Call for Art Works

Spaces&Places:VisioningMcLuhan@100

Marshall McLuhan Centenary at Latitude 53 Contemporary Visual Culture

June 23 – July 23, 2011

Marshall McLuhan is considered one of the foremost intellectuals of the 20th-century. His ideas and theories resonate across a myriad of practices, subjects and disciplines. He presciently foretold the considerable role that media would come to play in our everyday lives, coining the term “global village” to represent how different forms of media would interconnect the world.

2011 marks the centenary of McLuhan's birth. The Spaces&Places:VisioningMcLuhan@100 exhibition will bring together art, design and media practice that explore all that is McLuhan. Media, practice and style are all open but at their core should deal with concepts and ideas that relate to or explore manifestations of McLuhan’s ideas. Possible submissions could explore issues relating to the collapse of geographic space, the loss of one focal point in immersive media-rich environments, ideas relating to speed/inertia, excitement/ennui. Pieces might take a variety of forms, including 2D works, 3D installations and online explorations. They could play out over time in videos and online environments. Proposals could draw on a range of media, including the Internet, radio, television, magazines, etc. to represent McLuhan’s ideas and issues. The works could also be designed for an on-line exhibition, which would be accessible to viewers on-line, or in one of the galleries.

Up to five of the accepted proposals will be selected to participate in a development and showcasing workshop, in Spring Term 2011 at the University of Alberta, before the exhibition opens. All exhibitors will be invited to attend the workshop, which will involve graduate students and faculty members from the University of Alberta. The workshop will be to promote discovery learning while increasing collaboration, understanding, and awareness around the exhibit and also point the way to subsequent projects that participants/students may identify. Course credit may be available for the workshop to University of Alberta graduate students.

 NOTES on Submissions:

• individuals are responsible for the technical feasibility of the work;
• individuals are responsible for the cost of shipping and crating of their work;
• deadline for submissions of work is Friday, 1 April 2011 at 5 pm (MST);
• individuals will be notified of their selection by no later than 15 April 2011.

Submissions should include the following information:
Technical requirements;
Project description (250 – 500 words);
How the work explores/addresses the concepts and ideas of Marshall McLuhan (This may be combined with the project description. Or, if a separate entry, should 250 - 350 words);

A maximum of ten images of the work, or no greater than 5 minutes video of the work;
A CV of the individual or collective; and

If the submission is mailed and you want the materials returned, sufficient postage with a S.A.S.E.

Submissions can be submitted to:
Via courier or post:

Latitude 53

10248 – 106 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 1H5 Canada
Attention: McLuhan Exhibitions

Via email:
If you would like to submit a proposal electronically, please send an email to spacesandplaces@ualberta.ca. You will receive a link that will allow you to add your proposal file to a Dropbox.