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The Museum occasionally invites artists to participate in upcoming exhibitions. If interested in exhibiting your work at the Sharp Museum, please follow the instructions for it as given below.

Women’s Voices 4: Pushing Boundaries

Deadline: October 15th, 2023

The Sharp Museum is currently accepting applications for an upcoming exhibition in 2024, "Women’s Voices 4: Pushing Boundaries." This juried exhibition is open to all artists identifying as female over the age of 16 living within one hour of Carbondale, IL. Art in all disciplines is accepted: drawing, printing, installation, painting, photography, digital art, sculpture, video, mixed media, decorative art (textile and material, glass, wood, metal, ceramic, mosaic, paper or other techniques), etc.

"Women’s Voices" was born out of 'the need to create'—the title of the first exhibit, presented in 2020. Now an ongoing series of exhibitions held annually at the Sharp Museum, SIU Carbondale, this unique exhibit spotlights the expressive thoughts and current prospectives of individual women artists in southern Illinois.

The main goal is to open the eyes of the viewer and help others to realize how diverse our creativity and thoughts are, using art not only as an escape, but more to the point, a voice.

Our art gives us a process to explore and articulate images which express what we experience in our hearts and minds daily, expressing an emotional response not only to our own feelings but also to ideas that tell stories through the artwork which can give a feeling of something solid and whole, something one can depend on and connect with and gives insight into what drives and is behind the creative process.

Using visual art as a motivator, this exhibit expresses how women use art to channel their voices to open the viewer's mind to day-to-day influences. Influences that frequently inspire profound emotions that accumulate in the artist's creative energy, reflecting each artist's unique circumstances and voice.

—Teresa Fix, Guest Curator

 

Exhibition Information

Run Time: WV 4 will be on display from Tuesday February 6th – Friday, May 10th, 2024.

Gallery: WV 4 will be on display in the Sharp Museum’s South Hall West Gallery during the SIUC 2024 Spring Semester.

Exhibition Fee: There is a $40 fee for those artists selected to participate in the exhibition. This fee will be due no later than Saturday, December 16th, 2023. Information on how to submit this payment will be given to those invited for exhibition.

Submission Deadline: To be officially considered for exhibition, applications must be submitted no later than Sunday, October 15th, 2023.

Notification of Acceptance: Friday, November 10th, 2023

Drop-off Date: Art should be dropped off for exhibition at the Sharp Museum Friday, January 12th, 2024, from 2 – 6pm or Saturday, January 13th, 2024, from 2pm – 4pm.

Artist Talks: The Sharp Museum will be hosting several artist talks beginning in March with the number TBD based on the number of interested artists.

Reception: An opening reception will be held Saturday, February 10th, 2024, from 4:30pm – 7pm.

 

Outline of Qualifications

Age: Artists aged 16+

Region/Distance: Artists living within one hour of Carbondale, IL.

Gender: Individuals identifying as female

Media: All media is accepted for submission, but must be original works created by the artist submitting them.

Matting/Finishing: By the drop off date all works must be matted/framed/finished in a professional manner.

  • 2D: Works should arrive securely framed with hanging hardware attached. Acceptable forms of hanging hardware are braided, non-coated picture framing wire. The use of saw tooth hangers, string, or single strand aluminum are not acceptable.
  • 3D: Works should arrive stable and able to stand under their own weight or arrive with the necessary hardware to accomplish this. Please call for questions or concerns.
  • Mixed Media: Depending on the design and materials used, works should be professionally finished with all requisite mounting/display hardware securely in place.
  • Textiles: Works should arrive with their intended hanging hardware in place, with the ability to securely display the object as intended.
  • Each work submitted must be labeled with: title of work, entrant name, email, and phone number.

Artist Bio/Statement: To be considered for exhibition all artists should submit a statement about themselves and their work. The statement should be no more than 250 words maximum and submitted as a Word or .rtf file. Examples of artist statements:

 

Submission Information

Artists are allowed to submit one (1) piece of art for consideration. The following information is required on the exhibition application form.

  • Artist Name
  • Title of Work
  • Medium
  • Finished Dimensions
  • Artist Bio/Statement submitted as a Word or .rtf file. (Examples above).
  • Image of work submitted as .jpg or .pdf files.
  • Home Address, City, State, and ZIP code
  • Email Address
  • Phone Number
  • Value/Price

How to apply: Use the exhibition application form onine to send a completed application packet.

 

Jurying Overview and Disclaimers

The Women’s Voices curators have selected an Invitational Juror: Mel Watkin. Works submitted for exhibition not meeting the outlined requirements or lacking any of the required information may be disqualified from consideration. Works may also be disqualified from exhibition if the work dropped off does not match the work submitted.

The Sharp Museum is not responsible for any work that is not picked up by the appointed dates, unless other arrangement has been made with Museum staff. Exhibited work may not be removed from the gallery before Saturday, May 11th, 2024.

As the Museum is not requiring any commission on sales of art work in the exhibit, sales inquiries will be referred to individual exhibitors.

 

Contact Information

Questions about the exhibition or application process can be sent to the following individuals:

WM Weston Stoerger: stoerger@siu.edu

Teresa Fix: teresafix@frontier.com