Showing posts with label Call for Participation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Call for Participation. Show all posts

Monday, May 12, 2014

The Art of Water




Do you really think about water issues when you turn on your tap? We all know we need water and we know there are places where lack of clean water (or any water) is a problem. Some of us have even heard about the prediction that in around eleven years we might be out of clean water to the extent where 56% is the full amount the demand will exceed the supply. In other words half the world will be suffering from lack of (clean) water and a staggering amount of people will die.

This is not a happy thought, but it cannot be ignored. Art for Water is an organisation that is taking the initiative to make fun projects for any kind of audience, as long as they are willing and able to learn. Sadly they are not locally based, but it doesn’t mean we cannot learn from them and their action-taking.


Why Should We Care

These days it is not enough to tell people not to waste water. When you live in close proximity to other people in an apartment building, you cannot help but hear the amount of water being wasted. Bathtubs are endlessly being filled up more than once a day and hardly used except to wash a few clothing pieces before another bathtub is filled up. Taps are constantly running as someone brushes her teeth and washes her face, no idea about the heavy impact that has on humans around her.

Yes, this is not a “save the earth” call, but a “save the humans” call. People are dying from diseases they get from drinking dirty water and we, living with clean water in our very taps, often think of it as “not my problem”.

This is where Art for Water comes in, as they work with clever, creative plans to make people, like us, aware of the damage, issues and troubles surrounding water. They give people the opportunity to express water in an artistic form in order to make a difference.


What They Do

Art for Water helps people to set up a learning opportunity. Since those “let’s use less water” talks don’t work as effectively as they may have helped earlier, they use other methods. They turn the learning opportunity into a project filled with dance and musical performances, exhibitions of different kinds, readings and many more. Age doesn’t matter, as you’re never too old or too young to learn.

Art for Water creates a stage for people to create their artwork, whether it is for a private event or for a school. They form a unique bond between like-minded people and maybe even make artists aware of other artistic opportunities.


Your Challenge

Where the opportunity offered by Art for Water is out of bounds for most of us, because of location and locality, it can still act as motivation and inspiration to do something big and unique. As artists we have the ability to think out of the box and to use very little to make a big impact.

Your current GREEN YOUR ART challenge is to create an artwork about water.

Your artwork can be a performance, painted piece, land art or any kind of art form you would like to bring to life. The goal of this artwork is to move individuals into realisation and active change. Send your artwork pictures to artlovenature@gmail to be featured on this blog! The deadline is on 30 June 2014.

For more information of Art for Water, visit their website at artforwater.org

Monday, May 5, 2014

Join the Land Art conversation!

Anni Snyman (co-ordinator of Site_Specific) has just arrived back from South Korea after a three week Nature Art tour as part of the Global Nomadic Art Project (GNAP) which culminated in an exhibition on the 1st of May 2014, Geumgang Nature Art Centre.

Twenty nine artists, critics, and supporting staff travelled around the southern parts of Korea, working in the field using natural materials and their bodies as they went. The trip was a pilot project for similar ventures in Asia 2015, Africa & Middle East 2016, Europe 2017, and America 2018. Invited members included Ko Seung-hyun; Ri Eung-woo; Jeon Won-gil; Lee Jae-eun; Ko Soon-ho; Kim Yong-min; Cho Kyu-hyun; Ko Hyun-hie; Jung Jang-Jig; Kwon O-yeol; Park Bong-gi; Kim Soon-im; Choi Yong-sun; Chung Hye-ryung; Hur Kang; Kim Sung-ho; Kim Young-ho; Yoon Jin-sup (South Korea) and Zhang Kai Qin (China); Somu Desai (India); Anni Snyman (South Africa); Mahmud Maktabi (Iran); Rumen Dimitrov (Bulgaria); Lynn Bennett-Mackenzie (UK,Scotland); Alpar Peter (Hungary); Saulius Valius (Lithuania); Diana Radaviciute (Lithuania); Delphine Saurat(France); and Reka Varallyay (Hungary).

Please join us in an online interview and conversation with Anni on the experiences and insights gained. Click ‘going’ to follow the interview, and start posting your questions before Monday 12 May 2014 on the event wall, even if you can’t attend the allocated time slot.  Hopefully some of her fellow travellers will be able to join us ~

ONLINE Q&A :
GNAP KOREA 2014 with Anni Snyman

www.facebook.com/events/1437648623149789/

One of our key values states: "Embedded within all it’s activities, Site_Specific holds education as it’s key role, aiming to influence minds and paradigms around issues of environment, community, culture, and artistic practice.”

