Call for Submissions

The International Society of Experimental Artists will co-host INNOVATIONS 2022, its 31st annual international open juried exhibition, partnering with the Art Gallery of St. Albert, in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada. The exhibition will run from August 18 to October 1, 2022. ISEA offers over US$14,000 in awards for outstanding submitted works! ISEA produces a beautiful full color catalog of each INNOVATIONS exhibition. All ISEA members and all non-member artists accepted into the exhibition will receive a copy of the catalog.

ISEA invites all artists and collaborative groups of artists, 18 years of age and older, to submit one work of art created in the past three years to this call. The submission deadline is March 31, 2022. All media are welcome. ISEA focuses on experimentation and exploration in the visual arts. All artists are asked to submit a short (1000 characters or less) statement of how the submitted work was experimental in the context of their artistic practice.

Submit your work

(you will need to create a profile on CaFÉ to submit your work if you have not done so already)

ISEA

The International Society of Experimental Artists (ISEA), a global organization with approximately 500 members, was founded in 1991 to offer artists a society that celebrates the creation of art through innovation and experimentation.  The society encourages artists to explore new techniques and media, discover new compositional approaches, and find new concepts to create - with no rules to limit creativity.

www.ISEAartexhibit.org

AGSA

Art Gallery of St Albert is a contemporary public art gallery with a mandate to provide enriching educational experiences that celebrate visual culture and artistic achievement through research, exhibition and interpretation. The Art Gallery of St. Albert is managed by the The Arts and Heritage Foundation of St. Albert, which also manages the Musée Héritage Museum and the Heritage Sites within the city of St. Albert.

www.Artgalleryofstalbert.ca   | www.Artsandheritage.ca 

Juror

Our distinguished juror is Brenda Malkinson, an award winning cross-disciplinary artist with 45 years of professional experience who creates gorgeous contemporary stained glass works, paintings and wood block prints. She is a highly regarded artist and the recipient of the Eldon & Anne Foote Edmonton Visual Arts Prize, shortlist award (2019), the Alberta University of the Arts Alumni Legacy Award (2018), and the Edmonton Artists Trust Fund Award (2013).

www.Brendamalkinson.com

Our Partners and Sponsors

The INNOVATIONS 2022 exhibition is made possible through vital and highly valued partnerships with the following organizations, to whom ISEA is very thankful:

• The Art Gallery of St. Albert
• The City of St. Albert
• The Paint Spot

ISEA would also like to thank the following generous donors and sponsors for their contributions towards the INNOVATIONS 2022 exhibition and the Pushing Boundaries [REBOOT] symposium:

Please support our generous sponsors!

Timeline

**Digital artworks that are created in real-time by computerized or electronic components must arrive at the gallery between July 29 and August 4.

Application Requirements

Submission Image Requirements

Submitted images must be as representative of the actual artwork as possible.

Within the submission process, a written statement about the experimental aspects of the work is required. These statements are used to further ISEA aims of educating the public about the nature of experimental art, and enhancing how experimental artists are valued in their communities.

2D Submissions

• A photograph of the artwork or digital artwork must be formatted for the jury to 6” on the longest side at 300 DPI and submitted as a high quality JPG image.
• Diptych and other multiple-work 2D submissions must be submitted as a single image.
• Submit one image only. Note: If more than one image is submitted, only the first image will be considered.
• A primarily 2D work with significant relief elements may be submitted as a 3D work.
• The file size for the image must be between 1 MB and 5 MB.
• The name of the image must be as follows:
  • LastNameFirstName_Title_Size_Price.jpg
  • e.g. VanGoghVincent_StarryNight_29hx36wx1d_800.jpg
  • Size is in inches, specifying height x width x depth.
  • Size includes the image only, do not include matte or frame.
  • Prices are either in Canadian dollars or “NFS” (not for sale). If not-for-sale artwork is submitted, enter 0.00 in the price when uploading the artwork to your CaFÉ profile.

3D Submissions

• Photographs of the artwork must be formatted for the jury to 6” on the longest side at 300 DPI and submitted as high quality JPG images.
• A primarily 2D work with significant relief elements may be submitted as a 3D work.
• Submit two images, view A and view B: Two views of the artwork from different angles must be submitted.
• The file size for each image must be between 1 MB and 5 MB.
• The names of the images must be as follows:
  • LastNameFirstName_Title_View_Size_Price.jpg
    • e.g. VanGoghVincent_StarryNight_A_29hx36wx1d_800.jpg
  • VanGoghVincent_StarryNight_B_29hx36wx1d_800.jpg
  • View is either A or B.
  • Size is in inches, specifying height x width x depth.
  • Size includes the image only, do not include matte or frame.
  • Prices are either in Canadian dollars (CAD) or “NFS” (not for sale). If not-for-sale artwork is submitted, enter 0.00 in the price when uploading the artwork to your CaFÉ profile.

