Description

MOVEMENT/S
Now accepting submissions for Emerson Contemporary’s semi-annual, emerging artists exhibition curated by Emerson College undergraduate students. The theme of this year's group show is "MOVEMENT/S," in all of its denotations, connotations, and permutations.
CALL FOR WORK: Student-Curated Exhibition, Movement/s
This thematic group show will be on view at the Media Art Gallery, Emerson College, 25 Avery Street, Boston, MA, in early/mid April to May 3rd, 2025. Ready-to-hang works will need to be delivered to Emerson at the end of March and/or early April. We expect selected, and non-selected, artists will be notified in early March via email.

DEADLINE for submissions is Thursday, February 27th at 11:59pm
*There are no fees to submit work for consideration or to participate*

EXHIBITION OVERVIEW: Emerson Contemporary seeks critically engaged photographic series and lens-based works for a three-week exhibition considering ideas and issues related to "movement/s." This topical and timely show is a part of an upper-level seminar on Curatorial Practices in the department of Visual & Media Studies. See the NARRATIVE CALL section immediately below for what we are seeking as well as additional details and expectations.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Artists are welcome to submit 3-5 artworks for consideration. Works should be from a cohesive series, exhibition-ready, and ready to hang. We expect to select several works per artist (rather than one piece per person). Format-wise, media could include photographs captured or created using historical or contemporary processes; videos or projections; photomontage or sculptural photographs; experimental or new media; or installations that include or allude to photography. Genre-wise, works could include fine art, documentary, conceptual, or archival.

ARTIST CRITERIA AND LOGISTICS: This exhibition opportunity is for emerging artists and photographers, broadly defined. We especially encourage those from historically under-represented communities to apply. Artists must live or work in the Greater Boston area and be able to drop off and pick up the selected works to the gallery. The gallery is not able to accept shipped works or pay for shipping. The gallery cannot provide framing, but does have an extensive equipment inventory available for use including high single-channel projectors, iPads, monitors etc.

QUESTIONS? Email EmersonCuratorialPractices@gmail.com No phone calls please

>>> PLEASE READ over the additional submission and participation REQUIREMENTS at the very bottom of this form, after the submission fields. By submitting to this call, you agree to its terms. <<<

CALL NARRATIVE: A photograph is never fully still and nothing remains truly static. The act of photographing is inherently active, requiring the photographer to move towards or follow a subject, to observe, to respond. Photographs aid in our understanding by collecting singular moments and circulating in a world of relentless flux.

Our era has rapidly oscillated between inertia and eruption — from massive lockdowns to global protest. This endless movement is crucial for progress but can be overwhelming individually. How do we process and picture this whiplash of stasis paired together with speed?

Movement/s, a student-curated exhibition at Emerson College, seeks photographic and lens-based works that engage, capture, and reflect “movement.” The call welcomes artworks that examine movement as an idea — whether anticipated or abrupt, chaotic or controlled, internal or external — as well as those that document political and social, environmental and scientific, physical and abstract movements. We also solicit series that explore the role of photography as a tool for change, organization, or revolution as well as those that question the fluidity, fractures, and futures of movement. Whether we fight, fly, or freeze, “moving through” can also be a transformative pause or confrontation and invite those interpretations as well.

We especially seek projects that challenge binaries — action/inaction, progress/rewind, agitation/anxiety, construction/destruction — to map where we have been, where we are stuck, and how we might navigate, connect, learn, and move forward. Our exhibition aims to be a reflection of and meditation on our time — from its perpetual motion, shifting tides, restless energy, to continuous evolution. We look forward to seeing how artists incorporate and interrogate Movement/s at this inflection point — as the weight of history presses against the present and the fierce urgency of now foreshadows the future.