Please join the conversation!

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Cape Land Art gathering: Witsands Beach

Thank you to those of you who joined for our first Land Art session/meetup! Here is some pictures from the day in Radloff Park.



Please join us again on Sunday 18 May 2014 at Witsands Beach, Southern Peninsula. It's about a 45 minute drive from Plumstead - view the map on our new Facebook page.

We will be there from 9h00. When arriving, walk the site and begin creating straight away, as soon as you find a spot that inspires. i.e. play first, meet later! We will meet at 11 for refreshments and conversation. We can then visit one another’s work, and choose to leave or to continue with our installations for the rest of the day.

A few suggestions:
  • Our focus is on process, on temporary work and exploration. Don’t put yourself under pressure to perform! For ideas or inspiration, look at the Site_Specific website and landartsouthafrica.blogspot.com or just google 'land art'!
  • Please respect the environment and consider using only local, organic materials. Or you may need to remove MOOP (Matter Out of Place) at the end of the session.
  • Please keep an eye out and stay clear of the nests of birds on the beach
  • Feel free to clean up and collect litter as you go along.
  • Some artists prefer to work quietly, so perhaps save your greetings for the break.
  • For safety, stay close enough to keep an eye on other artists. Please note that participation is at your own risk, please take all precautions to keep yourself safe. 
  • There is no charge, so bring your own refreshments, hat, sunblock and especially enough water.


Join our mailing list: eepurl.com/SLoMz
Join the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/capelandart
Also join the Site_Specific facebook page: www.facebook.com/sitespecific.landart

Please RSVP to Janet Ranson - janran@cybersmart.co.za - and make sure that we have your telephone number. Please save the number 072 3331 5057 for Janet Botes, in case you get lost or can't make it on the day. Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

NKA Foundation: Mud House Design Competition

For most of us mud houses are something of the past. We are used to modern houses, tall apartment blocks and skyscrapers. Our homes are made of the best materials. We know there are small zinc sheet homes for the poor. Just as there are zinc homes, there are also plenty of places in Africa where mud houses are still used. Nka Foundation makes us aware of this situation and is reaching out a helping hand in a creative and innovative manner. It is currently accepting ideas and proposals from designers, architects and builders to improve these mud houses and entries can come for anywhere around the world.

Design Problem: A Typical Mud House at Abetenim Village

  • The competition is open for entries until the 31st of August. The selection of the winning designs will be chosen between 15 September and 30 September by a panel of judges. 
  • An individual or a design team can submit an entry to the Mud House Design competition.
  • There will be three winning projects. The prizes are: 1st prize- $1,500 or Construction of design in Ghana plus a short trip to Ghana for the opening ceremony once construction is completed; 2nd prize- Construction or $1,000 and 3rd prize- Construction or $500. Honorable mentions may be awarded.
  • Judging criteria involve the functionality, aesthetics and technical factor to the degree the design response resolves the design problem.


ENTER NOW



Visit www.nkafoundation.org/2014mudhousedesign.html to read more about the requirements, background, conditions and more. If you have the talent, you now have the chance to show it where it will matter: designing for life, improving people's lives.


Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Time for the BASA Awards Draws Near

Time is running out for those businesses and artists interested in the upcoming BASA Awards (partnered by Hollard). The deadline falls on Friday, 16 May of this year. Those who never submitted their work to the BASA Awards should be aware that there is a lot of documentation that needs to be completed (with high quality photographs). Those who are trying once again, good luck!

What exactly is BASA? BASA stands for Business and Arts South Africa. Simply put, they connect the art world with that of the business world. By doing this they ensure that arts in South Africa can grow rather than be forgotten in the dark abyss. Sounds a bit dramatic, but where would our colourful country be without art? BASA goes to many lengths to keep businesses and arts united. They also offer many other opportunities for both sides, of which  the BASA Awards is one.

