I Am What I Am - Open Call
Date: 03-03-2021
I Am What I Am
Open call
I Am What I Am is a nuanced celebration of queer artists who work with gender, sexuality, identity and queer politics. This adventurous exhibition within the Ballina Arts Centre in association with Mayo Arts Service and Creative Ireland will bring together artists from all backgrounds to unite in a diverse exploration of queer art in Ireland today. Addressing this theme can be met from a position of articulating social, political and aesthetic contexts or those who draw from their own experiences. The title hails from the song finale in the 1983 Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles written and composed by queer writer Jerry Herman. The song was covered by Gloria Gaynor that same year and has been an empowerment anthem for the LGBTQ+ community ever since. I Am what I Am is a stronghold in the form of resistance against adversity in an ever evolving / dissolving world.
Selected artists will receive a €100 artist fee, professional documentation, promotion and a professional catalogue encompassing their work and that of all artists in the programme.
We are particularly interested in artists who are based in Mayo or were born in Mayo. To apply please send the following in PDF form only to Sinéad Keogh at info@sineadkeogh.net: your name, email, website / social media links, address, title of work, year of production, artist statement, link to proposed work or pictures of work, CV and 250 words or less on how your work fits the theme of the exhibition. The deadline for applications is April 1st at 5pm. All applicants will receive the outcomes of their application by April 12th.
Please note: The curator holds no bias towards race, gender, sexuality, religious belief, educational background or socio- economic background and welcomes all artists from all backgrounds to apply. This exhibition was made possible to the support of The Mayo Arts Service / Creative Ireland Cultural Diversity Curatorial Award.
This award is an initiative of Mayo County Council in partnership with the Arts Council of Ireland with support from the Creative Ireland Programme in response to the Creative and Cultural Jobs Stimulus Measure Funding 2020.
(Image: So What You Lookin' For on This series (2017) by Luke Faulkner.)