OVERVIEW OF DATES

Entry Deadline: Thursday, February 27th at 5pm
Deadline and Location for delivery of ready-to-hang framed work: Saturday, March 29th and Tuesday, April 1 to Thursday, April 3, to Emerson’s Media Art Gallery, Tuesday - Saturday 12-6pm
Exhibition Dates: Early/mid April (TBD) - Saturday, May 3rd, 2025
Exhibition Location: Media Art Gallery, 25 Avery Street, Boston, MA, 02111
Exhibition Hours: Tuesdays through Saturdays, 12-6pm
Opening Reception and Public Programming: TBD, but likely Friday, April 11th and/or April 18th
Entry Fee: Free!
ADDITIONAL SUBMISSION and PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS
IN ORDER TO SUBMIT:

Artists and photographers may submit up to five (5) images from a cohesive, exhibition-ready body of work, 100-word artist statement, and CV/resume (limited to 2 pages).

File requirements: accepted file types include ONLY jpg/JPEG for photographs and mov/MOV, MP4, MP3 for videos.

Naming conventions: You MUST include your LAST NAME at the beginning of the file name/s.For JPEGs, file should be formatted at 300 DPI, with the longest side measuring 6 inches.

Submission is only via Cognito Forms; do not send materials physically or via email to Emerson.

Incorrectly formatted or corrupted files will not be reviewed.

Your photographs or videos must be available for display during the time scheduled for the exhibition, early/mid April to May 3rd, 2025, with work due to Emerson during the dates and times noted above.

Please only submit works that can be shown or are already produced.

Artists are advised that this exhibition will be guided by an experienced educator and independent curator, but is above all a student-curated exhibition and learning experience. We appreciate your understanding!

By entering this call, you are agreeing to adhere to all published schedules, specifications, and guidelines.

IF YOU ARE SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE:

As noted above, we expect selected and non-selected artists will be notified in early March, likely on or around Friday, March 7th via email. Please, no emails or phone calls to inquire if you are selected.

Selected artists are responsible for soft packing their works (in bubble wrap, ideally with cardboard on both sides, or in a reusable container, with no foam peanuts) and delivering them to the gallery.

Selected artists must furnish the work framed or "ready-to-hang." For any unique installations, artists must be available to provide help with and/or supply any special hardware and/or specific instructions if required.

We reserve the right to refuse works whose quality is not reflected in the submission materials and will not hang works that are defective.

Artists retain copyright of their images. By entering this juried opportunity, you agree, if selected, to allow Emerson Contemporary and our class to utilize selected images for promotional and press purposes in conjunction with the exhibition, both online and in print.

As this is an academic institution and a student-curated show, artworks will not be for sale. A loan form agreement will be sent once artists selected and works finalized.

Emerson Contemporary will insure works while on the premises for replacement value only (i.e., not retail). Unframed works, raw prints, or other special installations are handled on a case-by-case basis for insurance purposes.

You are encouraged, but not required, to attend the opening reception with the student curators and any educational programming; both are TBD but will likely be on or around Friday, April 11th and/or 18th.

ABOUT THE EMERSON GALLERIES: "Emerson Contemporary is the Emerson College’s platform for showcasing contemporary visual art. It amplifies the voices of living artists, creative changemakers, and technologists who broaden how we understand our present moment and help us reimagine what is possible. We encourage experimentation, commission new works, and support artistic research. The in-depth engagement with temporary exhibitions and related public programming is based on the principle that artistic practice is an intellectual activity and works of art are a form of knowledge production." Emerson Contemporary and its galleries – including the Media Art Gallery, Huret & Spector Gallery, Art on Campus, and Public Art – are centrally located near the Boston Common in the Theater District and Downtown Crossing neighborhood. More information: https://emersoncontemporary.org/about/

ABOUT THE COURSE: "This course is designed to expose students to a range of practical, professional, and theoretical concerns that define the fine art, curatorial, and museum professions. Curriculum may blend both academic and experimental research with career discussion/exploration. Students will develop communication, writing, research, and problem-solving skills through assignments, hands-on workshops, and field trips. Topics may include: Curatorial Studies, Exhibition Management, Professional Practice for Fine Artists, Museum Education, Museology."