This, for those who are interested, is the 17th annual BASA Awards and it will not be a let down. As always there are specific guidelines and rules that must be followed. These are placed there to make it fair, fun and better for everyone involved. Artists or projects in any of the following creative disciplines can  be nominated:
• Visual Arts
• Dance
• Theatre
• Physical Performance
• Music
• Architecture
• Fashion
• Design 

The nominations fall into different categories, namely:
• Innovation Award
• First Time Sponsor Award
• Increasing Access to the Arts
• International Sponsorship Award
• Long Term Partnership Award, supported by Stephan Welz & Co.
• Media Sponsorship Award
• Strategic Project Award
• Small Business Award
Sponsorship In Kind Award
• Development Award
• Arts and the Environment Award, supported by Nedbank
• Mentorship Award

Don’t worry, if you don’t know which category is best, BASA will correct your chosen category if they feel it is needed.

While all these categories can be considered helpful and good in essence of helping both artists and businesses alike, The Arts and the Environment Award (supported by Nedbank) is helping more than just people. It helps the environment. It will hopefully make more people aware of the beauty in keeping the world clean and the importance of living sustainably for a better, healthier future.

Well done BASA for creating a category that will in the long run have an effect on the environment by encouraging artists and businesses to think creatively about it! In time more businesses and other people will deepen their appreciation for art, which is a goal we should all want to reach in order to keep South Africa as unique and colourful as it is, with the many crafted arts being sold next to roads and at flea markets.

There are plenty of opportunities for anyone in the art industry and business sponsoring art alike, even after the BASA Awards finish for the year. There is always next year, after all. For more information or to enter BASA Awards go to BASA’s website: www.basa.co.za.





This is a guest post by fantasy writer Michelle Albinson

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Western Cape Land Art

Inspired by Site_Specific JOZI, monthly meetings around Cape Town is being initiated by artists in the Western Cape to help connect us to one another and to the Land. The first of these meetings were held on Monday, 14 April 2014 in Radlof Park, Somerset-West.

This shared day of discussion and participation resulted in some site-specific temporary installation as well as inspired plans for the future!  See more here and here. To join and participate, go to our Facebook page, or subscribe to the mailing list: eepurl.com/SLoMz to get updates about the monthly gatherings.









Monday, April 7, 2014

Cape Town & Helderberg Land Artist Meetup

Dear Artists,

Inspired by Site_Specific JOZI Janet Botes and Janet Ranson believe we need monthly meetings around Cape Town to help connect us to one another and to the Land!


Please join us next Monday (14 April 2014) in Radlof Park, Somerset-West, at the Gordon Road entrance, map.

Share a day of discussion, inspiration and installation. We will begin  at 9.30am, with a quiet, ‘Open Hearts, Empty Hands’ approach, as described by Wongil Jeon. This means walking into Nature and responding to whatever is there, in the environment. Whatever we build will be respectful, organic and temporary: we may even dismantle it at the end of the day. (Some of us do bring tools in our otherwise empty hands: e.g. cameras!)

Then we’ll share tea and chats, with 2 main aims:
  • Setting up regular monthly meetings
  • finding opportunities and venues for public site-specific events
RSVP if you’d like to join us on 14 April.
Mail if you’d like to be kept up-to-date.
Please send any advice or suggestions!

Janet Ranson - janran@cybersmart.co.za
Janet Botes - art@janetbotes.co.za, +2772 331 5057

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Joburg artists, get involved!


Green Beings develops schools into models that demonstrate sustainable living and act as vehicles to integrate knowledge and skills into communities. Their aim is to empower people with environmental education, encourage community collaboration and sustainable lifestyles.

Green Beings educate schools and communities about the state of the natural environment, the human impact thereon and the importance of active environmental stewardship. 

Collaboration is their key principle ♥ Want to get involved?
Volunteer? Donate? Fund a project? Share your skills and knowledge?
How can you help as an artist? How about helping them create beautiful and inspiring posters, murals or educational graphics; offer waste art workshops; or help organise a creative fundraiser?

Alex Frost: 082 775 4115 or Marloes: 072 623 9498
greenbeings@live.co.za

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Better Living Challenge



Have an idea that relates to access to electricity, water and sanitation, water/flood-proofing, fireproofing, ventilation, heating, cooling, space constraints, safety or privacy? The Better Living Challenge is a call to designers and innovators; manufacturers and retailers; students and professionals; self-taught designers and tradesmen; architects and engineers; to develop home improvement solutions that support a better quality of life for all.

