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Marshall T. Steel Center @ Ellis Hall Exhibitions: Matter

Type: Exhibition Opportunities [View all]
Posted by: Hendrix College
Deadline: Mon, July 15th, 2024

Marshall T. Steel Center @ Ellis Hall Exhibitions: Matter

The concept of material culture covers any object that humans use to define their lives, relationships, identities, or beliefs. Composed of everything from coins to cookware, material culture illustrates the connection between humans and the environment through the items in our lives that we find meaningful. Our possessions, in many ways, define who we are. Works in this exhibit question how we separate art from artifact and form from function. In an era focused on commodity and short-lived products, Matter presents art that expresses how objects come alive with cultural, and personal, significance. 

Call for Submissions

Call for artists for a one year group exhibition in Ellis Hall at Hendrix College. We are looking for artists that make works in any 2-D media that represent ideas of material culture. The theme of the exhibition is “Matter” which will raise questions about material culture and how small, everyday objects define our lives and identities. In conversation with the recent attention paid to museum repatriations and the importance of cultural objects, this exhibit seeks to apply that concept to a local, personal scale. Works that question the distinction between art and artifact are of particular interest. One example would be domestic scenes, where presented objects are often both functional and beautiful, and carry with them cultural ideas and traditions as well. Another example would be self portraits, interpreted broadly, composed of found objects that the artist feels convey a part of themselves or their identities. These examples are not comprehensive, and we encourage the submission of any work where material culture is used to express one’s personhood through objects. Works may be figurative and representational or scenic and abstract if they express ideas of material culture.

Works with dimensions larger than 36”x36” and smaller than 72”x72” are preferred. The exhibition will take place from August 15th 2024 to August 15th 2025. An opening event will be held on September 27th, 2024. The committee of an artist, a curator, and a philosopher will select six unique works. Ellis Hall is a building on the Hendrix College campus that houses the philosophy and religious studies programs as well as the Marshall T. Steel Center for the Study of Religion and Philosophy. Ellis Hall is a historic home with 6 places to hang pieces, two places in the first-floor lobby, two places in the staircase, and two places in the second-floor lobby. The works will be the subject of writing by students in two courses, “Critical Theory: the Frankfurt School” and “Nature Aesthetics,” and will be discussed by faculty, students, and visitors on campus.

Please complete the form linked below to submit your artwork. A brief story about the artwork and its importance, along with a clear photograph of the work, are required. Not all proposed works of art will be accepted for exhibition. The submission form deadline is Monday, July 15th, 2024. Our independent panel of jurors will review all submissions and you will be contacted on or before Friday, July 19th. If accepted, works will be shipped at the artist’s expense to arrive at Hendrix College on or by Friday, August 9th. Return Shipping and insurance will be paid for by the Steel Center for Philosophy and Religion and Hendrix College.

Submit here:

https://windgatemuseum.formstack.com/forms/matter

Posted on Wed, June 26th, 2024
Expires on Mon, July 15th, 2024

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