Digital Submissions

• Images of the artwork must be formatted for the jury to 6” on the longest side at 300 DPI  and submitted as high quality JPG images.
• Digital artworks that are created in real-time by computerized or electronic components must meet the requirements of film/video submissions. The content of the video submission must be truly representative of imagery that will be produced and viewed if the artwork is invited to exhibit.
• The file size for the image must be between 1 MB and 5 MB.
• The name of the image must be as follows:
  • LastNameFirstName_Title_Size_Price.jpg
    • e.g. VanGoghVincent_StarryNight_800hx1200w_800.jpg
  • Size is in pixels, specifying height x width.
  • Size includes the image only, do not include matte or frame.
  • Prices are either in Canadian dollars or “NFS” (not for sale). If not-for-sale artwork is submitted, enter 0.00 in the price when uploading the artwork to your CaFÉ profile.

Film/Video Submissions

• Film and video submissions must be provided digitally in one of the following supported formats: MP4 and AVI.
• Must be a minimum resolution of 640 pixels wide by 480 pixels high, and a minimum of 12 frames per second.
• The file size must be less than 100MB.
• The name of the image must be as follows:
  • LastNameFirstName_Title.xxx
  • e.g. LamorisseAlbert_TheRedBalloon.mp4
  • Replace xxx with the appropriate format file type as in the example.
• Media submissions only. Linked media cannot be accepted (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo based submissions). Embedding audio or video links in code is not supported by our submission system.

Eligibility Criteria

Acceptable Artworks, Media and Sizes

ISEA invites all artists and collaborative groups of artists, 18 years of age and older, to submit one work of art created in the past three years to this call.

Original experimental artworks, created in the last 3 years, that have not been accepted into any previous ISEA exhibitions may be submitted.

All media are acceptable. Original printmaking, photography, film and digital works may be submitted. Commercial reproductions of original works are not acceptable.

Works completed in a workshop are not eligible for entry in any ISEA exhibition.

Only one solo submission is permitted per artist. Only one collaborative submission is permitted per distinct group of artists. Each artist may be included in a total of two submissions: one solo submission and one collaborative submission.

The purchase price of your work must be in Canadian dollars (CAD). The price included in the submission may not be altered after the submission is completed. For an indication (only) of the possible foreign exchange rates between your currency and the Canadian dollar, refer to this foreign exchange webpage from the Bank of Canada. If you choose to submit a not-for-sale artwork, the price of that artwork should be entered as 0.00 and the file names will include the term "NFS" as required in the submission naming requirements.

For safety reasons, submitted artwork must not include the following:

• sharp elements protruding from the artwork or framing, including but not limited to glass, sheet metal edges, frayed wire ends.
• perishable organic or inorganic media with the potential to cause disease or foul smells, or to leak or dislodge from the artwork.

2D Artworks

• All media accepted.
• Finished/framed maximum size is 36” in any direction; weight limit is 25 lbs.

3D and Installation Artworks

• All media accepted.
• Maximum crated weight (for shipped works) is 70 lbs..
• Maximum weight of the artwork itself is 50 lbs..
• Crates/boxes for 3D entries must be no larger than 62” inches in any one direction and must fit through a standard door-frame.
• For plinth-installed artworks, the maximum width and depth are 16” and the maximum height is 24”.
• For floor-installed artworks, the maximum width and depth are 24” and the maximum height is 60”.
• For ceiling-installed artworks, the maximum width and depth are 24” and the maximum height is 100”.

Digital Artworks

• The venue has available television displays that can support both 720p (1280 x 720 pixels) and 4k (3840x2160) formats. The venue has media devices that can serve still and video works to the 720p and 4k televisions.
• The above noted 720p displays may be used for digital works that are created in real-time by computerized or electronic components.
• Any hardware requirements for the artwork beyond a television display must be provided by the artist(s) for installation (e.g. computers required to execute code, audio headsets, cables, interfaces, printers...)
• Hardware components that will come into direct contact with viewers (i.e. virtual reality headsets) may not be suitable, depending on health and safety guidelines at the time of the exhibition. For example, the venue may be able to consider earphones/headsets that are vinyl or plastic, but foam may not allow for suitable cleaning between viewers.

Films/Videos

• Submissions are open to all genres - including but not exclusively documentary, drama, comedy, horror, art house and animation.
• Video works may not be longer than 10 minutes.
• Entries are open to all languages. If an understanding of the language is important to interpretation of the work, a mechanism must be provided to translate the language to the local language at the exhibition venue.
• The venue has television displays available that can support both 720p (1280 x 720 pixels) and 4k (3840x2160) formats. The venue has media devices that can serve still and video works to the 720p and 4k televisions.
• Hardware components that will come into direct contact with viewers (i.e. virtual reality headsets) may not be suitable, depending on health and safety guidelines at the time of the exhibition. For example, the venue may be able to consider earphones/headsets that are vinyl or plastic, but foam may not allow for suitable cleaning between viewers.