The continually growing need for homes outstrips the capacity and resources of the government to deliver. There is a need to find home improvement solutions that are affordable and allow people to incrementally improve their dwellings at their own pace. Such solutions will contribute towards improved living conditions and quality of life. The Better Living Challenge has three entry categories.

STRUCTURAL HOME
  • Innovative products and materials used in the construction of homes.
  • Innovative approaches and components for self-built homes and structures.
  • Systems and products that allow for incremental expansion of existing structures.

COMFORTABLE HOME
  • Products, services and systems which create a more liveable and enjoyable internal environment, including improved temperature control and internal air quality, as well as light, energy and water efficiency.
  • Products and systems that address fire risk.
  • Modular and space saving furniture and storage ideas.
  • Solutions to create flexible public/private space for homes where a single space may have multiple uses throughout the day.

CONNECTED HOME
  • Products, services or systems that digitally and physically connect a home to its surroundings and beyond.
  • Solutions that connect a home to the physical environment, including food production and waste water systems.
  • Off-grid solutions for individual households.

VERY IMPORTANT:
  • You need to show you have considered the environmental impact of your products, and explored environmentally-friendly materials and efficient production techniques.
  • Solutions need to be financially accessible to the low-income market. You need to demonstrate how scale, production and material costs impact on price, and show you have thought about how to get your product, system or service to market in an affordable manner.
  • A sustainable business model will touch on how your solution can be replicated at a local level. What can be done to enhance what is already produced locally? Has thought been given to working with existing low-income housing providers?


ENTER your product or idea at betterlivingchallenge.co.za


Monday, March 3, 2014

A Sapling a Day



I just read this amazing story, shared in the latest Ethical Co-Op newsletter. It illustrates how much can be done just by doing one positive thing every day, or every week - consistently we can make small changes that amount to something much bigger than we could even imagine right now.

The year was 1979, and a teenager in India saw the floods come, with trees uprooted and hundreds of dead animals littering the banks. He had already noticed the reduction in migratory birds, and the village elders told him that this was due to deforestation. Animals lost their homes and birds had less wild lands to visit. They suggested he plant trees to help reduce the damage. 
And plant trees he did. Every day for 34 years he has planted trees, and the area has been transformed into a lush forest of 550 hectares, supporting wild elephants, tigers, deer and rhino. Watering the newly-planted saplings was quickly impractical, so he designed bamboo platforms for each tree, holding earthen pots with small holes, which would slowly drip down quenching the thirst of the young saplings. With the initial forest now sustainable, he is now planting another forest of 150 hectares.  
 Too many of us look at the scope of the challenges or the long journey ahead, wonder what we alone can do, and, discouraged, fail to even start. But making a difference is easy really. Just aim in the right direction, and start walking. Time takes care of all the rest.

---------------------

Tthe Ethical Co-Op delivers organic and ethical food and produce weekly to the Cape Town and surrounding areas. They deliver door-to-door or to convenient pickup points, and also courier a selection of their products countrywide. Check them out at www.ethical.org.za.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Earthbound Moon calls for artist proposals

Art Without Limits : Farther Regions


Artists can get discouraged and their art-making interrupted by practicalities like deadlines, proper studio space, available resources, technology and the biggest heartbreak of all; not enough money. What if an artist was presented with the possibility to create a work of art without these limitations? What if that artist had financial backing, equipment, materials, manpower and experienced technicians ready to take direction and create their vision? What if that artist’s work wasn’t limited by the fact that they live on the planet, Earth, in the year 2014 and are subjected to physical laws?

Art Without Limits: Farther Regions explores what is possible for artists when they are released from practical, economical and physical constraints. What can be accomplished without limitations of natural laws, moral codes or current technologies? Art Without Limits will give artists resources to execute their dream-projects. Artists often create work that is determined by the walls around them. Art making is often a problem that needs to be solved. We would like to solve that problem. You can create art anywhere in the Universe! Show us your gallery inside of a volcano, your sculpture on top of the Great Pyramids,float your work on top of the largest storm in the solar system or Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. Unbound by the physical realities of the here and now, the sky is not your limit!

Earthbound Moon seeks proposals from around the nation for fantastically imaginative and absurdly inventive site oriented artworks. You have artistic immunity, you have every resource you need. Indulge us!

