TULCA 2024: Open Call (closed)

TULCA 2024: Open Call (closed)

TULCA Festival of Visual Arts is pleased to announce details of its 2024 Open Call curated by Michele Horrigan; The Salvage Agency.

Curatorial brief:

The 22nd edition of TULCA Festival of Visual Arts will embed itself in multiple venues and locations throughout Galway City and County in November 2024, accompanied by an extensive public programme and publication.

Entitled The Salvage Agency, curator Michele Horrigan welcomes artistic proposals and artwork submissions that consider the agency and role of art in contemporary ecology and environmental study, and those that examine the underlying attitudes that have led to today’s critical and urgent impasse.

Galway, on the edge of the northeast Atlantic, is a unique location for a heightened awareness of what is at stake, and why? Explorations of landscape, seascape and nature, public space, colonial history, political structures, the industrial complex and folk narratives are all pertinent. These are paths taken by our collective society in the shaping of today’s world and a contemporary Europe. Can art create an undercurrent of improvisation and frugality, haphazard formality, and change to offer new perspectives, provocations and empathy? From the wreckage, can art nourish a new reality?

Deadline: 28 March 2024, 5pm (closed)

Open Call Process & Guidelines:

TULCA is curated through direct invitation and an Open Call process. The final selection of artworks will be based on thematic connection, artistic quality, and feasibility. Selections are made by the curator in consultation with the TULCA producer.

Application Process:

Artists are invited to propose the presentation of existing artworks, or the production of new work. Works can be proposed for exhibition in the festival, or as one-off performances / events / workshops / screenings comprising part of the public programme. Work must not have been previously exhibited in Galway.

Please send a single PDF attachment (15MB max) that includes the following:

• A concise artist’s statement that tells us about your work and how it might connect or respond to the letter above (250 words max)

• CV (2 pages max)

• Examples of previous work:
  Up to 10 images (must include title; the material / medium; the dimensions / duration; the date of production, and also information on where the work has been shown, if applicable)

Up to 2 web links to video / sound works can be sent (YouTube or Vimeo, extracts should be no longer than 10 minutes. If works are sent in full please suggest a 10-minute excerpt to watch). Include passwords for any private videos.

• A clearly outlined proposal of work to be exhibited, including detail about its installation, technical and accessibility requirements (250 words + 3 photos max).

• Optional: If this is a proposal for new work, please also include any available visualisations, information on materials, costings, technical and venue requirements (additional 250 words max).

Applications should be submitted via email to opencall@tulca.ie

Deadline: 28 March 2024, 5pm (closed)

Notes for Applicants:

TULCA is a focused visual arts festival with limited resources, so please bear this in mind in developing your proposal. TULCA typically takes place across a range of art and non-art venues, such as the Galway Arts Centre, University Gallery, University Hospital, Galway City Museum, 126 Gallery and other off-site locations. If you develop a proposal for a specific location or context, we cannot guarantee its availability or feasibility. We encourage artists to take a flexible approach in this regard to allow for a variety of options developed through discussion with the curator.

We will confirm receipt of all applications. Due to the volume of submissions we regret we are not able to give individual feedback regarding unsuccessful applications.

There is no submission fee.

TULCA is a unique festival that provides the opportunity for artists to engage with a wide audience in new and unusual ways, to build new collaborations and to extend your network with artists nationally and internationally. As well as an artist fee, we offer curatorial and artistic development, technical support and a significant press, marketing and audience campaign. The festival will be accompanied by a publication with commissioned writing. TULCA presents a dynamic programme of education within primary and secondary schools and third level institutions.

All applicants should be aware that, if selected, they will be required to do press and promotion work as necessary. TULCA reserves the right to photograph works and to use elements of accepted entries for exhibition for publicity purposes, unless the artist expressly states the contrary in writing. Copyright of all work remains the property of the artist.

TULCA Festival of Visual Arts
The Salvage Agency
Curated by Michele Horrigan
November 2024
Galway, Ireland

www.tulca.ie