach for Education and Academic Affairs at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

6:30 to 7 p.m. Networking among all
Beyond the Walls/Cleveland Sculptors Network panel
Friday, June 21, 2019
6:30 – 7:00 p.m. Socializing and networking
7:00 – 8: 00 p.m. Panel discussion followed by audience participation
8:00 – 8:30 p.m. More socializing and networking
Location: TBD
The CSN Panel event is free and open to the public

Sculptors selected for the Master Reviews & Collective Discussion will be able to meet with the panelists, moderator, The Sculpture Center’s Executive Director, and each other at 6 p.m. at the panel location.

Call Eligibility
Open to sculptors currently living and working in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, the western half of Pennsylvania, western New York (Rochester and west), and the province of Ontario, Canada. This is not a student event. Sculpture as defined by The Sculpture Center includes individual objects of all media, installation, expanded media, relational aesthetics, and performance.

How to Apply
Application must be a single PDF no larger than 5 MB that includes the following:
– Short Letter of Interest (no more than 300 words)
– 10 images of recent work. This can include up to 3 minutes of time based work per video that can be accessed online from a hyperlink from an image, but no more than 10 minutes total of viewing time for all combined videos. Alternately, your videos can be combined into one series of shorts no more than 10 minutes in length.
– Image list with the following information: Title, date, size/duration, medium, and brief description if needed
– Art resume or CV that includes your correct email address and phone number
Title the PDF “artist last name_artist first name_year”
Email your PDF to Executive Director Ann Albano (aalbano at sculpturecenter.org) with Master Reviews in the subject line.

Deadline
Monday, June 3rd @ Midnight
Notification of selections
TBA

Questions
Email Ann Albano (aalbano@sculpturecenter.org) or call The Sculpture Center at 216-229-6527.

Sara O’Keeffeis an Associate Curator at the New Museum. She was part of the curatorial teams that organized “Trigger: Gender as a Tool and a Weapon” (with Johanna Burton, 2017-2018), and the “2015 Triennial: Surround Audience” (with Lauren Cornell and Ryan Trecartin, 2015). She curated “RAGGA NYC: All the threated and delicious things joining one another” (2015) and “Screens Series: Dynasty Handbag” (2018-2019), and co-curated “Jeffrey Gibson: The Anthropophagic Effect” (2019); “MOTHA and Chris E. Vargas: Consciousness Razing—The Stonewall Re-Memorialization Project”(2018-2019); “A.K. Burns: Shabby but Thriving” (2017); “My Barbarian: The Audience is Always Right” (2016); “Beatriz Santiago Muñoz: Song, Strategy, Sign” (2016); “Cheryl Donegan: Scenes and Commercials” (2015-2016); and “Wynne Greenwood: Kelly” (2015), all with Johanna Burton.

Previous Cleveland Sculptors Network panels followed by Master Reviews & Collective Discussion include:

Next Question: A Slowed Down Practice with visiting artist Michelle Illuminato, Kelley O’Brien and Ryan Dewey with moderator Elizabeth Emery. More about it here.

Sculpture for Society with visiting artist and educator Allison Smith, panelist artist Adam Milner and art historian Dr. Matthew Levy, and moderator Nicole Ledinek. More about it here.

Negotiating the Art World: Strategies for Underrepresented Artists with visiting curator Taylor Aldridge, panelists Jennifer Coleman and Chelsea A. Flowers, and moderator Vince Robinson. More about it here.

The Sculptor Performing, with visiting artist Ward Shelly, panelists Anthony Warnick and Jonas Sebura, and moderator Corrie Slawson. More about it here.

Breaking Through: Curators Strategize with Artists, with visiting curator Christina Linden, panelists Elizabeth Carney and Christina Vassallo and moderator Sarah Kabot, Associate Professor and Chair of the Drawing Department at the Cleveland Institute of Art in Ohio. More about it here.

