Submissions invited for Baltic’s Second Open Exhibition

The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead has published its Call for Entries for the Baltic’s second open-call exhibition.

Eligible artists are invited to submit artwork from Wednesday 11 October for a major open-call exhibition due to open at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in March 2024.

West Side of Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in 2022
Nick-D, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Key Features of this art competition

Who can enter?

People based in North East England who are artists, makers, self-taught creatives and hobbyists 

“The response to our very first open-call in 2020 was overwhelming and showed how much talent we have here in the region. And now we’re opening up another opportunity for people to submit their artwork – in any medium from painting and ceramics to sound and video - to be a part of what I hope will be a truly joyful and special exhibition.”

You must be based in the North East of England. Those residing in the following postcodes are eligible: NE, DL, DH, SR, TS and TD.

What can you enter?

• All media is eligible for submission, examples include painting, drawing, sculpture, film, tapestry, photography.
• Artworks of a maximum specified size limit of 100 x 100 cm for wall-based works and 100 x 100 cm at the base for floor-based 3D works.
• there are weight limits
• The total weight of wall-based artworks must be no more than 10 kg when packed.
• The total weight of 3D artworks must be no more than 80 kg when packed.
• Any suspended artworks must weigh no more than 50 kg.
• Baltic cannot accept works that contain food substances, noxious or toxic substances, have flammability below 50°C, contain human or animal tissue, or incorporate dangerous electrical appliances. All electrical appliances will be PAT tested by Baltic upon arrival.
• Baltic stands to denounce racism and discrimination in all its forms and will not accept any works that communicate any form of racism or discrimination.

Who will select the artwork for the exhibition?

Artworks will be selected by a panel including 

• Jasmina Cibic, artist;
• Paul Smith, musician, and lead singer of Maxïmo Park;
• Niomi Fairweather, Baltic Curator (Local);
• Rose Mcmurray, Baltic Curatorial Assistant and
• a representative of the Open Submission exhibition partner Fenwick, Newcastle Upon Tyne, who are supporting the exhibition and visual arts in the North East.

Exhibition

The exhibition, in Baltic’s Ground Floor gallery between March and September 2024, will present 

• up to 100 works drawn from the OPEN submissions 
• alongside work by several established artists including: 
• Holly Hendry (pictured here), London-based sculptor and installation artist who explores what lives beneath the surface, from hidden underground spaces to the interior workings of the body
• Phyllis Christopher, Newcastle-based photographer known for documenting LGBTQ+ sexuality and protest in 1980s/1990s San Francisco
• British institution, household name and prolific painter Jim Moir (aka Vic Reeves) whose submission is a newly completed unseen work.

This year, the exhibition is being presented in association with Fenwick, whose flagship department store has been a mainstay of the North East for more than 140 years.

Timeline

  This call out is free to enter and open to anyone based in the North East of England.

• Wednesday 11 October 2023: Submission process opens. 
• Monday 27 November 2023: Last day for postal entries to be received.
• Monday 27 November 2023, 10am: Deadline to submit your work online.
• Friday 12 January 2024, 6pm: All successful applicants contacted.
• Monday 22 January 2024: Press Announcement. 
• February (To be Announced): Participants to deliver the works selected for the exhibition at Baltic. The timing and process for this will be confirmed in detail to each participant closer to the time.
• 15 March 2024: Exhibition Preview
• 16 March – 01 September 2024: Exhibition open to the public.

Application

• Baltic Open Submission in association with Fenwick
• This is another page which provides the Guidelines and Submission Page
• Applications can be submitted online now via Submittable. Please follow this link.

Want some Tips?

For all those 

• looking for tips on your application or 
• having any questions about the process

The Baltic has organised both 

• an online and in-person drop-in session 
• on Thursday 2 November 
• with Curators and panellists Niomi Fairweather and Rose McMurray. 

Simply show up at Baltic on the day or request a Zoom link via open@baltic.art

Review: Episode 1 Portrait Artist of the Year (Series 10)

The first episode of the new art competition to find the Portrait Artist of the Year for 2023 kicked off last night 

The first episode of Series Ten will be repeated at 7pm tonight on Sky Arts. If you've not yet watched, you might want to stop reading now as this review continues in the same pattern as all the reviews I've written since series 4 in 2018 

i.e. this review post considers:

• the sitters
• the artists
• the self-portrait submissions
• themes observed during the episode - and observations on different approaches
• the Judging
• the Shortlist
• Episode 1 Winner

Remembering that last year's winner was the winner of Episode 1!

