Verge Gallery

Do you love Photography & Performance? THIS is the exhibition for you. This is a call out to artists who indulge in photography – sound/music – film –script writing – and acting. We want you all!

Australia’s largest photo festival and the world’s second largest festival, The Head On Festival is here again and The Verge gallery will be presenting a multimedia extravaganza to celebrate.

“Beyond a Thousand Words” will be for one night only on Friday May 24.

There are two ways to get involved:

• If you are a photographer, simply email us ONE photo on ‘LIGHT’. It can be anything at all as long as it fits with the theme of ‘LIGHT’ (so all of the images fit together, please make them hi-res, and landscape format). These will be projected one after the other on the night.
• The other way to be involved is to write, make music or act. We need people who can stitch these images sent in by photographers together into a CAPTIVATING, ELECTRIFYING, ENERGETIC and EXPLODING EXPERIMENTAL NARRATIVE. If you want to be involved we’d love to hear from you!

Photographer’s – simply send your image to vergegallery@usu.usyd.edu.au by May 4.

Others (writers, musicians, actors) – please email vergegallery@usu.usyd.edu.au and tell us what you do. We’re also going to have a meeting on Wednesday April 17, 3pm (please indicate in your email if you can make it!).

USU’s 2013 Indigenous Week Festival

CALL OUT ARTISTS:

You are invited to contribute to a SCASS (Sydney College of the Arts Student Society) exhibition at Verge Gallery, coinciding with the USU’s 2013 Indigenous Week Festival.

Participants from Eora College and SCA will work collaboratively to theme and title the exhibition, from the conceptual starting point of issues in contemporary Indigenous art. Participants are then invited to respond to the theme in any chosen medium. Works will be exhibited at Verge Gallery from April 18 to May 3.

Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people are encouraged to participate. We look forward to expressions of interest!

For more information about the festival checkout:

http://www.facebook.com/UsuIndigenousFestival

For more information about the exhibition, or to express interest, please contact f.dorrell@gmail.com

Or speak to Meghan Rheynolds at Sydney College of the Arts at SCASS meetings on Wednesday’s in the SCASS office (just near Jewelry and Object design)

Applications close: Wednesday 27th March

‘Translations:’– A collaborative show based on an exchange and interpretation of ideas between Verge Center for the Arts, Sacramento and Verge Gallery, Sydney.

The internet has supposedly flattened time, communication, and space to the point where place no longer matters. Idiosyncrasies, errors, foibles, coincidences, misinterpretations, synchronicities and surprises vanish as we all view the same websites, communicate on the same social media platforms, and catch the same viral videos.

‘Translations:’– in a bold post-digital statement substitutes the myth of the omnipotent datasphere (where it seems everything happens) with two distinct non-virtual locations; two unrelated – except by name – Verge Galleries. Separated by oceans, this project asks ten artists in each location to write instructions for the other ten artists to manifest. Cyberspace will serve as a conduit for these ideas, but to what extent can words and sketches survive the trip intact? What cultural conversions will take place at either end as recipient artists put their own spin on what confronts them?

The Brief

Artists are to create an idea for a work that can be put into an emailable format (using primarily text, but also images and sketches). These instructions should be an in depth and sincere attempt to convey the full breadth and scope of the work. They can be in any genre and medium, using any materials that the artists deem appropriate, with the understanding that any unreasonable requests may be interpreted in unpredictable ways. The artists will also agree to construct the reciprocal works using their own resources.

The instructions should be between 500-2000 words and there can be up to five sketches or images (all scanable and emailable), although these are not necessary. In addition, artists should write a 500 word piece indicating their approach to interpretation. How do you take text and emailed images and construct an artwork? What skills (both practical and conceptual) can you bring to a project such as this one?

The callout will end on February 28, but early entries are appreciated, and the final ten artists will be decided upon and notified by mid-March. The galleries will then pair up reciprocal ideas with artists. Artists will then have the end of March and all of April to realise these works. They will work without contact with the authors of the ideas. Each artist will also be asked to document their processes, and this documentation will then be forwarded to the other gallery and may be displayed as part of the exhibition.

