14 Apr 2017

Call for Applications: THE VOICE OF__________

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

THE VOICE OF _________

An exhibition of imaginary electoral posters and materials made by artists who have no right to vote in their country of residence.

CONTEXT

Today, a great amount of amazing artists are living and moving all over Europe as non-EU citizens. Multiple travel, education and working opportunities have allowed for relatively networked artist communities to grow, sometimes without interactions with local political realities or spaces. However, non-EU citizens have limited or no set of rights to participation and collective decision-making locally, which can impact identities, sense of belonging and perceptions of/by local cultural contexts. The minds and sensibilities of artists are regularly exposed to transnational, national and local political messages, especially at the occasion of electoral elections, to which they often cannot participate.

With the rise of nationalism and the far-right, the freedom of movement of non-EU citizens is being threatened, putting into question the fluidity of culture which knows no borders and the possibilities of artists to react to these trends. In this changing context, we want to explore how artists, who have no voting rights in their country of residence, would react if they imagine themselves as a candidate for elections or in the role of formulating and designing election campaigns. How would they use their democratic right of free aesthetic expression, in an hostile context regarding their rights?

Various European and non-European countries have different policies and promises regarding this issue. In this exhibition we would like to capture the status quo in France, in Europe and in neighbouring regions, and give voice to those communities which participate in society, in the culture and in the economy of the countries they are residents of, without efficient way to take part in collective decision making processes.

CALL DATES AND DEADLINES

The call invites submissions from artists who do not have the right to vote in their country of residence. The focus of the exhibition is on electoral campaign materials, which can range from campaign posters and flyers, campaign videos (interviews, debates, etc.) or other formats.

You are the creative boss of the campaign and we wish you the best of luck. The submissions can portray your vision of a presidential campaign, based on utopian or dystopian promises; promote certain real or invented political characters, imaginary electoral programs and messages that are addressing current burning political issues that are important to you as a non-voter in the European Union.

If you would like to participate, please send us the following information as a combined PDF file via email before Monday, April 24th to: events@euroalter.com .

- Artist's CV
- a portfolio of previous relevant works
- a short concept proposal (500 words maximum)
- info including country of residence and country of origin, and duration of
residence so far in foreign country.

We will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis, so sooner you contact us, sooner we can give you feedback and start working on preparation.

The final list of selected artists will be published by the middle of May at the latest. The works will be exhibited in a first chapter at the beginning of June at La Capela, an independent art space in Paris.

The exhibition is conceptualized and curated by Vladimir Palibrk in collaboration with European Alternatives, a transnational organization bringing together citizens, artists, curators and intellectuals who promote democracy, equality and culture beyond the nation state, and La Capela , independent cultural space based in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.