CALL FOR ENTRIES – PROSPECTUS
Reclamation : Artists’ Books On The Environment

Exhibition dates: May 2021 – September 2021
Inaugural venues: San Francisco Center for the Book and San Francisco Public Library, San Francisco, CA.; additional venues TBA

San Francisco Center for the Book is excited to invite artists to participate in its 25th Anniversary exhibition, Reclamation: Artists’ Books on the Environment, a juried exhibition of artists’ books exploring our relationship to the environment at this moment on the planet.

THEME :: We live in a time of extremes. Nearly two decades into the 21st century thousands face uncertainties over food, shelter and safety. Environmental concerns demand increasing attention, from rising temperatures and dangerous weather events, to crises in water quality, to multiplying fires...the list goes on, echoed around the globe.

Book artists create works that involve, educate, and inspire action. Book art takes many forms. Sculptural bookworks, for example, command attention so that viewers are compelled to reflect upon the issues explored in the work. Paginated artists’ books rely on a reader’s touch to encourage a measured exploration of complicated topics, one page opening at a time. Many compelling works integrate pagination with sculptural and material richness to create a multi-sensory reading experience.

Reclamation seeks to inspire and educate visitors to reflect on climate change and its impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. At the same time, the show endeavors to avoid dualistic arguments common to today’s divisive political scene.

MEDIA :: This exhibit is open to handmade book and paper arts related works created either in edition or as a one-of-a-kind work. Artists’ books, sculptural books, book objects, altered books, installations, zines, and broadsides are all encouraged.

CURATORS :: Betty Bright (Independent Curator and Historian specializing in book art) and Jeff Thomas (Executive Director at San Francisco Center for the Book)

JURORS :: Betty Bright, Mark Dimunation (Chief of the Rare Books and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress), and Ruth Rogers (Curator of Special Collections at Wellesley College)

DATES TO REMEMBER ::
September 27, 2019 - September 01, 2020 : Applications accepted for consideration
December 15, 2020 : Exhibited works announced

December 16, 2020 – February 1, 2021 : artwork arrives at San Francisco Center for the Book

May 21, 2021 : Exhibition opens at San Francisco Center for the Book
May 21, 2021 : Opening Reception at San Francisco Center for the Book
May 29, 2021 : Exhibition opens at the Jewett Gallery, San Francisco Public Library
May 30, 2021 : Opening Reception, Jewett Gallery, San Francisco Public Library

May 21, 2021 - September 26, 2021 : exhibition on view at SF Center for the Book
May 29, 2021 - September 5, 2021 : exhibition on view at SF Public Library

October 1, 2021 : exhibition/artwork travels to additional venues (TBA)

THIS EXHIBITION WILL TRAVEL TO ADDITIONAL VENUES. Upon close of the inaugural exhibition at SFCB/SFPL in September 2021, artwork will then travel to additional venues for exhibition throughout 2021 - 2022; venues are TBA. Artists selected for inclusion in Reclamation will be apprised of details at the time of acceptance notification.

PRINT CATALOG :: San Francisco Center for the Book will publish a full-color print catalog to accompany the exhibition with essays by the jurors. Submitting artwork for the exhibition constitutes an agreement that images may be used for publicity purposes both in the printed catalog, as well as online via social media and in SFCB and SFPL promotional materials.

FRAMING OF WORK ::  Wall-hung work can either be hung framed or unframed attached with magnets and must include proper hanging hardware. If you are shipping framed work we recommend you ship the work with acrylic instead of glass.

ENTRIES :: A maximum of three works may be submitted per artist. Publication date of each work must be 2015 or later. Entries must be received online no later than September 01, 2020; there will be no exceptions. All artists submitting to this exhibition will be notified via email. San Francisco Center for the Book and the San Francisco Public Library reserve the right to decline any accepted artwork upon delivery if the condition or quality is other than represented in the electronic entry. All submissions must be made online.