The requirements of the Artist proposal are outlined simply as:
  1. CV
  2. Description of the artwork that can be as long or as short as the artist wishes.
  3. Rendering of the theoretical artwork.
  4. Return envelope with return postage
No entry fee.
Deadline March 24, 2014

Please send Proposals to:
Art Without Limits ℅ Carson Murdach
1627 Marion St. NW #2
Washington, DC 20001

Questions? Contact carson@earthboundmoon.com
http://www.earthboundmoon.com/
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/ART/SOA/nav/landmark/currentprograms.php

Works will not be returned without stamped return envelope

(call for proposals source. Cross-posted on Land Art South Africa)

Monday, November 18, 2013

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Cheng Long Wetlands International Environmental Art Project



2014 Cheng Long Wetlands International Environmental Art Project
“Fishing for a Better Environment”

Artists from all countries are invited to send a proposal for a site-specific outdoor sculpture installation that will celebrate the seafood producers and fishermen of Cheng Long area and raise awareness about environmental issues relating to seafood production, the main livelihood of Cheng Long residents.  The artworks will be created during a 25-day artist in residency in Cheng Long, a small rural village near the southwestern coast of Taiwan in Kouhu Township,Yunlin County.

Deadline for Entries: January 18, 2014
Artists will be selected and notified by February 17, 2014

Installation and Residency in Cheng Long, Kouhu Township, Taiwan:
April 10 (artists arrive) – May 5, 2014 (artists depart)

Dates of the Exhibition:
May 2, 2014 (opening ceremony), May 3 and 4 – Opening weekend activities with the artists.  The exhibition will stay on display through 2015, and we hope the artworks can continue to be enjoyed into the next year.

For more information, photos from previous residency projects, and application forms: artproject4wetland.wordpress.com

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Sustainable Seas Trust Photography Competition!


The Sustainable Seas Trust ‘Splendours of the South African Sea’ Photo Competition has been set up to encourage the public to get out and about on our country’s coastlines in order to capture what they believe makes our coastlines some of the best in the world and more importantly what we should be striving to preserve. For more info visit www.sst.org.za. Also find them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seapledge

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Earthlife Africa Press Release: The climate circus is in town!

An international conference concerned with clean air, the International Union of Air Pollution Prevention Association’s (IUAPPA) “Clean Air Congress” in Cape Town at the end of September, is being sponsored by some of South Africa’s biggest air polluters.

Sasol (which is the emitter of the largest point source of climate changing greenhouse changing gases in the world); Eskom (who are currently requesting an exemption from compliance with South Africa’s National Air Quality Act and supporting plans to build yet a third mega-coal fired power station, notwithstanding radioactive emissions from its Koeberg nuclear power plant); Engen (with a long history of harm to residents of South Durban); Shell (linked to human rights and environmental violations in the Niger delta, and one of many who wish to carry out polluting hydraulic fracturing in our country) and Exarro, our 2nd largest coal mining company. We find it surprising that no mention is made of the fatally toxic and radioactive air pollution planned by the smelter plants of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) at Pelindaba.

“The Clean Air Congress is shown for what it is – an opportunity for South Africa’s Climate Clowns to sponsor a green-washing circus” said Muna Lakhani of Earthlife Africa Cape Town. “The irony is compounded by the fact that the Mayor of Cape Town and the MEC for the Western Cape (who are featured speakers at the Congress) support this process.”

Over 60 civil society organisations find this Congress problematic. An indication of the potential for “green-wash” can be found in the draft programme (fourth revision), which has as a heading “Health Impacts and Perceptions.”
“The health impacts of air pollution are not ‘perceptions’, they are a fact!” commented Des D’sa of the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA). “Our children and other residents suffer from high rates of upper respiratory tract problems due to poor air quality in South Durban.” 

They are calling for companies to take responsibility for their actions, and for government to hold them accountable, in a transparent manner.

Roegshanda Pascoe, of the Manenberg development co-ordinating structure, says “Our people are hurting with the high and rising electricity prices, and with nuclear and more coal power stations, prices will just keep on escalating. Since the first price increases, we have seen an increase in domestic violence linked to unaffordability of electricity, and other social impacts. It is time government takes the steps necessary to change our vision to one of energy security for all, in a safe and sustainable way.”

Community members feel that government must take their lead from our Constitution, and fully engage civil society in our supposed “participative democracy” in fully informed and thorough consultation before taking decisions on behalf of communities, especially the poor.