Unfettered, Artists who Work across Media with visiting artist Steve Locke, Cleveland State University Professor of Sculpture Irina Koukhanova, Cleveland Institute of Art professor of photography Jerry Birchfield, and moderator Kristen Cliffel, independent artist. More about it here.

Broadband to Infinity, Current Issues in Expanded Media with visiting artist Luca Buvoli and expanded media artists Julia Christensen and Jacob Ciocci with moderator Rian Brown-Orso, Associate Professor of Cinema Studies and New Media, Oberlin College. More about it here.

Take Form: A Sculptors Panel, with visiting sculptor Nathalie Miebach and Kate Budd and Elizabeth Emery as panelists and moderator Isabel Farnsworth, Associate Professor of Sculpture, Kent State University, More about it here.

The Sculpture Center thanks our ongoing funder for the Cleveland Sculptors Network, the Callahan Foundation, and our former generous partners, 2931 Prospect Contemporary Art (formerly in business) and Happy Dog, and our original funder, the Ohio Arts Council.

Sara O’Keeffe, Associate Curator at the New Museum in New York City

CALL CLOSED / Check back in late winter 2020 for After the Pedestal 13

After the Pedestal, the 12th exhibition of small sculpture from the region
on view Friday, June 14 – Friday, August 2, 2019
Juror Sara O’Keeffe, Associate Curator at the New Museum in New York City

Annually through an open call for artists, The Sculpture Center invites all sculptors, including students, currently living and working in our greater region of Ohio, its contiguous states, W. PA (west from Harrisburg), W. NY (west from Syracuse), and Ontario, Canada, to submit recent work for After the Pedestal, the summer juried exhibition of small sculpture. This always critically well received exhibition is juried by an artist or curator of national and international reputation.

Juror 2019
Sara O’Keeffe is an Associate Curator at the New Museum. She was part of the curatorial teams that organized “Trigger: Gender as a Tool and a Weapon” (with Johanna Burton, 2017-2018), and the “2015 Triennial: Surround Audience” (with Lauren Cornell and Ryan Trecartin, 2015). She curated “RAGGA NYC: All the threated and delicious things joining one another” (2015) and “Screens Series: Dynasty Handbag” (2018-2019), and co-curated “Jeffrey Gibson: The Anthropophagic Effect” (2019); “MOTHA and Chris E. Vargas: Consciousness Razing—The Stonewall Re-Memorialization Project”(2018-2019); “A.K. Burns: Shabby but Thriving” (2017); “My Barbarian: The Audience is Always Right” (2016); “Beatriz Santiago Muñoz: Song, Strategy, Sign” (2016); “Cheryl Donegan: Scenes and Commercials” (2015-2016); and “Wynne Greenwood: Kelly” (2015), all with Johanna Burton.

Eligibility: Sculptors at all levels of experience, including students, working in all media of sculpture, installation, and expanded media. Artist must be working and living in The Sculpture Center’s region currently.
Parameters: Up to three works can be submitted. Each work cannot be larger than 3 x 3 x 3 ft., all dimensions added together. Work cannot be older than three years or previously exhibited in NE Ohio. Students are exempt from the “not exhibited in NE Ohio” requirement.
Shipping, installation, insurance: Sculptor is responsible for round trip shipping and insurance during shipping and any complicated installation and deinstallation. The Sculpture Center provides full insurance while artwork is on its premises.
Note for Video: If a video is submitted, the uploaded application information must include a link (with a password, if protected) to an internet site where the juror can access and view the video, no longer than three minutes.
Cash Awards for Excellence: $300 first, $150 second, $50 third
Application fee: $35.00 by check or money order (made out to The Sculpture Center) or cash.
Download Call and Application Instructions PDF for full information here.

Application must be made online. Payment must be made by mail.

Download PDF for all information about Call, full Application Requirements, and Application form here.

Important Dates
Entry Deadline: Sunday, May 5 at midnight
Payment Due: Friday, May 10
Notification Date: No later than Friday, May 17
Exhibition Dates: Friday, June 14 – Friday, August 2
Opening: Friday, June 14 at 5:30-8:00 p.m. All accepted artists are encouraged to attend the opening where they will have the opportunity to speak about their work.

Questions: Email Executive Director Ann Albano (aalbano at sculpture center.org)

Past Jurors
Second Generation Ab Ex African American sculptor Richard Hunt (2005), designer and artist Viktor Schrekengost (2006), sculptor and urban activist Don Harvey (2007), painter and Chair of the Visual Arts Division, Columbia University, New York, Gregory Amenoff (2008), the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Curator of Contemporary Art Paola Morsiani (2009), Executive Director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Miller Gallery Astria Suparak (2010), Judd Foundation (New York and Texas) Executive Director Barbara Hunt McClanahan (2011), sound and installation artist and Oberlin College’s Professor of Art and African American Studies Johnny Coleman (2015), the Toledo Museum of Art’s Associate Director and Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art Amy Gilman (2016), African American artist and Professor of Art Education at Massachusetts College of Art and Design Steve Locke (2017), and Chief Curator at the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, New York, Cathleen Chaffee (2017).

Join our Email List to receive our annual calls for After the Pedestal and W2S artists.

Michelangelo Lovelace, West 80th

Miller Horns, Valid Self Portrait

Call Closed
An exhibition of work by African American artists from NE Ohio alongside work from the Kerry & Betty C. Davis Collection
on view September 20 – November 16, 2019

African American artists of NE Ohio are invited to submit work for inclusion in seenUNseen, a curated Cleveland exhibition of selections from the renowned Kerry & Betty C. Davis Collection (Atlanta, GA) and artwork by NE Ohio artists. This is a unique opportunity to have your work exhibited side-by-side with some of America’s finest African American artists. A PDF of the call can be found here.

Kerry Davis is a noted collector of African American art based in Atlanta Georgia. His collection includes works by Romare Bearden, Calvin Burnett, Elizabeth Catlett, Sam Gilliam, Sedrick Huckaby, Richard Hunt, Jacob Lawrence, Richard Mayhew, Mildred Thompson, Clarence White, John Wilson and many more artists of historical significance. The work will be displayed in both The Sculpture Center’s Main Gallery and the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve (AAWR). Learn more about the exhibition here.

Initial submissions of 5-8 pieces per artist in a digital format will be taken for the first round, from February 15 – April 30, 2019. The final selection of artists will be made from studio visits conducted by Kerry Davis, AAWR, and The Sculpture Center. Submissions in all media are welcome, with no size limitations at this time. A small number of artists included in this show will be invited back by the Archives and The Sculpture Center for a second exhibition in 2020 focusing on larger bodies of work by each artist.

Artist & Entry Eligibility:

Open to submissions of original artwork made by either early career or established artists who self-identify as African American

Must be a current resident of Northeast Ohio which includes the following counties: Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Wayne

Entries for first round selections should be made from Feb 15 – April 15, 2019

There are no fees for entering this exhibition. Work in all mediums will be considered

Submissions:

First round submissions are from digital images only / PLEASE DO NOT BRING ACTUAL PIECES OF ARTWORK TO AAWR
Submission of 3-5 pieces of original artwork will be accepted for a first-round selection (Multiple images of 3-D work are considered 1 submission, no more than 15 images total for all works submitted.)
Background Information: Inclusion of some form of background information on yourself and your career as an artist is strongly recommended along with your submission. Examples include: a resume or vita; a biography; and an artist statement.

Submissions can be made in three ways: Online, by mail, in person

If you are applying online

Visit the AAWR website www.ArtistsArchives.org
Please make sure all images are in jpg format, 72dpi no larger than1080 pixels H by 1920 pixels W before uploading them *
Please make sure all online forms are filled out

If you are applying through the mail or in person

Submissions made in either of these two ways should be stored on any type of reusable computer storage that is compatible with a PC. This includes; jump drives, CD’s, DVD’s. * see information above on sizing images
Please title your digital image files in the following way: (your) last name_ first name_ title of the piece
Please include copies of your contact information including your name, address, phone number and email address. This may be on a printed hard copy or included as a Word doc or pdf file.
Please include a statement relating to your artistic background as a Word doc or pdf, or hard copy. *see previous background information
Please include a list of the works submitted on the disc or drive as a Word doc or pdf, or a hard copy. Include the title, medium, size H x W x D (if 3-d), year created for each piece.

Please address all mailed or hand delivered submissions to:
The Artists Archives of the Western Reserve
Attention: Mindy Tousley
seenUNseen
1834 E. 123^rd St.
Cleveland, OH 44106

AAWR Open Hours: Tuesday through Friday from 10 – 4pm, Saturdays from 12 – 4pm

Please contact AAWR for more information: www.artistsarchives.org | 216-721-9020 | Info@artistsarchives.org

Call Closed – SCULPTUREX 2019: MATERIAL | IMMATERIAL

Due to Browser issues that created uploading difficulty for a number of entrants we have extended the deadline for application. We request that applicants pay close attention to the instructions and size their images as indicated. Images larger than the specified size will not upload, and you won’t be able to complete your application.

Undergraduate and Graduate Students who are currently in school or have completed school within the 2018/2019 academic year are invited to submit work for the SculptureX 2019 exhibition juried by artist Scott Hocking, a Detroit-based artist.

This year’s symposium exhibition will focus on undergraduate and graduate level work that engage in the exploration and expansion of ideas surrounding materiality. “Materiality” is a loaded term within the space of sculpture. Historically, we’ve used it to specify our medium and media, but over the last six decades the field has expanded in such a way that the idea of materiality has been redefined and moved beyond the traditional boundaries of “medium”.

SCULPTUREX is seeking artwork and expressions of constructed forms, actions and interactions that examine or reexamine any of the following conditions or states of material and materiality: physical matter such as stone, metal, clay, glass, fiber, natural or human made objects; expanded media forms including immersive, performative, virtual, generative, environmental and/or social; as well as research-oriented models focused on informational and diagrammatic outcomes.

Brian Carpenter, Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Toledo School of Art, will be curating and designing the exhibition.

Follow this link for more information https://www.catoledo.org/sculpturex-2019-call-for-art

Eligibility

Undergraduate and Graduate Students who are currently enrolled or have just completed their course of study in an academic institution located in one of the following geographic areas are eligible to apply: Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Western Pennsylvania (West of Harrisburg), Western New York (West of Syracuse) , and Ontario, Canada.

Any size and medium of work (see above descriptor) will be considered including two-dimensional, three-dimensional works and installation.

All entries must be original. No giclees of canvas art, photographs reproduced on canvas (gallery wraps), copies of artworks, or reproductions will be accepted. Up to 5 individual works of art with a total of 10 files may be entered. 3D works and installations must include multiple views and details within the 10 file limit.

Deadline to apply: July 8
Entry fee: $15

Entry Procedure

Go to CATOLEDO.ORG/sculpturex-submission

Have ready the following information:
- Name, email, phone number
- short bio/artist statement (optional)
- List of artworks you are submitting with the following information
  - Artwork title
  - Year
  - media, materials
  - dimensions (please note weight of piece in your artist statement if it is more than 50 lbs.)
Upload files: Minimum of 3 files, Max of 10
- For images – please submit JPEGs only; no smaller than 1920 pixels on the longest side; file resolution – 72 ppi/dpi; file size – 5MB max YOU MUST READ AND FOLLOW IMAGES SIZES INSTRUCTIONS OR YOUR APPLICATION WILL NOT UPLOAD
- Label each image entry Lastname_Title’ or ‘Lastname_Title_detail’
- For 3D works, please include at least one detail and/or alternate view per piece.
- If you have difficulty submitting form, please contact us.
Submit payment of $15

Entrants will be notified by July 25.

