OPEN CALL: Divine Woman

PROSPECTUS AND CALL FOR ENTRY

Call Type: Exhibition
Eligibility: Regional
Entry Deadline: January 3rd, 2024
States: Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia

OVERVIEW

The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery invites artists working in the Washington Metropolitan Area to submit work of any crafting medium to our in-house and partnered gallery spaces for the exhibition “Temple” which will be opening on February 23rd, 2023

This exhibition is a collaboration with the photographer Reginald Cunningham (aka Reggie Noble) as he explores and celebrates the contemporary black woman. The JHHA Gallery is looking for BIPOC craftsmen and makers who identify as women to contribute to the exhibition art that highlights the shared and individual experiences as a woman.

Through the expression of these shared experiences, many of us hold on to the objects and speak life into them through these experiences. The goal of this exhibition is to personify the multifaceted Black woman and the spaces they may take up. Objects such as combs, jewelry, mirrors, and so on and so forth share so much about the person who used and/or made hold so much of their spirit. These objects will be exhibited in conjunction with Cunningham’s photographic works throughout the gallery.

Please read the details as follows:
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Reginald Cunningham (aka Reggie Noble) is the creator of the "Pure Black" brand. He is an influencer, creative, entrepreneur, and photographer whose work focuses on urban style and portraiture.

Reggie Cunningham hails from St. Louis, MO, but currently lives in the DC area. His passion for photography was instilled by his mother, a photographer for 30 years. His style is edgy and intimate, often forgoing smoothing and airbrushing in favor of sharper and more realistic photos. Reggie likes using his camera to show his clients themselves through another's eyes, and is known for making even the most anxious feel comfortable at the end of his lens.

Reginald attended Lindenwood University, and received a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and dual Master's degrees in Digital & Multimedia Design, and Promotional Communications. Reginald's work has been featured in international publications like Huffington Post, Essence, Ebony, Take Part, The Final Call, The Washington Post, and Buzzfeed.

IMPORTANT TIMELINE DATES:

Exhibition at The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery: Friday, February 23rd- Sunday, April 28th 2024
Public Reception: Evening, Friday, February 23rd 2024

Art Drop-Off Deadline: Saturday, February 17th, 2024
Notification of Acceptance: On or before Friday, January 12th, 2024 via email.

In-person Drop Off at JHHA Gallery: Flexible drop off dates and times can be arranged with Gallery Manager between February 1st and 17th. You will be contacted to arrange a time.

Shipped Artwork: The address for shipped artwork is: 1632 U St. NW Washington, DC 20009. Signature upon delivery is required as packages can not be left at the gallery.
Shipped artwork must be received by the Gallery no later than February 16th, 2024

Please read the details as follows:

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS WEDNESDAY JANUARY 3RD AT 11:59PM EST

THE JHHA Gallery MISSION STATEMENT

Art has the rare ability to mend social, psychological, and physical ills by building community, inspiring change, and celebrating life. Founded in 2008, the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, is a nonprofit arts space in Washington, DC. The gallery is dedicated to exhibiting fine art that explores the innate connection between healing and creativity. Through a rotating exhibition schedule, the gallery features contemporary artists that address a diversity of significant themes, including spirituality, social change, multiculturalism, health, environmentalism, and community.

DIMENSIONS OF GALLERIES:
A floor plan can be provided upon request

REQUIREMENTS
Eligibility: Any BIPOC artist, who identifies as woman and/or AFAB, or is at least 18 years or older may participate to the extent that their participation is allowed by law.

3-D MEDIA GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Ceramics:

✔Original functional and/or non-functional works created by the artist from clay, porcelain, stoneware, and/or earthenware.
✘ No factory-produced work, no RAM pressed work allowed. Clay work from commercial molds is prohibited. Painted commercial slip-cast work is prohibited.

Fiber: Non wearable & wearables

✔Works created from fibers, including basketry, weaving, papermaking, leather, and fabric. ✘ No mass or factory-produced work is allowed regardless of additional modification or enhancement by the artist.

Glass:

✔Work that has been hand-crafted by the artist by glass blowing, fusing, casting or kiln forming. ✘ No pre-manufactured items, regardless of additional modification or enhancement by artist, are permitted.

Jewelry:

✔All jewelry must be designed and made by the artist. This can include work that is primarily made from any metals, gems, or stones, precious metal clay (must be labeled as such), flameworked beads, clay, wood, fiber, etc, that is artist made.
✘ Any jewelry where the majority of the components are purchased or not made directly by the participating aritist.No commercial casts or molds are allowed. Work which has been designed by the artist, but with no subsequent hands-on work by the artist is prohibited. No more than 15% of a piece may consist of commercial findings. Not acceptable are commercially purchased components (beads, glass, gems, pearls, metal, other components not made by the artist)that are

strung or assembled and/or twisted on wire, with no substantial original work done by the artist. PMC/ precious metal clay jewelers must label their work as such.

Metalworks:

✔:Original work that is created through the forging, twisting, and fabricating of various metals. ✘: Sculpture and jewelry should not be put in this category. Production work is allowed only on a very limited basis.

Wood

✔Any functional or non-functional work that is crafted by the artist primarily from wood.
✘ Painted and/or wood assemblages where the artist does not make the primary piece. This work should be entered in 3-d mixed media.