The media is encouraged to cover this congress, and ask the questions that civil society are asking, viz:

  1. Why is a parastatal even asking for an exemption from our National Air Quality Act, when a substantial body of evidence confirms harm from coal fired power stations?
  2. Why is fracking even being considered, when it is at least as problematic as coal, certainly from a climate change perspective? Has nothing been learnt from water, land and air pollution impacts elsewhere in the world, accompanied by social devastation?
  3. Why is government complicit in these kinds of “greenwashing” exercises, yet finds it impossible to hold companies to account for the known harm that they do?
  4. What is the point of IUAPPA convening such a congress under these auspices, when even they (IUAPPA) confirm: “Air pollution causes over 800,000 deaths and tens of millions of respiratory and other illnesses each year. It damages ecosystems and affects quality of life, reduces economic activity and reinforces the cycle of poverty in many areas of the world.”

Civil society that is concerned with plans for more climate change-inducing coal fired power stations that is now on the cards in South Africa, dangerous and expensive nuclear power, polluting and socially and environmentally devastating hydraulic fracturing (fracking), problematic coal mines and the high price of electricity, have come together to protest this gathering of our polluters and government representatives.

The protest is planned for Sunday the 29th of September between 2pm and 4pm opposite the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Cape Town Mayor, Councillor Patricia de Lille, and representatives from the named polluting companies have been invited to receive a memorandum outlining the concerns of civil society that believe the polluter-pays-principle should be strictly enforced. This initiative has thus far received the support of more than 80 organisations.

Come and join us!!




This initiative is supported by:

Earthlife Africa Cape Town; CAPTRUST; Community Consent Movement; Manenberg Dev Co-ord Structure; Southern Cape Land Committee, Groundwork, South Durban Community Environmental Alliance,  Cochoqua Tribal House (Khoi San), Coalition for Environmental Justice, Million Climate Jobs Campaign, The South African United National Anti-nuclear Mobilisation Initiative (TSUNAMI) comprising over 60 organisations; Coalition Against Nuclear Energy (CANE) comprising numerous community-based organisations, professionals and NGOs.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

CALL OUT: Articles for 4th edition of Plastik


http://art-science.univ-paris1.fr/

Art and biodiversity: sustainable art?

Interest in ecology and sustainable development is unprecedented, as is to the increasing concern overshadowing society´s well-being. With the news of massive deforestation and the scarcity of water resources, we are continually reminded of how animal and vegetable species are endangered. It´s clear that the need to respect the environment is shared by all but that natural resources are being exhausted through conflict of interest and contradictory action. As a result living and endangered organisms are affected by a kind of universal heritage value, as if representing the memory of an uncertain future. 
Since the ´60s, artists have testified to, and denounced, through their work, the ravages that human activity has brought on a planetary scale. With art interventions that have taken place in nature or have been an actual part of a landscape, the concepts of the environment, of site and territory, have become more visible in the art world. By demonstrating the physical properties of the material, and of the living, such artworks – whether perennial or ephemeral, in natural or developed spaces – actively call for the spectator's participation, alternately as observer, walker, or explorer in a double game with the attitude of the artist him/herself. To what extent have the new contours of spatialization in an artwork and art´s modus operandi in general contributed to the change in the way we look at the natural world? What impact has it all had on increasing the general public´s awareness, and of protecting our environment?

Between the esthetic and ethics, art and the science of the living, the 4th edition of Plastik will present an evaluation of the perimeters of action and the meaning of artistic practice dealing with the subject of safeguarding biodiversity. The ties between environmental issues and artistic creation will be tackled from the point of view of the real as well as the symbolic scope of such practices, between the implementation of an ecological, imaginary approach, and social commitment. We will try to understand the propositions revealed by artworks which entertain a relationship to the balance at play between the living and the extinction of species. What kind of response do such artworks develop in relation to this new challenge, launched by scientists, as being of the greatest interest for humanity? Is it ecological art or ecologically-made art? Can one talk of eco-gestures in art? Through their experience as researchers, artists, critics, or exhibition curators, the authors will gather together a collection of testimonials and studies, questioning the procedures in order to understand how the preservation of biodiversity has become the subject of today`s most significative artworks. 