Overview of the filming of this episode

Portrait Artist of the Year Series 10

Portrait Artist of the Year is

• commissioned by Sky TV UK
• made by Storyvault Films an independent production company.
• filmed at Battersea Arts Centre - generally in April
• broadcast every Autumn - generally starting in October - by Sky Arts Channel on digital television (now also on Freeview at Channel 11) and via the NOW TV app (if you want to look back at an episode after it's been broadcast)

This year, as always, the features of the series are:

• a prize of £10,000 for a commissioned portrait of a celebrated sitter for distinguished institution
• 3 sitters and 3 artists allocated to each sitter. One sitter and three artists are located in one of three sections of a rotunda type frame (think three segments of a pie or cake) in the large room at the Battesea Arts Centre where the PAOTY series are now filmed. This allows the cameras to rotate around the room
• None of the artists know who their sitter is until they arrive in the room.
• There's no choice as to who paints which sitter
• There's no choice as to what angle you get on the sitter
• Artists have - in theory - four hours to complete a portrait working from a live model - with a break in the middle of the day.
• Two presenters - Stephen Mangan (age 55 - who likes to dye his hair and appear younger!) and the inimitable and extraordinary Dame Joan Bakewell - who hit 90 earlier this year
• Three Judges: who are the same as for previous series:
• award-winning portrait painter Tai Shan Schierenberg. Studied at St. Martin's School of Art and The Slade. Lives and works in London, Norfolk and the Black Forest in Germany. Has artwork in a number of important national and regional public collections
• independent curator, art historian and arts broadcaster Kathleen Soriano worked in museums and galleries for over 30 years.
• arts broadcaster, curator, mentor and writer Kate Bryan is also currently Head of Collections for Soho House.

(L to R) Tai Shan Shierenberg, Dame Joan Bakewell, Katheleen Soriano,
Stephen Mangan and Kate Bryan 

In terms of people watching the proceedings, the Series is limited as to who can watch Sky Arts in the UK - on terrestrial Channel 11 or Sky or Now TV.

It does become available overseas - IF your local channel buys the series from Sky!

What's New in Series 10?

So far as I can see, it's virtually the same as always. Except there are a few things. 

• No mention of who the celebrity sitter will be for the final episode - except I happen to know it's going to be the world-renowned conservationist Dr Jane Goodall, DBE (as previously announced by Sky!)
• It was the first time we've had a couple being two of the sitters.
• it's the first time we've had a CAT as a sitter!

Also, theoretically this first episode with actual real contestants is the SECOND episode (as they had a Celebrities versus the Kids Special as the first episode - but this does not count so far as I'm concerned for these reviews) .....so this is THE FIRST REAL EPISODE of the Series 10

I suggest Storyvault/SkyArts need to call it Episode 1 like I am (and rechristen the Special as a "special" like the Decade episode!)

Episode 1: The Sitters

The sitters for the first episode are 

• Fleur East (Singer),
• Emma Freud (Broadcaster) - with the family cat Badger (which was a first!) 
• Richard Curtis (Screenwriter) - which famous films and tv shows has he not written?

Emma and Richard are not married but have four kids and have been together for over 30 years.

Episode 1: The Artists

The mandatory photo of all the artists in this episode
sat on the steps outside Battersea Arts Centre

All the artists are listed below alphabetically by surname - but are not differentiated between professional and amateur. The link to their main 'contact' site is embedded in their name and social media sites follow - if available.

This year the artists are allowed to write about the heats in advance - so long as they say nothing about the heat itself - and can then wrote about their experience afterwards - and I've highlighted posts I came across below

Review: Women in Art Fair

I visited the inaugural Women in Art Fair (WIAF) at the Mall Galleries this morning.  The art fair is new and is the first art fair dedicated to redressing gender imbalance in the art industry.

Below I'm going to indicate:

• some positive impressions 
• artwork I liked; and 
• some aspects which need improving before the next one!

The WIAF is on this week 11 October to 13 October, 10am to 6pm; 14 October, 10am to 4pm

Entry is £5 and Concessions at £3.50. There is no catalogue or any listing of artists in the fair.

Positive Impressions

• much more contemporary artwork on show than we've typically seen in previous exhibitions by mainly/only women artists
• SOME of the artwork was excellent, a lot of it was good. Relatively little was "walk past fast".
• Some innovative media has been used for some of the artwork - which generally impressed
• There's a variety of price points on the walls with some good representation within the affordable price range - which I think will do well.

Artwork I liked

There was artwork to like in all three galleries. I'm going to highlight those which grabbed my attention.

West Gallery

View of the West Gallery from the Messanine.

Blackbird Rook is showing two works by Marilyn Hallam who reminds me very much of Bonnard. She lives and works in south east London and St Leonards-on­Sea and has a space in the APT Studios in Deptford. She develops her paintings using a number of processes including sketchbooks, drawing, tracing, collage and painting.

To me they just seemed arresting and luminous.

Two paintings by Marilyn Hallam

The end wall of the West Gallery contains six works - from the "Five Times More" series by textile/ fibre artist Maggie Scott on the end wall of the West Gallery at the Women in Art Fair. I was so impressed by them they're now the feature image on my Making A Mark Facebook Page!

"Maggie Scott creates art from the particularity of who she is: a black woman, a feminist, a daughter, a mother, an activist and a British textile artist. Born in London, Scott graduated from St. Martin’s School of Art in 1976 with BA honours in Fashion Textiles and set up her first studio in London in 1980. Scott became well-known for her sumptuously crafted felt textiles to wear. Her life as a textile artist had existed in parallel with her involvement in gender and race politics, but it was an experiment with a series of large, autobiographical textile pieces which allowed her to combine art an activism. "

Textile art by Maggie Scott
felted Marino wool on silk and stitch

Maggie Scott’s practice is informed by the experience of being black, British and a woman. With Five Times More she depicts the intimate relationship between mother and child, reflecting on both personal and collective experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood.

