Southwest Contemporary Vol. 8 — Medium + Support
Southwest Contemporary invites artists throughout the Southwest to submit work to be included in Southwest Contemporary’s Fall-Winter 2023 issue, which will explore the theme “Medium + Support.”
Oil on canvas. Pastel on paper. Spray paint on wall. In art, we talk of medium and support to describe an artwork’s substance and the surface that holds it.
A medium can be any channel that conveys, any material that communicates, any means of transmission. Artists are continually discovering new media through which they can express ideas. Smoke. Sand. Thread. Pixels.
Support, on the other hand, is sometimes obscured. It is the substrate, what’s lying underneath, what carries the medium. It bears, maintains, assists.
In this issue of Southwest Contemporary, we take an expansive view of medium and support. We will highlight the unique, inspiring, and unconventional materials and media, supports and substrates that artists work with here in the Southwest. We will look at how materials speak—to place, to identity, to the here and now—and how systems of support—the underlying layers, underwriters, and unseen players—strengthen and sustain.
We invite all artists in the Southwest to apply whose work makes intentional, innovative, inventive, inspiring, alternative, or unusual use of material, media, and/or support. This call is open to artists of all media: 2D, 3D, time-based, digital, etc.
Artists are encouraged to think broadly about these ideas.
Selected Artists Receive:
- A two-page spread featuring their work in Southwest Contemporary Vol. 8.
- A profile article written by an SWC contributor.
- A feature on SWC’s newsletter and social media channels.
Guest Juror:
Laura Copelin, deputy director + co-chief curator, MOCA Tucson
Laura Copelin is a curator and writer who lives with her family in Tucson, Arizona. She is the deputy director and co-chief curator for MOCA Tucson where she has realized major new commissions from a wide range of artists with international and local relevance, including Cecilia Vicuña, Lynn Xu, rafa esparza, Pia Camil, Jibade-Khalil Huffman, Gabriela Muñoz and jenea sanchez. Previously, she was the executive director and curator at Ballroom Marfa where she organized numerous exhibitions, commissions, installations, and publications over seven years in West Texas. Before her time in Texas, she worked as the assistant curator at the Santa Monica Museum of Art (now the ICA LA), and participated in several experimental and artist-run schools and residencies in Los Angeles after graduating from UCLA.
Who Should Apply:
SWC invites artists and artist collectives at any stage of their career to submit work in any discipline. All media are accepted: painting, sculpture, new media, performance, printmaking, fiber arts, photography, mixed media, music, video, installation, and more.
Eligibility:
- Artists (age 18+) primarily residing and working in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Mexico, Texas, or Utah.
- Artists previously featured in print by SWC in the last 12 months are not eligible.
Requirements:
- Submissions are only accepted through the form linked below.
- Submit 5 images/videos/audio files of different artworks (each file no larger than 10 MB).
- Artists must ensure high quality of images in JPG format. (Print-quality images will be requested at a later date.)
- If video files are larger than 10 mb, please submit a PDF with a web link to the full video (Youtube, Vimeo).
- Collectives should make a single submission.
- Artist Bio must be no more than 300 words, and no more than 2500 characters.
- Artist Statement must be no more than 300 words, and no more than 2500 characters.
- Artwork does not need to be for sale.
- Artwork should be recent within the last five years.
- $15 submission fee.
