Call for artists! 2nd Twitter art exhibit in Moss Norway for charity #twitterartexhibit
Fellow twitter artists.It's my pleasure to introduce a new and exiting art project: A real life Twitter art exhibit. The first exhibit was announced October 21, 2010, and was organized to help the Moss public library raise money for children's books. 260 twitter artists from 24 countries participated and my kitchen was flooded with art! (see pic 1). The event got national and local recognition in Norwegian television and radio news, and several newspaper articles. To read the blog post from the 1st Twitter-art-exhibit and read participating Twitter artists comments below, please visit (over 33.000 views) http://davidsandumart.posterous.com/call-for-artists-twitter-art-exhibit-in-moss To see detailed pictures of individual cards, see: http://davidsandumart.posterous.com/100-close-up-photos-from-the-twitter-art-exhi Through the funds raised, we were able to buy 221 new children's books (see pic 2).
Now we are doing it again for another local charity: The Women's Crisis Center in Moss, where abused women and children can get help. The center also provides a 24 hour phone-service, counseling, food and shelter etc. It but has lost a lot of funding the past year and the staff has been cut from 19 to 11. This is a very important cause, not only for the women in a crisis situation but also for their children. To see their website visit: http://www.moss.kommune.no/artikkel.aspx?MId1=5277&AId=2515
The main idea/vision from an artistic point, is for artists to contribute postcard sized, hand painted original artwork (representing a tweet), that will be sold to raise money for the charity. The Moss public library will offer their facilities open to the public (see pics 7-10), and F15 - a government art organization/gallery, will provide the wall and spotlights (see pic 3). The previous exhibit wall was slightly larger (pics 4-6), but that wall was destroyed after the last exhibit, so this new wall has been offered us. The benefit of this new wall, is that it will provide better lighting than the previous
*Please read the instructions carefully, so you don't send me questions unnessisary.
Specifics:
How do I sign up? Please send an e-mail to d_sandum@hotmail.com with the heading "Twitter art exhibit registration." But ultimately you sign up when your work arrives. The artwork will then be listed on this blog as having arrived, and then handed to the person in charge of printing the labels with your information that will be placed next to the card on the wall. Follow this blog to see if your card has arrived (below).
Print your artist information on the back of each card: It is very important that each artist write their real name, @twittername, country, city and website on the back of each card. This will be helpful to the buyers but also to us as organizers if envelopes are lost, and for printing the information next to the card.
Interactive: Five computers are available to the public next to the wall, where they can write directly to the artists on twitter (this was a great feature last exhibit, where many artists came in contact with their buyers etc). So make make sure your information is included correctly.
Who can participate? Any professional artist or amateur painter in the reach of my voice! There will be no jury, but please send quality work. This is a public event that will draw national media attention and public view. You may send more than one card, but I cannot guarantee both will be displayed.
Participation fee? This is something many wrote to me about at the first exhibit, saying a fee would raise the quality of work and help pay for expenses, cover my costs, and raise more money. At the first exhibit we decided not to, but this time it is the wish of the library and the crisis center - that if artists wish to contribute a small fee, that this money go to the organizer for covering my time and personal costs associated with the project (left out teaching, corresponding, PR, travelling to interviews, hanging, opening etc). This is however completely voluntary as this is a charity project, and at first I wasn't sure if I should accept this. But if any of artists out there - who knows how much time that goes into a project like this - would like to contribute, I suggest $10 to be placed into my PayPal account with this e-mail (d_sandum@hotmail.com). Again, this is not a requirement, and to be honest, I feel embarrassed writing this.
How many cards will be accepted? According to my calculations there is room for about 160 cards on this wall, maybe more. The goal of the first exhibit was 140 (symbolic of 140 characters), but we ended up with 260 cards from 24 countries. At the time of the first exhibit, I had some 7000 followers. Now I have +20,000 and it's hard to estimate how many cards will arrive? If we get the same response as last time, I will probably alter the exhibit after 1 month, as the exhibit duration will be 2 months. Please understand that the wall will be a piece of art itself, and that I will need to evaluate which cards will look good next to each other. I hope no one is offending by the placing of the cards, and that they know I am doing my best. To see pics from the first exhibit, see: http://davidsandumart.posterous.com/100-close-up-photos-from-the-twitter-art-exhi
*Note: I cannot guarantee the cards that arrive late will be included.