FEES :: A $25 non-refundable entry fee covers up to three works and is payable upon submission. To clarify: the entry fee covers one, two or all three works; it is not a per work fee. When submitting your application, you will be required to pay via Paypal or major credit card.

SALES :: Artists are encouraged to offer their work for sale while it is on display at the San Francisco Center for the Book. Artists receive 60% of the selling price.

SUBMISSION MATERIALS

USING THE CaFE PLATFORM ::  in order to be considered for exhibition, artists are required to apply via the CaFE web interface. There is no fee to register/create an online portfolio via CaFE. If you are a first time CaFE user, please complete the following steps:

·        Visit https://www.callforentry.org. Click on the  “Artist Sign Up” button (upper right hand corner.) You will be prompted to agree to CaFE’s terms and conditions of use and then create an online CaFE profile.

·        Once you have created a profile, you must upload image files to your CaFE portfolio; these images will be used to jury your work for Reclamation. Clicking on the “My Portfolio” tab will take you to CaFE’s image upload window.

·        After you have successfully uploaded your images, search for the Reclamation call for entry under the “Apply To Calls” tab. You can search for the Reclamation call for entry by using the “Search” feature towards the top of the page.

Please note: CaFE will block the artist’s identifying information prior to viewing by jurors, but note that it is the artist’s responsibility to remove their name and press name from the images and artistic statement before they submit.

IMAGES OF YOUR WORK FOR JURYING :: You may submit up to four images for each piece you are entering in this show. Please make sure that your images are high resolution and adequately represent the work you are interested in exhibiting.

• When selecting images for juror consideration, DO NOT include title pages (or pages which include personal/press names) or colophon pages. Any submission materials that include identifiable artist or press names will be removed from consideration.
•  Composite images are not acceptable. One view per image submitted only.
•  Black backgrounds on your images are not acceptable. Please photograph your artwork on a neutral gray or white background. Black backgrounds do not show artwork to the best advantage, books lose shadow, dimension and scale on black backgrounds.

RELATED MATERIALS & CONSIDERATIONS

• All work should demonstrate the highest level of craft.
• Work in languages other than English is welcome; however, an English translation must accompany the work.
• Images of artwork should reflect strong photographic quality so that jurors may consider the work to its best advantage.
• Please include a fulsome written description of the work (materials, dimensions, edition size, structural details, etc.) in the section labeled "Artists Statement" in order to assisst jurors with their deliberations. NOTE: Do not include your name/press name in this section of the application.
• All submission materials viewed by jurors must be anonymous in order to ensure a fair and unbiased jury process. Note that each work’s images and the required artist statement will be key to the jurying process.
• CaFE will block the artist’s identifying information before viewing by jurors, but note that it is the artist’s responsibility to remove their name and press name from the images and artistic statement before they submit.

SHIPPING :: Work will be shipped to San Francisco Center for the Book in San Francisco, California, USA and must include return shipping payment. All shipping and insurance costs to SFCB are the responsibility of the artist; complete instructions will be provided upon acceptance into the show. Artwork must arrive at SFCB in sturdy, re-useable packaging.

INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS :: Artists residing outside of the United States are welcome to enter this exhibition. The exhibition entry fee of $25 must be paid in US funds. International artists will be responsible for shipping their work to SFCB, as well as payment of return shipping to the artwork’s home address. Artists are also responsible for insuring their work when shipping to/from SFCB.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE :: San Francisco Center for the Book is insured and shall be responsible for the safekeeping of all exhibited artwork while in SFCB’s possession. SFCB shall be strictly liable to the artist for loss or damage (except for loss due to earthquake, flood or damage resulting from flaws inherent in the artwork) to the full value artist would have received from SFCB if the artwork had been sold.

CONTACT INFO :: inquiries should be emailed directly to Jennie Hinchcliff at exhibitions@sfcb.org

Thank you for your interest in Reclamation: Artists Books On the Environment. We look forward to seeing your work.

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria