13 Jan 2015

ARCCO Conference November 2015 | Call for Submissions

Artists at the Center: Moving from the Margins to Inclusion
Presented by Artist-Run Centres & Collectives of Ontario (ARCCO)

Toronto, Ontario
November, 2015

Artist-run centres have long embodied discursive spaces for artists and cultural workers to engage one another in ways that are open, collaborative and experimental. Their institutional histories continue to exemplify the important role they play as creative incubators and sites of research, exploration and risk-taking, reflecting the self-directed, self-determined, alternative grassroots origins from which many of these spaces emerged. Artists at the Center: Moving from the Margins to Inclusion is a multi-day conference that seeks to build on this distinct history, taking this particular moment to think through past, present and future iterations of artistic and cultural engagement.

Artists at the Center aims to explore the role artistic practice plays in the contemporary cultural landscape through focusing on its manifestations at artist-run centres and public institutions as particular sites of engagement. 'Engagement means being a platform for creative forms of inquiry, knowledge-driven exploration, and active understanding that is interdisciplinary [and] intersectional,' describes Hanna Cho, Curator of Engagement and Dialogue at the Museum of Vancouver. In this way, engagement can be seen as a tool for artists and presentation spaces alike to build and establish relationships, increase awareness and incite dialogue. It can also act as advocacy, outreach, and a pedagogical tool.

Taking a hybrid approach, the conference will feature both formal and self-directed discussions, including keynotes, panel discussions and other artistic contributions from a variety of perspectives. Artists at the Center aims to create a space for open, critical dialogue and exchange, acknowledging artist-run centres for their artistic leadership, legacy, and rich contributions to the cultural landscape.

Call for Submissions
ARCCO's 2015 conference Artists at the Center: Moving from the Margins to Inclusion invites submissions from a variety of perspectives including those from artists, curators, and administrators of artist-lead initiatives to contribute to this conversation around the varied, transferable and transformative potential of engagement.

Submissions may include presentations that explore 'engagement' in various ways, but not limited to:
• critically examining models of engagement, outreach, and inclusion
• reflections / anecdotes of risk, failures and successes
• artistic practice as activism
• collaborative practices
• explorations in discursive programming
• decolonizing strategies for the gallery
• galleries as sites of research
• the impact of mentorship
• legacy and succession planning
• reimagining funding models
Please submit up to a 500 word proposal outlining your presentation topic with the subject heading 'ARCCO 2015 Conference Submission'.

Please note that submissions will be accepted by email only. Any hardcopy submissions received will not be returned.

Please include:
• A curriculum vitae (no more than 3 pages please), a brief biography and contact information
Artists and curators please also include:
• 10 images representing your work or a specific project in JPEG format. Image files should be no more than 1024 pixels wide. Please do not send original work
• An image list indicating artist name, title of the work, exhibition, and year, as a PDF
• An artist's statement or curatorial statement or other written descriptions, as a PDF
Please send to:
ellyn.at.arcco@gmail.com
c.c. axl.at.arcco@gmail.com

Subject Line: ARCCO 2015 Conference Submission
Submission Deadline: February 3, 2015

Artist-Run Centres & Collectives of Ontario thanks everyone in advance for their submissions. Only those presentations selected by ARCCO will be contacted.

About Artist-Run Centres & Collectives of Ontario
Artist-Run Centres & Collectives of Ontario (ARCCO) is a professional provincial arts service organization that fosters the network and supports the growth and development of artist directed organizations engaged in contemporary cultural practice. This includes centres/collectives for the presentation, production, dissemination, service and investigation of contemporary art in a variety of media and multi-disciplinary work.

Acknowledgements
ARCCO gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Ontario Arts Council, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, and partner Artist-Run Centres and Collectives Conference / Conférence des collectifs et des centres d'artistes autogérés (arca).

www.arcco.ca