We´ll be asking: 
  • Are researchers, and artists, in the face of environmental challenges: the new crisis managers?
  • Notions of creation and destruction, safeguarding and conservation
  • Reevaluating nature, landscape, and territory
  • Eco-art, the green esthetic, neo-naturalism, sustainable art?
  • Collaborative environmental intervention
  • Animal ethics in artistic practice, abolitionism and welfarism
  • The eco design approach, and individual commitment?
  • Implementing art and eco-gestures : exploration-fiction, surveying, plantations, collecting, ethnography, gentle intervention
  • Museums, institutions and their ecological responsibilities 
[Plastik] est la revue de l´Institut ACTE 
CNRS - Université de Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Admission criteria for articles: 
Authors are invited to propose texts of between 3 000 and 10 000 worlds. Contributions can contain up to 10 images with a resolution of 72 dpi. Images should be sent separately, with mention of their place, title and source. The same goes for pictures and other illustrations under format image. The first page must contain: the title of the article, the name of the author(s), their affiliation, email and postal address, a summary of 10 to 15 lines and a list of keywords characterizing the contents of the article.

Deadline for articles: 
Please send your articles by email before June 15, 2013.

Rédaction [Plastik]
plastik.art.science@gmail.com
Institut ACTE - CNRS
Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne
47 rue des Bergers 75015 Paris - France

Olga Kisseleva 
olga.kisseleva@univ-paris1.fr

Monday, April 8, 2013

Artist Opportunity

Call for submissions: StateoftheArt.co.za


StateoftheArt.co.za is inviting South African artists currently studying or who have graduated within the last five years from a recognised higher education art or design course to apply for online representation. Artists working in any visual media can submit works for consideration.

Please complete the Preliminary Application Form by following the link http://www.stateoftheart.co.za/artists/join. All applications will be reviewed by the StateoftheART.co.za Curatorial Panel and the successful artists will be notified by email. The application period closes on the 31st of July 2013.

About StateoftheART.co.za and the StateoftheART Gallery


StateoftheART.co.za is a dynamic art marketplace offering contemporary fine art for sale by South African Fine Arts graduates and emerging artists - we make art more accessible to the world and provide a platform for selected artists to make a living without giving up their artistic vision. These are a few of the benefits that StateoftheART.co.za can offer you as an artist:
  • Opportunity to consign work to the StateoftheART Gallery in Cape Town
  • Free professional portfolio on the www.StateoftheART.co.za website (we take a commission on sales) 
  • Press coverage - in the last few months we have featured in Leadership Magazine, Conde Nast House & Garden and Business Day as well as many online blogs and publications. 
  • Introduction of your work to our corporate clients and collectors both nationally and internationally.

For more information visit www.StateoftheART.co.za or
contact Jennifer on T:021 801 4710

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Call for proposals: international Environmental Art Residency


2013 Environmental Art Residency Program/Biennale: September
I-Park Foundation, East Haddam, Connecticut, USA

Application Deadline: Monday, April 1, 2013

A call for proposals to those working in the following creative fields:
  • Environmental sculpture/installation
  • Landscape/garden design
  • Music composition, sound sculpture/design
  • Performance art
  • Language arts
  • Architecture
  • Photography, moving image
  • Inter-disciplinary practice

Artists will create their works on site during their residency for presentation at the Biennale. 12 – 15 artists will be selected to participate. A $2,000 prize will be awarded to each participant or collaborating team to create the work, and transportation costs of up to $1,200 for artists travelling to and from other countries like South Africa. Lodging and meal service provided during the residency. There is a $30.00 entry fee.

To find out more and apply, go to:



Saturday, March 9, 2013

GREEN EXPO participation callout



Invitation for artist applications, curator proposals & sponsorship/collaboration
GREEN EXPO Green Art 2013

In November 2012 eight invited artists exhibited art during the Green Expo at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). This year we are working with the intention of having an art exhibition at the Sandton Convention Centre GREEN EXPO too - we invite proposals from curators based in Johannesburg. In addition to the artists being invited to participate in the Cape Town exhibition, we are doing a call for Western Cape artists whose work can be categorized as "green art" or environmental art. 

Interested artists (Western Cape): 
Please send examples of your work (photographs of maximum 1MB each), an artist statement/description of your work and motivation, and your biography or artist resumé. 
DEADLINE: 30 April 2013

Interested curators (Johannesburg): 
Please send your proposal (outlining the basic concept or theme, potential artists, and general provisional layout and/or installation of the exhibition) and CV. 
DEADLINE: 30 April 2013

Partnership, sponsorship and collaboration:
Anyone interested to get involved in another way, don't hesitate to contact us. We need sponsors to fund the exhibitions, and this is a great opportunity to show your commitment towards the arts as well as creativity that raises awareness around environmental issues. 