Reciprocal exhibitions will be displayed in May 2013.

To avoid bias, each gallery will pick the ideas to be displayed by them (I.E. Verge Center for the Arts, Sacramento will judge the submissions from Sydney and vice-versa). To avoid later conflict, paired-up artists will be considered co-authors of both works they create.

In summary, artists are to provide by February 28:

• 500-2000 word instructions for an artwork,
• Up to 5 sketches/images (relating to the instructions) – optional,
• 500 word piece indication their approach to interpretation,
• Brief CV (with contact details)

Please email the above information to g.shapley@usu.usyd.edu.au.

Curated by Joy Paton and participants

From time immemorial economic structures within political frameworks have shaped cultural production: from pre-romantic art, considered worthless and reliant, to Kant’s autonomous art of value; from art that represented status created by the bonded artists of European courts, to the movements of protest and social commentary that proliferated in the 60s and 70s.

To coincide with a conference held by the Department of Political Economy, Verge Gallery is looking for artists, political economists and others who can collaborate to create art that gets under the skin of the following topics: green economy, cities and regions, economic inequality, contesting economic ideas, economic policy and the pedagogy of political economy. We would particularly like to encourage Political Economy students to work with their peers at SCA (Sydney College of the Arts) to create projects that use art to illustrate and explore some of these ideas (note – you don’t need to be an artist to participate in this exhibition: just have some ideas/theories/data to bring to the table!).

Ideas for the exhibition (whether fully formed or otherwise) should be submitted by email by March 15.

The exhibition will be held from March 28 to April 12 and archival material from Fisher library will also be on display at the gallery for a reflections event on the evening of April 4.

The conference is in honour of the contribution made by Emeritus Professor Frank Stilwell to teaching and research in the discipline of Political Economy as well as to the broader political economy movement.

Please email the following information to g.shapley@usu.usyd.edu.au:

NameWhat Faculty/Dept. are you from?
What do you think you can contribute?
Are you looking for a collaborator/how can they help?

Bending the Truth
Reimagined Works from the SCA Degree Shows

NOTE: This is only for SCA students who participated in Degree Shows in 2012.

All former undergrad and postgrad students who participated in the 2012 Degree shows at SCA are invited to apply to be part of ‘Bending the Truth’: an exhibition that gives you the opportunity to rethink your work in terms of collaboration with other students. This exhibition will be on at Verge Gallery from March 7-22.

For the last year (or so) you’ve been intensely involved in your own work, producing art that’s representative of years of study. Although rewarding and productive, this can sometimes be an isolating experience.

‘Bending the Truth’ is an excellent opportunity for you to rejoin the real world! This show gives you the chance to consider art as a social experience. You’ll get to talk to and influence other artists, and discover ways to change your art to be part of the conversation.

For a chance to be involved please fill out this form by January 31:

Verge Gallery is pleased to announce a call out to artists for two exciting upcoming exhibitions. Offering great opportunities for artists to foster transnational relationships, show their works to an international audience, and be involved in the dynamic exploration of art in the digital age, these exhibitions explore the exchange of ideas across cyberspace and nations.

NOTE: These opportunities are available to University of Sydney students who are current ACCESS members.

In Transpositions of Space Verge Gallery will team up with Concord Gallery, Los Angeles in a collaborative exchange to  map the geographical, social and environmental histories of each gallery on the other. We are looking for artists who can work collaboratively, at first with local artifacts in order to pictorially and conceptually describe Verge, and then as interpreters of artifacts from Concord Gallery. Note: you will need to be able to make a couple of meetings in January.

Please email your expression of interest to g.shapley@usu.usyd.edu.au and include your CV and ACCESS number.

‘Translations:’ a Sydney Sacramento Exchange

‘Translations:’– A collaborative show based on an exchange and interpretation of ideas between Verge Center for the Arts, Sacramento and Verge Gallery, Sydney.

