01 Apr 2016

Call for Artist Proposals - Spartanburg Art Museum, South Carolina USA

The Spartanburg Art Museum is seeking proposals for solo and group exhibitions for 2017 and 2018. We are interested in all types of work that address contemporary issues and concerns, use traditional materials in unusual ways, and elevate our visitors' experience to new levels of participation and engagement. Any individual, collective, or group of artists located regionally, nationally, or internationally may apply. All mediums and themes will be considered for exhibitions.

SAM will offer four dynamic group exhibitions during 2017-2018 based on the following themes/concepts. Artists are asked to select one or more of these, if their work (2D, 3D, installations) relates strongly to these themes in terms of materials and concepts. Artists may of course choose not to select one of these themes, as all work will be considered for future exhibition programming.

Text/Typography: Typography and typesetting has long been considered a trade skill rather than an artistic one. We are looking for work that shows typography as an art form and that pays as much attention to the letterforms themselves as the message they might relay.

Paper Works: Though digital technology has become a staple in modern life, there is no denying that paper—from business cards to cardboard boxes to printer stock to picnic napkins—refuses to be replaced by it. We are looking for work that emphasizes the use of paper, in all its various forms, in nontraditional, unusual, and ephemeral manners.

Artist as Laborer: Work that demonstrates the labor required in making art through arduous or repetitive processes; work that explores how labor is valued or non-valued in contemporary art, or works that addresses commercial or industrial processes of creating art that minimize the labor required by the artist's hands.

Social Media: Work that addresses some of the broad aspects of social media as a space that is immediate, personal, political, social, alienating or connective to suggest a few.


Applications may be submitted electronically (preferred method) or by mail. To submit an electronic application, please send application fee of $30 USD (payable by PayPal), completed form, and materials to our Exhibitions Coordinator, Ashleigh Shuler, at apayne@spartanarts.org with the subject line ATTN: 2016 Call for Artists. To submit an application by mail, please send materials to the following address:

Spartanburg Art Museum
Attn: Ashleigh Shuler, Exhibitions Coordinator
200 E. St. John Street
Spartanburg, SC 29306