Description

Invisible Architectures | Social Contracts

Application Deadline:
Monday, January 22nd @ Midnight

Exhibition:
Thursday, May 9 - June 29, 2024

Opening Reception:
Thursday May 9, 2024

Virtual Application

Maryland Art Place in collaboration with COFAC CoLab Directors Dr. Kalima Young and Ada Pinkston, are excited to announce a call for submissions for "Invisible Architectures." This exhibition explores the impact of geographic, economic, social, and institutional structures on personal relationships. Regional artists are invited to submit proposals for inclusion in a dynamic interdisciplinary art festival scheduled for Spring 2024 to conclude this Co-Lab sponsored project. We welcome proposals that explore the past, present and future directions social contracts may take.

About Invisible Architectures

As we approach another election year in the United States, agreements about what is included in an American social contract continue to be up for debate.The term social contract started when philosophers from France to England started to think about the nature of humanity and the tensions that exist between the people who enact power and the people who do not. What are the agreed upon boundaries that exist within our social, family and political structures? How do these boundaries create or negate cognitive distance with what actually happens in any social theater? Artistic interventions have the potential to offer us much needed insights and possibilities for our collective future.

All art media will be considered. Submissions will be rated based on the following criteria: artistic quality, artistic innovation as it relates to the theme, and proposal feasibility. Regional artists will be considered. Students, faculty, and staff of any University of Maryland school are strongly encouraged to apply.

Please Note: All applications will be reviewed and considered for the venues outlined. However, please indicate your preference of venue or any scheduling conflicts in the virtual application or email submission of your application.

Venues
Current Space, Baltimore, MD | Exhibition Dates: March 6th - April 6th
Current Space is an artist-run gallery, studio, and outdoor performance space, nourishing an ongoing dialogue between artists, activists, performers, designers, curators, and thinkers. Operating since November 2004, we are committed to showcasing, developing, and broadening the reach of artists locally and internationally.
StartUp at the Armory Gallery in Towson, MD | Exhibition Dates: April 12 - May 16th
The StarTUp at the Armory is TU’s front door for start-ups, small businesses, as well as our region’s largest corporations. This state-of-the art 26,000 sq. ft. space includes 6,000 sq. ft. of free co-working space and meeting rooms where entrepreneurs and executives can connect with each other and to TU’s programs and people.
Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD | Exhibition Dates: May 9th - June 29th
Juried by: Doreen Bolger
Maryland Art Place (MAP) inspires, supports, and encourages artistic expression through innovative programming, exhibitions, and educational opportunities while recognizing the powerful impact art can have on our community. MAP creates a dynamic environment for artists of our time to engage the public by nurturing and promoting new ideas. MAP has served as a critical resource for contemporary art in the Mid-Atlantic since 1981.
Doreen Bolger Bio:
Doreen Bolger, retired Director of The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), served from 1998 to 2015. During her 17-year tenure, she led a successful $100 million fundraising campaign, oversaw BMA's renovation, implemented free admission, and transitioned the institution from a city agency to a private organization. Bolger holds a BA magna cum laude from Bucknell University, an MA from the University of Delaware, and a PhD from the Graduate Center at the City University of New York. Prior to her BMA role, she worked at The Metropolitan Museum of Art as Curator and Manager of the Henry R. Luce Center for American Art, Curator at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, TX, and served as Director of the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. Since retirement, Bolger has contributed to local arts organizations including: Creative Alliance, Maryland Citizens for the Arts, Maryland Art Place, and Woman’s Club of Roland Park; curated exhibitions in the co-curation of MICA’s 2015/2016 Graduate Exhibition; and gifted twenty works to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. She also contributed to Bmore Art’s publication City of Artists Baltimore (2023).
*** Public Sites to be announced

Timeline
Application Deadline - Monday, January 22 @ Midnight
Notifications of Acceptance - Friday, February 16, 2024
Artwork Drop Off - Thursday, April 25 - Saturday, April 27
Exhibition - Thursday, May 9- June 29, 2024
Opening Reception - Thursday, May 9, 2024
Artwork Pick - up - Thursday, July 4 - Saturday, July 6, 2024

Eligibility:
- Must have artwork available during one or more of the exhibition periods outlined
- Artwork must address social contracts as outlined above
- There is no Fee to apply!
- All media welcome

Submission Guidelines: to submit to Invisible Architectures please include the following materials and email your submission to apinkston@towson.edu or use the Google Form provided.

- Available artwork and/or 200 - 500 word proposal for performance or non-existing work
- Image list outlining title, media, dimensions, brief description and year
- A CV or Resume
- Artist Statement
- Artist Bio
- Your website and/or Instagram
- *Include Invisible Architectures Application in the email header

Please send all application materials to apinkston@towson.edu

About Invisible Architectures in CoLab
The COFAC CoLab is an incubator for ideas, projects and collaboration. The lab is a home for interdisciplinary work. It's a hub where ideas can be cross-fertilized and put into motion. Designed as a space where fields of study are porous, the objective is to build new knowledge for an ever-evolving world. Professors Dr. Kalima Young, (Department of Electronic Media & Film) and Ada Pinkston (Department of Art + Design, Art History Art Education) were selected to be Towson University’s College of Fine Arts and Communication CoLab Directors from 2021-2024.