To read more about the 2012 exhibition, go to www.greenart.artlovenature.co.za. You can also read the Green Art Manifesto for the 2012 exhibition on Kai Lossgott's blog at http://kailossgott.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-green-art-manifesto.html.

For more information, or to apply, please contact Janet Botes at art@janetbotes.co.za

Friday, January 25, 2013

Want to see this go forward? Get involved!

The Green Your Art (GYA) initiative may seem like quite a young structure, movement or organization. But, it really isn't. Firstly, as an initiative started by visual artist Janet Botes, it has been evolving and transforming - first as "Greenivate" since 2007, then as "Ecojunki", but always with a central focus on encouraging acceptance, responsibility and compassion towards all living things and our planet. Secondly, it forms part of a larger and very important movement and awareness by an increasing mass of people. It includes people from all walks of life and artists of all types, levels and creative forms.

As much as I (Janet) have a passion for encouraging and supporting the use of natural materials, I am shifting my focus towards the creation, manifestation and promoting of my own art. My art hugely relies on the use of natural materials, found materials and 'waste' repurposing, and is primarily inspired by the natural landscape in its various interpretations. Currently the focus is on natural processes, rhythms and my aim is to inspire people to reconnect to nature - outside and within themselves - and thus to encourage healing, initially of human's disconnection to the natural world, and subsequently the healing and nurturing of our planet.

Which brings me to the purpose of this post - if you are passionate about the ideals and aims of the GYA initiative, and would like to become involved, please contact Janet at artlovenature@gmail.com. There will be a meeting in February or March 2013, regarding the future of the initiative. A GYA team will be formed, with shared responsibilities and a range of skills, to ensure this initiative is able to make a difference, and also that it has a sustainable and viable future.

Thank you for everyone who has been involved up to now with GYA, and who has worked towards raising awareness for environmental issues with me. Special thanks to Nicolle Basson, for your effort, work and involvement. 

Thursday, December 20, 2012

ARTSHIFT: Global Power Shift 2013


"We know that we are running out of time to stop our planet from becoming a very inhospitable place, and we know that our local organizing is the most important tool we have in this struggle. So just as co2 levels and extreme weather are on the rise exponentially - so are we. 
This June, 350.org will be organizing Global PowerShift an international gathering in Istanbul, Turkey, where 600 young climate leaders from around the world will converge to skill-share, trade tactics and connect on how we will be the generation that will turn the tide on the global climate crisis. Organizers will then return to their own countries and organize a regional gathering, developing regional campaigns, goals and actions connected to a global movement."

To do this, they need new creative tactics to have maximum impact!


 "We are up against the richest corporations in the history of money, so our currency will be our creativity. A major focus of Global PowerShift will be on creative activism, including workshops and skillshares in puppetry, mass production for mass mobilizations, subvertising, street art and street theater, creative non-violent direct action, activist animation, reality correction, and historical reclamation.
We will also be constructing an Arts Camp for the duration of the gathering to integrate creativity into the functioning of daily life while providing important encampment skills to Global PowerShift participants.
We need creative, impassioned and dedicated individuals to join us at this historic gathering, and to grow a globally connected network of creative organizers strong enough to reclaim our future from the fossil fuel industry. Apply now to join us for Global PowerShift, deadline for applications has been extended to 4 January 2013. Participants will have all expenses covered."

Take a minute to share this invitation with anyone you think might be interested or share the ArtShift webpage on twitter or facebook. For this to be a success we need diversity in all aspects and will need to reach outside just the “climate” movement - this is, afterall, a struggle as big as our planet that involves many different movements. Please encourage anyone to apply who you think would contribute to and benefit from this crucial gathering.


Do it now, we’ve got no time to lose.

The gathering in Istanbul is only the first phase of this project, we’ll need many more dedicated individuals to participate locally in one of the hundred regional PowerShifts and in the hundreds of local campaigns and projects beyond that. If you can’t apply, but wish to stay in touch, please email art@350.org

This callout was sent by 
Kevin, Art Ambassador for 350.org