A US Embassy in Poland Grant Project
You are Invited to Participate!
The Solidarity Project / Projekt Solidarność: Virtual Artist Exchange
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Contact Us: solidarity2020project@gmail.com
January 2021
Hello all,
Happy 2021! I hope this finds you well and healthy as we begin this new year.
I am getting in touch to invite you to participate in a project that I am pleased to finally resume after the many COVID-19 related postponements this past year thanks to a generous grant from the US Embassy in Poland. With help from my dear talented friends and fellow artists serving as the project curatorial assistants is Julia Leś based in Krakow, Poland and Jack Holloway, based in New York, City US. Any inquires, questions, and comments in Polish will be directed to Julia, but please note all general programming will be conducted in English, with Polish language assistance provided as needed.
The Solidarity Project / Projekt Solidarność is a virtual exchange project that brings together young Polish and American artists to response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis to investigate the critical need for togetherness and unity in an age when physical proximity is eliminated, isolation is mandatory, and life as we know it is drastically changing at a rapid, alarming rate. I ask artists to use the universally communication form of art to bring people together. I also call on artists to critically question and rethink what we do, the purpose of our work, the significance of artistic creation in a time of crisis, and how art can be used as a means of creating local and global solidarity in this moment of crisis.
The criteria and timeline are simple: Choice of media is open and please submit work via email at solidarity2020project@gmail.com by the end of each of the following three periods of time:
There will be a monthly Zoom session to meet and virtually gather on the last Saturday of every month, at 12pm EST / 6pm UCT.
I ask that you attend at least half of these meetings, 5 out of the 10 total with the hope that you will be able to attend all or most and get the most out of this experience. These meetings will include guest speakers from both Poland and the US and span a wide range of topics and ideas-- stay tuned!!
TIMELINE
PT I: 15 Jan- 31 March
Please submit work that speaks to your creative practice and experiences during 2020: the good and the bad and the ugly and everything in between. Please include a brief statement, no more than 500 words please.
PT II: 01 April- 15 June
Please submit work that touches on the pandemic’s far reaching consequences to our former “normal”, including, but not limited to the economy, capitalism, human rights, social justice, healthcare, the environment, etc. The work could also connect personal experiences, and emotions during these unprecedented times such as mental health struggles, exhaustion, boredom, burnout, etc. Please include a brief statement, no more than 500 words please.
PT III: 16 June - 30 August
Please submit work that communicates any creative solutions to the crisis, whether it be on a personal level, interpersonal level, philosophical or tangible, community, political, national, global and/or any other realizations to come from your experiences during the pandemic. Please include a brief statement, no more than 500 words please.
And final conclusive events and exhibition opening in September and October, specific dates TBD. This online exhibition space will be professionally created and tailored for this project.
After such an intense past year for all of us, my intention is to execute this project within a relatively small community so that participants can actually get to know one another. Also with the goal that each participant will generate a unique series of work that also serves as part of a larger archive of artistic responses to the COVID-19 crisis and era we are continuing to experience. My aim is also to facilitate a community of young artists, ranging from students, emerging artists, to artists in the relatively early stages of their professional career. In short, a community of peers all navigating their studio practice as young professionals, uniquely affected by the unprecedented hardship for the art community just as we are trying to gain professional momentum. To give us all an opportunity to create that includes an exciting, and if I may say so, an impressive outcome!
Why participate?
engage in a visual + creative archive of the artist’s experience throughout covid-19
participate in a global virtual exhibition, in partnership with the US Embassy in Poland, the US State Department, and in collaboration with The Fulbright Program.
expand your artistic network and community nationally and internationally
professional opportunities including virtual artists talks, exhibition openings, artist interviews, panels and discussions.
engage in a series of talks of the Polish and American experience for artists during the pandemic including, but not limited to topics related to studio practice, how artists are navigating the various political climates, the economic hardships, etc. as well as general cross-cultural exchange and discussion.
engage in a meaningful creative project and connect with other artists in the midst of quarantine and isolation.
be highlighted and promoted on social media pages and an official online exhibition
I would be thrilled to work with you in the project and very much hope you will seriously consider collaborating with me. I have prepared a timeline that I believe will be sensitive to busy schedules while still providing a meaningful sense of cultural exchange, community building and (I hope) creative inspiration in a time of immense upheaval and exhaustion.
Please confirm your participation ASAP (rolling deadline) via email at solidarity2020project@gmail.com with the following information:
1) sign and send back below to declare your intent to participate in the project in full (January – October 2021 or whenever you join):
I ________________________________ agree to participate in the Solidarity Project/Projekt Solidarność, from 15 January through October 2021, commit to submit work for all 3 parts of the project, attend at least half of our virtual project monthly sessions, and participate in a global online exhibition to take place between September – October 2021.
2) include a short bio, cv, links to websites/social media, and a select couple of images of your work in ONE PDF DOCUMENT.
We will use this as part of social media to promote you and your amazing work. If you need more time to consider the commitment or feel you might have difficulty participating, but would still like to please notify us via email to discuss it further so we can come to a solution.
PLEASE SEND US AN EMAIL AT solidarity2020project@gmail.com to receive project updates and meeting information.
Thank you all so much for your time and consideration and we look forward to hearing from you!! Dziękuję bardzo!!
Best regards,
Joanna Pottle / joannapottle.com, Julia Leś / juliales.pl + Jack Holloway / linktr.ee/jackholloway