I was completely intrigued by how they are made. Somehow or other silk has been attached to felted marino wool and then stitched on top. Photography is definitely involved and there's a hint of a screen print about it too. I found it both simple and relatable and complex in terms of concept and process - and very impressive!

Scott’s technical practice is unparalleled in the landscape of contemporary British art, sitting at the boundary of tapestry and digital media, she employs a combination of photography, digital collage and silk and then injects colour by laboriously pushing vibrant merino wool fibres through silk in a process known as nuno felting. The intensely physical process of felting is followed by the careful process of using stich to emphasise the smaller details of an image, evoking both the physicality of childbirth and the careful attention and tenderness of what follows. In working with fibre Scott pushes a medium traditionally associated with craft into the realm of fine art. As a textile artist Scott employs distinctly feminine materials, but with soft images she speaks hard truths.

Nessie Ramm is an artist producing very unusual art and exhibiting with the brand new Women in Art Gallery in Lewes in Sussex.

I am, of course, a big fan of all those who paint plants, particularly wild/native plants - so I was riveted to see paintings of plants which can be found by the side of the road. 

Nessie produces road verge paintings combined with road signs!  The paintings below are from her 'Reduce Speed' series and are very topical - not to mention sustainable! There was an article about her my road verge work in the February 2023 issue of Countryfile Magazine

NEW: Art Fair and Art Auction at the Mall Galleries - this week!

This week there are two new initiatives this week at the Mall Galleries.

• one is in the galleries - the Women in Art Fair (WIAF) (11th to 14th October 2023)
• one is ONLINE ONLY - the Art for All | Fundraising Auction (9th - 16th October 2023)

Below is a short narrative about both - and I'll be visiting the Women in Art fair tomorrow when it opens and will report back.

Women in Art Fair

The Women in Art Fair a NEW Art Fair specifically celebrating art by women.

website: https://womeninartfair.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womeninartfairofficial/

Women in Art Fair seeks the best in contemporary art, photography, textile and sculpture; all mediums. 

Key Features:

A new initiative, WIAF is dedicated to redressing the gender imbalance in the art industry and will take over all three spaces at Mall Galleries (totalling 450 sqm)

The layout of WIAF

• West Gallery - a booth style art fair - with 9 different booths (not the 21 as indicated)
• East Gallery - a curated exhibition titled Unnatural Women - The show features seminal artists, such as Paula Rego and Jean Cooke alongside established contemporary names and emerging talent.
• North Gallery - an exhibition of artwork selected from an Open Call (which I obviously missed!)
• Theme: The World is A Family. 
• Artists were invited to submit work for exhibition, alongside galleries, for the inaugural WIAF in October 2023. 

WIAF seeks to create a positive global fair, from which women and those identifying as women, are given an opportunity to show their work and contribute to developing the exchange of ideas around gender, and culture.

It will be very interesting to see how people have responded to this new event. It sounds promising and I'm looking forward to visiting.

Event: Expert Panel Discussion

Review: Portrait Artist of the Decade

The first episode of Portrait Artist of the Year this year was devoted to the competition to find the Portrait Artist of the Decade - from the winners of the previous series.

The sitter for this momentous occasion was Dame Judi Dench - who promised to nod off in the afternoon but stayed bright and alert all day by the look of the programme.

Participants in Portrait Artist of the Decade

You can find out who took part and take a look at the portraits they produced - courtesy of their Instagram posts below.

Plus at the end I'll tell you 

• who the sitter chose
• who the independent judge chose 

Thanks also to Samira Addo who was the only person to post a group photo to their Instagram account!

Portrait Artists of the Year (2014-2022)

What I found particularly interesting about the show was how people had developed since they won - or continued in the same vein. 

It was also absolutely fascinating to see their portraits lined up next to one another.

The participating artists were :

• Series 2 (2014) - Christian Hook -  born in Gibraltar in 1971. He studied illustration at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, and then worked as a part-time lecturer at the Royal College of Art in London. He's had a very successful career since he won - with lots of commissions for lots of famous clients! His approach is always interesting and somewhat magical!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by christianhookofficial (@hoookart)

 

• Series 3 (2017) - Gareth Reid - Born in Belfast, Gareth studied at University of Ulster, Glasgow School of Art and Florence Academy of Art, and now lives and works in Glasgow. Has also had work included in BP Portrait Award Exhibitions. He also won the BP Travel Award in 2007 - see BP Travel Award: Gareth Reid and the Finnish winter bathers - which was an exhibit I really liked for the choice of subject and execution.  He now mainly paints (very slowly) portraits in oils - but chose to go back to charcoal for the four hour stint. He works slowly with the big decision being how to crop a photo and where to place the head on the support

"If you don't have structures and relationships correct, you're fighting a battle through the whole process"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by G A R E T H R E I D (@garethreidart)