The Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG) is accepting submissions for their fourth Carleton Community Art Exhibition from Jan. 13-22. CUAG held the last community exhibition in 2014.
Katie Kendall, curator for this year’s show, said the exhibition is “a celebration of the creativity of the Carleton community.”
The exhibition will feature artwork from members of the Carleton community, including students, alumni, staff, and faculty. Artists can submit up to two pieces of work, such as photographs, paintings, textiles, and sculptures. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 6.
In 2014, the show had the highest participation rate of any previous Carleton Community Art Exhibition, according to Danuta Sierhuis, the curator for the 2014 show. She said around 150 artists took part.
“The show gave everyone an opportunity to come together over their shared interest in the arts and be pleasantly surprised by the creative pursuits of their classmates [and] colleagues,” Sierhuis said.
The instructions and submission form are available on the CUAG website.
“The show is really popular [and] it always goes on for a week at the gallery,” Kendall said.
“[At the last exhibtion], I recall that a few people got very creative and used some very unexpected media, such as IKEA chairs, clothing, skateboards, and melted candy,” Sierhuis said.
Kendall said anyone who submits their art will have it displayed.
“People hear ‘submission form’ and they think there’s a judging process, but there’s not. Every submission will be displayed,” she said.
Olivia Johnston, an Ottawa-based artist who graduated from Carleton in 2015, had her art displayed in the 2014 community show, as well as the one before.
Johnston said her art is photo-based portraiture work that explores themes of gender, individuality, vulnerability, and identity. The piece she submitted to the Carleton Community Art Exhibition in 2014 was a portrait of somebody else accompanied by a still life of something the person had given her.
“The piece was more about me, and my relationships with other men, than it was about him. It was one of my first explicit pieces created within that vein, of being about myself but indirectly,” Johnston said.
There will be a Community Performance Night on Jan. 19, which will feature non-visual artists such as spoken word poets and musicians, according to Kendall. There will also be an artist workshop that night, and possibly a video art feature if there are enough submissions.
“The exhibit is a great opportunity for emerging artists to have their work shown in a larger space, and for more established artists to see their work in the context of newer artists,” Johnston said.
