Bloomington, MN - The City of Bloomington’s Human Rights Commission in partnership with Artistry, a multi-discipline non-profit arts organization based in the Bloomington Center for the Arts, is currently accepting artwork for consideration into Come as You Are!, an art exhibition that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community and the 50th Anniversary of Twin Cities Pride Festival. The exhibition will run June 3 – July 8, 2022, in the Inez Greenberg Gallery. Emerging and established artists residing in Minnesota who are 18 years or older are invited to submit one or two artworks that reflects the theme, “Come as You Are!” and/or celebrates the LGBTQ+ community.  All eligible submissions will be reviewed, considered, and selected by a curatorial review panel. All 2-D and 3-D visual art mediums are eligible, with the exception of film/video. All proposals must be received by February 3, 2022, to be considered. There is no application fee to apply.  Applicants will be notified by March 1, 2022 of the curatorial panel's decision.

About the City of Bloomington’s Human Rights Commission: The Human Rights Commission was formed in 1968 shortly after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  The purpose of the Commission is to aid and advise the City Council in ensuring for all citizens of the city equal opportunity in those areas protected by law and in such other affairs as may affect the social standards of the city. Learn more at https://www.bloomingtonmn.gov/hrc/human-rights-commission

About Artistry: Artistry is one of seven independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organizations based in the city-owned Bloomington Center for the Arts. We reach a regional audience of 80,000+ with acclaimed theater productions, exhibitions, arts education, and creative placemaking projects.

Mission – In pursuit of artistic excellence, we engage our region’s most talented artists in work that welcomes and develops audiences and opens hearts and minds.

Learn more about Artistry at artistrymn.org

About the Exhibition: Come as You Are! is a visual art exhibition that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community and will be held in the Inez Greenberg Gallery located in the Bloomington Center for the Arts. The exhibit organizers hope the exhibition helps to highlight the achievements of the Twin Cities Pride Festival, which celebrates its 50th year in 2022, as well as the artistic talents of Minnesota’s LGBTQ+ community. Through the exhibition theme, Come as You Are!, the exhibit will also affirm the City of Bloomington and Artistry’s belief that an inclusive, welcoming, and creative community benefits us all, regardless of sexual orientation/identity, ethnicity, gender, or race; One Bloomington.

Proposals will be reviewed by a curatorial panel who will select artwork based upon the following criteria:

• Quality of the artwork/artistic excellence and technical skills
• Creativity and originality
• Cohesion to the theme, Come as You Are! or in some way celebrates the LGBTQ+ community

The curatorial panel will only consider work that is appropriate for a family-friendly audience and that showcases a variety of visual art mediums, subjects, and techniques by a wide range of creative voices (i.e., a variety of ethnic, cultural, and gender representation) while always expressing a high standard of artistic excellence. Applicants will be notified by March 1, 2022 of the curatorial panel's decision.

Application Requirements

Proposal Requirements:
All proposals are due February 3, 2022 and must include:

• An artist statement of 1000 characters or less (including spaces) which explains how the artwork fits the theme, Come as You Are! or in other ways celebrates the LGBTQ+ community.
• 1 or 2 digital artwork samples saved as standard JPEGs (file dimensions should be 1200 pixels or more on the longest side; file resolution of 72 ppi/dpi (standard web resolution); file size under 5 MB. If submitting two images - each image must be of a different artwork and may not be a detail or compilation image of the same piece.
• Information about each work sample (image) including title, medium, size, date of completion and optional description. This information will be requested when you download your images to your free account/portfolio on CaFE™.
• Optional resume or biographical summary (one page maximum).

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility:

• Artist must be a current resident of Minnesota
• Artist must be at least 18 years or older and not currently registered in an undergraduate fine arts program.
• Submitted artwork must NOT measure more than 50” in any direction including frame.
• Any medium of 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional artwork is acceptable (with the exception of film or video) as long as it fits within the maximum size limit of 50” and fits within the theme of the exhibition.
• Artists do NOT need to be a member of Artistry to enter or to exhibit their work once accepted.
• Artwork does NOT have to be for sale to be exhibited.
• Artistry will take 40% of the retail price of artwork that is marked for sale, if sold during the exhibition. Artistry will handle all sales of applicable artwork, collect, and pay sales tax, and handle the transfer of artwork to the patron.
• There is no application fee to apply to this exhibition.