OCAD U CAREER LAUNCHERS

2021 The Public Gallery Window Exhibition Career Launcher

OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Public and the RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers are excited to announce The Public Gallery Window Exhibition Career Launcher, providing an exhibition opportunity for one (1) exhibition proposal from a recent OCAD U grad. Artists are invited to submit site responsive proposals to be shown from mid-January till the end of February, 2022.

The Public Gallery (58 Lansdowne Ave.) is a 2m x 3.5 m street-facing gallery, featuring art that explores issues of social justice and anti-oppression. The Public believes that art should be accessible— created and enjoyed by everybody, — and inspire change. The gallery can be viewed anytime from Lansdowne Ave. at Seaforth in Toronto. Once selected, the Public Gallery is interested in mentoring and supporting the artist’s interest in developing community engagement via workshops or programming.

We program the gallery with the understanding that any work that’s shown in a community needs to be able to be read by people in that community. We’re often reflecting on the site-specificity of our space — a gallery window in Parkdale, on Indigenous land, across from a school, at a bus stop, etc. — and in these ways, we challenge the conventional role and relationship of a gallery to its surrounding community. Our gallery is also one of our favourite ways of community engagement. We love building capacity with artists to run community engagement and popular education workshops that in turn deepens the connection between their artwork and the community.

The Public is interested in working with artists and projects that are responsive to the site and location of The Public’s surrounding neighbourhood, and artists who have an existing relationship to the community.

We strongly encourage artists to apply who reflect diversity and intersectionality in sexuality, gender, culture, race, ethnicity, creed, religion, age, ability, and other dimensions of diversity.

The selected artist will receive a fee of $1000 and production support budget of $200 from the RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

• Full contact information (Name, phone, and email)
• Current creative CV
• Website and/or Social Media handle
• A brief statement/bio that contextualizes your overall practice (150 words max)
• A written statement describing your proposed exhibition and your interest in this specific opportunity (500 words max) Please note that The Public Gallery space is unable to accommodate sound projects. The Public is interested in working with artists and projects that are responsive to the site and location of The Public’s surrounding neighbourhood, and artists who have an existing relationship to the community. Please include this your statement if this applies to you.
• A short statement outlining the potential significance of the opportunity to your practice and/or development (100 words max)
• 5 - 10 sample support images or video links of artist’s artwork in a single PDF. Please provide links for video related content and work (Vimeo, YouTube, Format website etc). Do not include video files.
• A corresponding list for the support images including: artist(s) name, title, year, medium, size duration (for time-based work). 

APPLICATION SUPPORT

The OCAD U RBC CEAD is committed to promoting substantive equality for equity-seeking groups that are under-represented in the creative sector. We encourage applications from first-time applicants to the program and graduates of equity-seeking communities including racialized and Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, and persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities / expressions. Applicants are welcome to advise the CEAD of any accommodations needed to ensure you have access to a fair and equitable process. 

Applicants who need assistance with their submissions are invited to connect with the RBC CEAD for Advising support. Click here to learn more about how to book an advising appointment.