The internet has supposedly flattened time, communication, and space to the point where place no longer matters. Idiosyncrasies, errors, foibles, coincidences, misinterpretations, synchronicities and surprises vanish as we all view the same websites, communicate on the same social media platforms, and catch the same viral videos.

‘Translations:’– in a bold post-digital statement substitutes the myth of the omnipotent datasphere (where it seems everything happens) with two distinct non-virtual locations; two unrelated – except by name – Verge Galleries. Separated by oceans, this project asks ten artists in each location to write instructions for the other ten artists to manifest. Cyberspace will serve as a conduit for these ideas, but to what extent can words and sketches survive the trip intact? What cultural conversions will take place at either end as recipient artists put their own spin on what confronts them?

The Brief

Artists are to create an idea for a work that can be put into an emailable format (using primarily text, but also images and sketches). These instructions should be an in depth and sincere attempt to convey the full breadth and scope of the work. They can be in any genre and medium, using any materials that the artists deem appropriate, with the understanding that any unreasonable requests may be interpreted in unpredictable ways. The artists will also agree to construct the reciprocal works using their own resources.

The instructions should be between 500-2000 words and there can be up to five sketches or images (all scanable and emailable), although these are not necessary. In addition, artists should write a 500 word piece indicating their approach to interpretation. How do you take text and emailed images and construct an artwork? What skills (both practical and conceptual) can you bring to a project such as this one?

The callout will end on February 28, but early entries (I.E. before the end of this semester, 2012) are appreciated, and the final ten artists will be decided upon and notified by mid-March. The galleries will then pair up reciprocal ideas with artists. Artists will then have the end of March and all of April to realise these works. They will work without contact with the authors of the ideas. Each artist will also be asked to document their processes, and this documentation will then be forwarded to the other gallery and may be displayed as part of the exhibition.

Reciprocal exhibitions will be displayed in May 2013.

To avoid bias, each gallery will pick the ideas to be displayed by them (I.E. Verge Center for the Arts, Sacramento will judge the submissions from Sydney and vice-versa). To avoid later conflict, paired-up artists will be considered co-authors of both works they create.

In summary, artists are to provide by February 28 (but preferably by early December):

• 500-2000 word instructions for an artwork,
• Up to 5 sketches/images (relating to the instructions) – optional,
• 500 word piece indication their approach to interpretation,
• Brief CV (with contact details),
• ACCESS number.

Please email the above information to g.shapley@usu.usyd.edu.au.

We have lots of great opportunities this semester. You’re sure to find something of interest – whatever turns your dial!

Date sensitive stuff:

Oct 4, 6pm – The Verge Festival Awards (Deadline Sept 14)

Are you passionate about photography? Do you have verve for visual arts? Is literature your life? Or are you mad for music? The Verge Awards is your chance to exhibit your creative talent!

The Verge Awards is one of USU’s greatest spectacles on the calendar, aiming to recognise and support our creative student members across a number of disciplines and styles. The Verge Awards is an opportunity where any and all student artists from all campuses and faculties of the University of Sydney can expose their work to industry professionals and the local community. Such an eclectic mix of student works each year demands an even more discerning panel of high-calibre judges.

A total of $15,000 in prize money is awarded to winning applicants, judged by both industry professionals and by fellow students via an online voting system. Entries close September 7. See http://www.usuonline.com/vergeawards/ for more info or to enter.

Oct 25 – Nov 26 Speed Show Festival (Deadline Sept 14)

Featuring five melding, interweaving, entwining shows in five full-on weeks, the Speedshow Festival is the ultimate event in adrenalin-fuelled cultural engagement. We need groups of artists and individuals to plot and plan one week exhibitions that dovetail, engage and converse with each other. These weeks can feature any/all artforms including installation, sound/music/art performance dance, new media, architecture and more traditional media. Participants are encouraged to meet with other groups to discuss how exhibitions interact. Get a group together to plan a week, or apply as an individual.

