Call for Submissions: Thinking Inside the Box

Closing: November 15, 2024

Trap\door Artist Run Centre is calling for proposals for our upcoming exhibition “Thinking Inside the Box”.  A registered non-profit operating out of Lethbridge, Trap\door has acted as a siteless & nomadic artist-run centre since 2004. 

Trap\door is fabricating 4 water-tight wooden boxes that will be provided to selected artists.  These 11 x 11 x 11 inch plexiglass fronted boxes will be installed in various high-traffic outdoor pop-up locations between January – May 2025.  For their initial display, they will be affixed to metal posts in the parking lot of Casa art centre January 25 – 30.

“Think outside the box” is an idiom that glibly tossed around, especially in discourse about art.  For this exhibition we are asking artists to do the opposite, and think inside the box, both literally and figuratively.  We are asking artists to create art about ‘Art’.  What is its purpose?  What can it show us?  How does it communicate with us?  What can it make us think about?  What is its value?  The work will be installed in places that encourage startling interactions with a public that may be unfamiliar with art.  Consequently, we are asking what voice can a work have & what will it say? 

These boxes will have transparent fronts, led lights, and can be customized in any manner the artist sees fit.  Thematic considerations are open, and artists can investigate the concept in their own way.  Trap\door will be convening an adjudication committee and selecting 4 artists.  Selected artists will be paid an artist fee of $425.  Trap\door will ship work back to the artists at the conclusion of the project or arrange for pick-up.

This exhibition invites artists to explore creative production outside of an institutional framework.  As an artist-run centre without a fixed and permanent venue, we are interested in developing strategies to situate art in spaces where creative producers and the public can intersect.  Due to the nature of the project, and the siting of work in high traffic areas, the work will not be insured, nor will Trap\door Artist Run Centre be liable for any damage. We feel that this component of risk and reward is an integral element of the project.

Timeline:

– Call for proposals closes November 15, 2024

– All artists contacted by November 22, 2024, regarding the status of their proposals

– Selected artists will deliver work by January 20, 2025

Artist fees:

– Selected artists will be paid an artist fee of $425, and $50 for delivery for artists outside Lethbridge.

Submission process:

– A brief biographical paragraph in pdf format

– A current curriculum vitae in pdf format

– A brief artist statement in pdf format

– A short but detailed description of the proposed work in pdf format

– Up to 10 images of past work 

All artists who submit will be contacted by Nov 15 regarding the status of their submission.  To submit, please email trapdoorlethbridge@gmail.com using “Thinking Inside the Box” in the subject line.  Please don`t hesitate to contact us at the email above for further clarity, or with any questions.