From all the world! It is my vision that we can get twitter artists from as many countries as possible. Last time we had artists from 24 countries participate, but there were were few Asian and African artists. It would be fun to have you aboard! One of the most amazing aspects of the exhibit for the audience, is to walk around and see where there artists come from.
Size: As the wall itself is a piece of art (my vision), it is important that the cards are close to each other in size. This is also important for fitting the most amount of cards. The maximum size allowed is 16 x 13 cm (6.3 x 5.1 inches). Smaller versions are fine, as long as they are "postcard size."
Materials for card: The artwork should resemble a postcard and not be too thick (canvas, plates, wood etc). Thick or good quality watercolor paper is preferred, thin cardboard ok. But not sketch paper or print paper. Each card must not be any kind of replication (computer print), but original, and hand signed.
Materials for card: The artwork should resemble a postcard and not be too thick (canvas, plates, wood etc). Thick or good quality watercolor paper is preferred, thin cardboard ok. But not sketch paper or print paper. Each card must not be any kind of replication (computer print), but original, and hand signed.
Medium: Watercolor, drawings, acrylic, ink, gouache, oil, charcoal and pastel (but please spray!), drawing, or mixed media. Linocuts, woodcuts and lithographs are accepted (if the correct size and hand signed). Photos are not accepted this time around due to lack of space (though art), unless part of a collage.
Motif/theme: There is no theme. The idea here is to promote artists from all over the world for a good cause. Paint/draw something that represents your style and work. As this will be a public library event where children will be present, I ask you to consider that the subject matter is appropriate. I know the definition of "appropriate" is up for debate in the art world, but please use common sense. We reserve the right to withhold any artwork we find inappropriate.
What will happen to unsold work? The work sent will be considered a donation, and will not be returned to sender. There will be no online auction. After last exhibit, a collage was made that is now on display at the Moss library. A similar idea will be in place for the crisis center. Many have suggested online auctions, but the Crisis center and library has voted against this due to administration and that both the crisis center and the library are goverment funded, so this is a sensitve issue - feeling that they can accept help through the exhibit funds, but not direct online donations. This may seem strange and like politics, but that's how it is.
Spread the word! This is your exhibit as well! Please post a pic of your card on twitter before you send it, and use the hashtag #twitterartexhibit so that we can share the love! I appreciate RT's. I will try to communicate as much as possible on twitter publically with media etc. And remember to put this on your CV as a group exhibit/event.
Date of opening: Friday April 13, 2012 (Yes we dare!), 19:00. The Mayor of Moss will open with a speech. I will also speak. This will be a public event.Deadline: The deadline for me to receive work is 14 days prior to the opening, which means March 30th. Calculate 10 days to ship to Norway. If there is a problem or concern, just contact me on @DavidSandumArt or d_sandum@hotmail.com
Can I help? The best help is to spread the word, include the exhibit in your blogs, post pics of your artwork at hash #twitterartexhibit before you send them, and add/post on this blog so we get many views. I could also use help to make a video for the event with pics and music. If pics are sent to that person, that could be a cool thing :) Please DM if you would be interested in doing that. Where to send artwork? Please write your name, country, city, website, and twitter name on the back of the card, then place it in an envelope, and send it to:
David Sandum.
Texnestoppen 23.
1591 Sperrebotn
Norway
Texnestoppen 23.
1591 Sperrebotn
Norway
*Again, remember to put your info on the back of the card.
Thanks for your interest in this project. Through art we can change the world!
Sincerely,
David Sandum (pic 11)
@DavidSandumArt
Ps. I would appreciate you vote in #art or #charity (or both) for the Shorty Awards. (Voting ends Feb 17) See link: http://shortyawards.com/DavidSandumArt