Accepted artwork should be ready to install with complete instructions for installation if necessary. Works with unusual or complex installation may require artist assistance during installation. All work must be shipped or hand-delivered to the exhibition location between August 1 and August 15.

If shipped, include a UPS or Fed-Ex pre-paid return label in your package. Instructions for pick-up and delivery will be sent upon acceptance.

Please note: Professional presentation of each piece is required. We reserve the right to reject any work not accurately represented in submission images, videos, etc.

The 1st place selection will be awarded $500. 2nd will receive $300, and third will receive $200. In addition to cash prizes, the top three selected winners and honorable mention awardees will be offered the opportunity to participate in the Lightening Round Presentations on Day 2 of the Symposium ( Saturday, October 5th).

IMPORTANT DATES

Entries due: July 8, 2019
Notifications to artist on or before: July 25
Delivery of Artwork: Between August 1 and 15 (during gallery hours)
Exhibition Dates: September 6 – October 5
Opening Reception: 10/5/2019 6-9
Pick-up Artwork: 10/6/2019

Calls from other institutions, galleries, cities, online magazines, residencies, and the like that include sculpture are now posted on The Sculpture Center’s Facebook page.

If you want The Sculpture Center to post a call for you, email Ann Albano (aalbano at sculpturecenter.org) with a brief description of the call (no more than 4 sentences), a link to the call online, and the deadline. We’ll post it on our Facebook page.

The Sculpture Center

W2S 2021 Call for Artists Will Open in Early Fall 2019. Check Back Then!

Call Closed – check back in fall 2019 for our next
Cleveland Sculptors Network
Master Reviews & Collective Discussion

CALL CLOSED / Check back in late winter 2020 for After the Pedestal 13

After the Pedestal, the 12th exhibition of small sculpture from the region
on view Friday, June 14 – Friday, August 2, 2019
Juror Sara O’Keeffe, Associate Curator at the New Museum in New York City

Call Closed
An exhibition of work by African American artists from NE Ohio alongside work from the Kerry & Betty C. Davis Collection
on view September 20 – November 16, 2019

Call Closed – SCULPTUREX 2019: MATERIAL | IMMATERIAL

Calls from other institutions, galleries, cities, online magazines, residencies, and the like that include sculpture are now posted on The Sculpture Center’s Facebook page.

Main and Euclid Avenue Gallery Hours

Office Hours

The Sculpture Center

W2S 2021 Call for Artists Will Open in Early Fall 2019. Check Back Then!

Call Closed – check back in fall 2019 for our next Cleveland Sculptors Network Master Reviews & Collective Discussion

CALL CLOSED / Check back in late winter 2020 for After the Pedestal 13

After the Pedestal, the 12th exhibition of small sculpture from the region on view Friday, June 14 – Friday, August 2, 2019 Juror Sara O’Keeffe, Associate Curator at the New Museum in New York City

Call Closed An exhibition of work by African American artists from NE Ohio alongside work from the Kerry & Betty C. Davis Collection on view September 20 – November 16, 2019

Call Closed – SCULPTUREX 2019: MATERIAL | IMMATERIAL

Calls from other institutions, galleries, cities, online magazines, residencies, and the like that include sculpture are now posted on The Sculpture Center’s Facebook page.

Main and Euclid Avenue Gallery Hours

Office Hours

Call Closed – check back in fall 2019 for our next
Cleveland Sculptors Network
Master Reviews & Collective Discussion

After the Pedestal, the 12th exhibition of small sculpture from the region
on view Friday, June 14 – Friday, August 2, 2019
Juror Sara O’Keeffe, Associate Curator at the New Museum in New York City

Call Closed
An exhibition of work by African American artists from NE Ohio alongside work from the Kerry & Betty C. Davis Collection
on view September 20 – November 16, 2019