City of Craft (in partnership with the Ontario Craft Council) is seeking submissions for a group exhibition that will take place at the Ontario Craft Council Gallery as a part of City of Craft’s 2010 off-site programming.  City of Craft is Toronto’s largest independent craft sale and weekend-long event featuring craft-based installations, free workshops, and craft-related programming.

This year’s exhibition will explore the broad relationship craft and crafting has with commerce.  Craft(ing) is currently a multi-billion dollar industry.  From mainstream craft media personalities and the DIY Network to hipster how-to guides, mega craft fairs and fabric designers du jour, the commercial nature of the contemporary “crafting” movement often seems to starkly contrast the idea of crafting for necessity from days gone by.  On the other hand, there are people who turn to craft and craft processes for a sense of transcendence and autonomy.  Many would argue that there is more of a need to craft for crafts sake now than ever– either to re-skill ourselves for an uncertain future, or simply to learn to slow down.

Are money and craft strange (or natural) bedfellows?  How does craft transcend issues of commerce?  How do you navigate or perceive the dichotomy of craft for love/craft for money?  Work that addresses any facet of the above ideas is welcomed as a submission.  Submissions of fine craft, indie craft and art are encouraged.

Love and Money is curated and coordinated by Tara Bursey.

An online application for Love and Money can be found on the City of Craft website.

http://www.cityofcraft.com/2010/cityofcraft/loveandmoney/call.html

Submission Deadline:  Sunday, August 15th

One month and three month residencies are available.

Dates for the one month residency are May 30th – June 30th or July 25th – Aug 22nd

Dates for the three month residency are May 30th – Aug 22nd

Please visit – www.contextural.ca for more information on our vision statement, goals, values and an idea of the space we will be using on our blog.

Application information can be found HERE. Interested parties should send an application as directed in the package to: residency@contextural.ca with the subject: Summer Residency Application

 Deadline for submissions is April 1st @ midnight.

 NEW!!! This year Contextural is offering the Contextural Summer Residency Scholarship, consisting of studio fees for the three month summer residency ($250 value) and $250 for supplies. The scholarship will be awarded based on the quality and completeness of the application.

We look forward to your submission!

submitted by Tara Griffiths

Masterworks Southwest is a juried exhibition of contemporary craft that will travel to various locations within southwestern Ontario between March-October, 2010.  The show will include all craft mediums from makers across the region. This call is open to all makers in southwestern Ontario residing in postal codes that begin with N, L0S, L0R including the urban centres of St.Catharines, Niagara, and Welland.  If you have created an outstanding piece of work in any craft media (clay, metal, fibre, glass, wood, stone, etc.) within the last two years, we urge you to apply.  The exhibition will travel to 5 galleries including Tom Thomson Art Gallery (Owen Sound), Art Gallery of Windsor and Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery (London).

Application: http://craft.on.ca/OCC_News/Southwest_Update#Call_for_Entry

Deadline: Friday, January 15 at 5pm

Application Fee: $10 for OCC members, $15 for non-members

Jurors: Lois Betteridge, Christian Bernard Singer and Rhona Wenger

Artists Fees: Each participating artist will receive $200 following the exhibition

A child of the Japan occupation (Yoshiyuki Iwase, 1950)

Emerging artists and students working in all media are invited to submit work for the ArtClothText FEATURED page. Show us your talent! Email info@mackenziefrere.com for more information.

(image VIA Dr X’s Free Associations)

City of Craft is looking for crafty artists and artsy crafters to create installations for this year’s City of Craft 2009, which will take place both in and around The Theatre Centre during the weekend of December 12-13, 2009. This year’s installation programming will be greatly expanded to include more installation artists and even more fantastic Queen Street West venues. For this year’s installations we hope to include a wide range of crafty approaches, which reflect the diversity and conceptual richness of contemporary craft practices. Several venues will be available to artists for City of Craft installation programming this year, from Queen West galleries, storefront windows and public spaces to the nooks and crannies of City of Craft’s fabulous and historic venue, The Theatre Centre. Some ideas for proposals could include (but are certainly not limited to!) the exploration of:

- crafty public interventions


- ‘digital craft’ (craft + video, craft + kinetics, etc)


- crafty performance


- textile-based installations


- participatory craft-based installations

To propose an installation, go to our online installation application:

http://www.cityofcraft.com/2009/cityofcraft/installations/form.php

For more information, or questions regarding City of Craft installation programming or submissions, contact: cityofcraft@gmail.com

Good luck!

Signed,

The City of Craft Collective

Poplar Gallery.Online showcases the work of craftspeople and artists working in all disciplines.

Poplar is currently accepting proposals for exhibitions of original work. Craftspeople, artists, curators and studio collectives are encouraged to submit proposals. Two spaces are available for alternating six-week exhibitions. Submissions of critical writing and reviews will be considered for ArtClothText, a forum for textile, fibre and mixed media artists.

For information on how to submit your work, contact curator Mackenzie Frere at info@mackenziefrere.com

On the main floor of the MMAQ is Centre MATERIA, an artist-run centre dedicated to hand-crafted art objects. (Yes, that’s right an artist-run centre dedicated to the dissemination of craft!) My visit co-incided with the exhibition Splaf, klong et frou frou featuring the work of recent graduates of the Maison des métiers d’art de Québec. Ranging from kinetic, mixed media sculpture to delicate miniature jacquard weavings the show demonstrates the diversity of production at MMAQ.

Marie-Michele B. Lemaire, Etude discrete sur murs (detail)

Florence Boivin, Papa ne t’inquiete pas, je vais reussir a faire quelque chose de ma vie le textile, mixed media

Marie-Eve Gagnon, Dodeliner, un bijou d’enfance

Marie-Eve Gagnon, Dodeliner, un bijou d’enfance (detail)

Centre MATERIA is currently seeking submissions for its 2010-2011 program. The deadline for applications is Monday October 5th. For more information click HERE