Also see (not organised by Verge)…

Oct 19-20 – http://www.brainartproject.com/awards (Deadline for entry Sept 1)

Recurring stuff:

The Blank Wall Mural Project

Verge Gallery has a blank wall that WE NEED YOU TO FILL WITH ART! Are you a University of Sydney student who wants to get your art into the public arena? We have a blank gallery wall, facing out, which we are turning into a LIVE MURAL SPACE!

You can paint, draw, glue or spray anything you desire, as long as it contains the word VERGE somewhere in the composition. The mural will change every 3 months, so there are plenty of opportunities for your design to shine. The Blank Wall project is open to both individuals and groups. We go LIVE in August, so get your design in!

Sound Plaza

Verge Gallery sits amidst an amazing sunny plaza which is currently underutilised. If you do sound art (in all its varied forms) we want to play your stuff to lunch-time crowds, passers-by and gallery-goers. The idea is to create a sense of intrigue and wonderment that will draw the disinterested throng into the web that is Verge. If you’ve been toying away at that soundscape or putting together an amazing radiophonic piece that will never be played on the radio, then get in touch. We also welcome any ideas concerning use of the outdoor area.

Performance Nights

We are after stuff that defies description – performance art, exotic sound works, theatrical outbursts – and unique combinations of these. If you are involved in any of this sort of thing, or want to get involved, we want to hear from you! We’re also looking for a volunteer performance organiser (see lion tamer and cat herder) to help put these evenings together (please email g.shapley@usu.usyd.edu.au if you’re interested). The dates for this semester are Aug 15, Sept 19 and Nov 28.

I am interested in:

Also See:

The Verge Festival Awards (Deadline Sept 14) – http://www.usuonline.com/vergeawards/

Brain Art Project (Deadline Sept 1) – http://www.brainartproject.com/awards

UPDATE

The University of Sydney Union Art Collection is often somewhat of a secret to most students. Holding almost 600 artworks from Albrecht Durer to Shaun Gladwell, the collection, as a product of the union  has a rich history. Each year two art collections officers curate an exhibition at Verge Gallery, using artworks from the collection – however this year they’re hoping to branch out from the tradition and are looking for applications from Honours and Post-Graduate students from Sydney College of the Arts who would be interested in creating an artwork in response to a piece from this diverse and interesting collection.

Completed applications are to be sent to artinterns@usu.usyd.edu.au and must be received no later than 5:00PM 2nd July 2012. -PLEASE NOTE NEW DATE

DOWNLOAD FORM HERE

There are some really exciting opportunities for students coming up! Be sure to check out all of the callouts below. Remember that you don’t have to be a visual arts student to participate – we welcome everyone’s contribution!

Entries are closing soon (April 20) for the ARTfED exhibition. This show will help raise money for organisations that assist those with eating disorders and is organised by EATFED (Education And Therapy For Eating Disorders). This exhibition is a  chance for your work to be seen and sold. Please take a look at the callout HERE.

Verge Slide Night
As part of the Head On Photography festival, Verge will be hosting a good old fashioned slide night (with a couple of twists) on Thursday May 17. We are calling on all photographers, amateur to professional, to submit a single image. It can be ANYTHING.

We then want thespians, writers, musical types and other volunteers to join them up using theatre, readings and sound to form an experimental narrative.

Please fill in the form below if you are interested in either submitting and image, or helping make the narrative.

Please email your image (which should be at least 1024×768 pixels and landscape) to g.shapley@usu.usyd.edu.au by May 6. While we will try to use as many images as possible, we will reserve the right to exclude some on the usual grounds.

Performance Nights
We are looking for performers who have an experimental bent to come and express yourself at our performance nights. Don’t be shy. This is a chance for you try out that act that you’ve been practicing in front of the bathroom mirror.

Types of performance may include:

• Performance art
• Sound art
• Poetry
• Comedy (but make it edgy/experimental)
• Experimental cabaret/burlesque
• (Post)modern dance
• The indescribable

Please email us at g.shapley@usu.usyd.edu.au if you’re interested in performing on either of the following dates (indicate preferred dates):

• May 2
• May 23
• August 15