Sculpture

✔Three-dimensional works incorporating any material that are carved, modeled, constructed or cast.
✘ If recycled materials are used they must be altered or used in a way that is different from their

original purpose.

3-D Mixed Media

✔Three-dimensional works incorporating multiple materials.
✘ If recycled materials are used they must be altered or used in a way that is different from their
original purpose.

HOW TO SUBMIT:
Send an email to Gallerymanager@smithcenter.org with the following information:

Subject line: Call for artist submission
To be included in the email: Artist’s name, address, email address, and phone number. Attach images of up to four (4) artworks with the title, medium, size, and price of each piece if you intend to sell. You may include images within the email body, or attach a zip file, portfolio, etc. You may add a brief statement about the work, to be included on the wall cards. Watch for a response that your entry has been received.

Global Youth Matters- Selena Jackson

Thank you Hannah Salah for interviewing me on their podcast “Global Youth Matters”. Here is a little bit more about the host and their mission to highlight young adults who defy the odds:

This podcast is dedicated to sharing the stories of youth around the world that are thriving despite difficult life situations. Today many young people do not know their own power and feel like victims of their circumstances. This podcast will inspire young people to discover that they matter, they can come to know their greatness and they can make a difference.

Host, Hana Salah, is passionate about empowering youth to raise their voices and tell their stories. She has over 20 years’ experience working as a Social Development Consultant at the World Bank on ensuring the voices of marginalized groups, including youth, in development projects.

Tune into my episode as I discuss my views on art as a form of activism and creating inclusive spaces within art education. Listen to my episode on these streaming services:

Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Amazon Music Spotify iHeartRadio

“HerStory”: Girls Who Paint Curator’s Note

Winston Churchill once said, “History is written by victors”. Today our “victors” are not only those who have won great wars and battles, but those who held privilege in our society. Art history does not exist in a vacuum of romanticized liberalism, expression, and inclusivity; it has been afflicted with classism, racism, and sexism. Our great masters all look the same: white, rich, and male. Thanks to the “public service messages”by the Guerilla Girls, many of the voices that have been ignored throughout art history have now gained their voices. From Artemisia Gentileschi, Ana Mendieta, Frida Khalo, Alma Thomas, and many more trailblazers, we celebrate these women and their contributions to art and culture. We celebrate the voices of those as we discuss the male gaze, deconstructing patriarchy, finding autonomy, and finding beauty through their eyes. 

The 1971 essay, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” by Linda Nochlin, spearheaded the recognition of great women in art history. The issue was that they were historically invisible and disproportionately underrepresented due to systematic gatekeeping in art education, opportunities, and patronage. 

In the field of art history, the white Western male viewpoint, unconsciously accepted as the viewpoint of the art historian, may—and does—prove to be inadequate not merely on moral and ethical grounds, or because it is elitist, but on purely intellectual ones. In revealing the failure of much academic art history, and a great deal of history in general, to take account of the unacknowledged value system, the very presence of an intruding subject in historical investigation, the feminist critique at the same time lays bare its conceptual smugness, its meta-historical naïveté. At a moment when all disciplines are becoming more self-conscious, more aware of the nature of their presuppositions as exhibited in the very languages and structures of the various fields of scholarship, such uncritical acceptance of “what is” as “natural” may be intellectually fatal. -Lina Nochlin (1971)

There were no art schools readily accessible for women, but only a few private institutions that only wealthy class women were able to afford. Within these institutions, education was limited due to grounds of decency. Against all odds, women became professional artists living in a world dominated by customs and laws designed to keep them in their place. 

Women artists working prior to the 1970s Feminist Movement, have been broadening the possibilities of art through experimentation with materials to express their narratives; their work challenged our understanding of gender and identity. Alas, gender discrimination within the arts continues to plague us as we now have more clarity of the glass ceiling women artists face. In a 2018 study, out of 18 major U.S. art museums found their collections are  87% male and 85% white (Topaz et al, 2019); and women in the arts are earning $20,000 less than their male counterparts per year. (Lindemann et al, 2016)In spite of all things that hinder women artists, whether it be wealth disparities, gender discrimation, or racial intolerance, they persevere for their stories to be heard. We celebrate them as they discuss motherhood, contemplate identity, asstering their bodily autonomy, and the innocence of girlhood. Let’s continue the efforts that many organizations, galleries, scholars, and institutions have contributed to the advancement and visibility of women artists. Let’s continue to share her stories. 

Work Cited

Chapman, Caroline. 2018. Review of The Female Gaze Made Flesh. History Today 5, no. 68 (May): 65–77.

“Get the Facts about Women in the Arts.” 2019. NMWA. October 22, 2019. https://nmwa.org/support/advocacy/get-facts/.

Kaplan, Isaac. 2016. “Nearly $20,000 Wage Gap between Men and Women Working in the Arts, Study Finds.” Artsy. November 21, 2016. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-new-study-finds-women-in-arts-make-almost-20-000-less-than-men.

Lindemann, Danielle J., Carly A. Rush, and Steven J. Tepper. 2016. “An Asymmetrical Portrait: Exploring Gendered Income Inequality in the Arts.” Social Currents 3 (4): 332–48.     https://doi.org/10.1177/2329496516636399.

Nochlin, Linda. 2015. “From 1971: Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” Artnews.com. May 30, 2015. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/retrospective/why-have-there-been-no-great-women-artists-4201/.