Exhibition Concept
As the first state to secede
from the Union, and the place from which the first battle shots were fired, South
Carolina arguably started the Civil War.
One hundred and fifty years later, McKissick Museum at the University of
South Carolina aims to end it with a juried exhibition of contemporary craft we
hope will animate civil conversations about Civil War legacies.
A WPA-era building located on
the University’s historic quadrangle, McKissick Museum stands in the company of
the largest collection of slave-made structures on any campus in the United
States. These structures bear witness to
enslaved African Americans’ artisan skill and manual labor. They also provide a poignant backdrop for the
Museum’s significant collections of 19th-century, alkaline-glazed
stoneware and sweet grass baskets, cultural forms intimately tied to the
presence of African slaves in the region and now seemingly synonymous with the
southern experience. It seems fitting,
then, that McKissick Museum commemorate the 150th anniversary of end
of the Civil War on April 9, 2015, with a major exhibition that symbolically
re-enacts the Civil War’s end as a scene of reconciliation—not between the
North and the South—but between former slaves and former slave owners.
We seek entries from artists
working in what historically have been regarded as craft-based media--clay, fiber,
glass, metal and wood—who will imagine and give visual and sculptural form to this
scene. It is perhaps the scene that
Martin Luther King conjured when he dreamt of a day when “the sons of former
slaves and the sons of slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table
of brotherhood.”
What kind of table might
energize and sustain continued civic dialog about how the institution of
slavery continues to shape southern life?
What kind of table, chairs, and table wares might bring people together
to share a meal, share experiences, and speak candidly about the collective
work that remains to be done? Would the
table be set with china, ceramic stoneware or wooden plates? Would sterling flatware or oyster shells serve
as eating utensils? Would guests drink
from glasses or gourds? Would a
tablecloth grace the table’s surface? Do
napkins or placemats define individual place settings? Are there serving pieces on the table
suggestive of the food traditions southerners forged and share?
In other words, what might the
material culture of restorative justice look and feel like?
Jurors
See McKissick Museum’s
website for updates. http://www.artsandsciences.sc.edu/mckissickmuseum/call-entries-0
Awards
$25,000 in purchase awards
will be given to prize winning artists and/or artist collaboratives. Artists are welcome to submit images of an
individual artwork conceived of as a component part of a scene of
reconciliation OR to submit images of an installation with multiple components
OR to collaborate with other artists to submit images of an installation with
multiple component parts.
Timeline for Exhibition
March 31 CALL for ENTRIES issued
October 31 DEADLINE for submission of
IMAGES of objects entered
November 30 ACCEPTANCE notices go out
December 15 DEADLINE for delivery of artwork at
Museum
Feb 2-May 30 FEB 2, EXHIBITION OPENS
Eligibility
To participate, artists must
have been born in, raised in (minimum one year), or be currently living and
working in one of the states that joined the Confederacy: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,
Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and
Virginia. This eligibility requirement
ensures that the prize-winning artworks that will become part of McKissick’s
permanent collection are aligned with the Museum’s collections policy.
Artists must work in craft-based
media—clay, fiber, glass, metal, and/or wood.
Submitted artworks must have
been completed since April 2011, the start of sesquicentennial commemorations
of the American Civil War.
To be eligible for this
juried exhibition, artists must be 18 years old on or before the October 31,
2014 submission deadline.
Entry Fee
Artists must
pay a $25 non-refundable entry fee.
Artists may
submit up to five high-resolution digital images (minimum 300dpi/1MB) of
artwork(s) for consideration to https://McKissickMuseum.slideroom.com.
All artwork/installations submitted
for consideration should be able to fit in the elevator and/or be broken down
into component parts that will fit in the elevator, the dimensions of which are
72”x48”x50”. Designs for objects that
will not fit these dimensions should be discussed with McKissick’s Curator of
Exhibitions, Edward Puchner at 803-777-2515 or puchner@mailbox.sc.edu prior to
production and/or submission.
The artist
is responsible for transporting artwork juried into the exhibition to and from
McKissick Museum.
Should an artist or artist
collaborative submit for consideration an installation that includes digital
media, that artist or artist collaborative will be responsible for providing
the hardware (projector and/or motor) for the duration of the exhibition at
McKissick.
Should an installation be
juried into the exhibition, the installation artist or a member of the artist
collaborative originating the work must be present one week prior to the
opening of Crafting Civil (War) Conversations to assist Museum staff with
installing the installation.
The artist’s or artist collaborative’s
work must presently be wholly owned by the artist or artist collaborative.
Artists whose work is juried
into the exhibition will receive and must sign and return to the Museum a loan
agreement that will require the artist to loan the artwork for up to 3 years in
order that the exhibit might travel to other venues. McKissick aims to travel Crafting Civil (War)
Conversations to a minimum of one venue in each of the states that
joined the Confederacy to foster civil post-Civil War conversations regionally
and nationally. Hence, artwork juried
into the exhibition needs to be available to travel for three years after the
exhibit premieres in South Carolina.
Artworks juried into the
exhibition may not be sold before the exhibition opens.
Artists may not substitute a
different artwork for that juried into the exhibition.
Works must be original creations. Gicleés
and reproductions will not be accepted.
Wall-mounted works must be ready-to-hang (wired or include D-rings, screw
eyes, or other hanging apparatus).
If the artwork requires any special mount(s) for display, the mount(s) must
be provided at the time of artwork delivery.
Museum staff will furnish some standard risers/platforms for
presentation purposes only.
Prize-winning
artists must agree to transfer all ownership of and reproduction rights to the
winning artwork to McKissick Museum On May 31, 2015. Any sales of artwork in the exhibition will
be considered pending until the exhibit closes at McKissick and prizes are
awarded. If prize winning artwork(s)
were sold pending prize announcements, those pending sales will be voided once
the artist accepts a purchase award.
Prize-winning
artists must agree to grant McKissick Museum an irrevocable limited, permanent
license to reproduce the artwork for the purposes of promoting the exhibition
or McKissick Museum.
