Projects
COLLECT 2025 – Exhibition Opportunity, London, UK
COLLECT 2025 Expressions of Interest
Call for Expressions of Interest
EXHIBITION OPPORTUNITY
COLLECT 2025 – London, UK
Project Overview Somerset House, London, UK
February 26 – March 2, 2025
COLLECT 2025 Expressions of Interest OVERVIEW
Expressions of Interest – Exhibition at Collect 2025
Time Sensitive Deadline – July 2nd 4:00 pm Atlantic Time
- Please Respond by this date or earlier
- Online Expressions of Interest Only – Link provided below
Note: Due to jury submission timeframes, late submissions will not be accepted.
Craft Alliance Atlantic is currently accepting Expressions of Interest from contemporary craft artists living and working in Atlantic Canada, to participate in a gallery exhibition at the Collect Art Fair in early 2025. Craft Alliance will coordinate a small group of contemporary craft artists, to exhibit work at the 21st annual Collect Art Fair in London from February 26 – March 2, 2025 at Somerset House in London, UK.
The exhibition will focus on those contemporary craftspeople who are experienced in gallery exhibition and who are actively seeking gallery representation or opportunities Internationally. Craft Alliance will be working with the provincial crafts councils and our industry partners in Atlantic Canada to identify participants for the program.
Important Note: The Collect Art Fair has a strict curatorial jury and review process. By responding to our expression of interest and having your work put forward for consideration, does not necessarily mean that your work will be accepted for the final exhibition with Craft Alliance at Collect Art Fair.
It is important to note, that Collect Art Fair is a gallery or organization represented exhibition and individual artists are not permitted to apply on their own behalf. Due to the venue and exhibition space provided, we may have to limit the number of pieces shown, as well as the size and scale of work shown. The Collect exhibition is an opportunity for Atlantic Canadian contemporary craft practitioners to exhibit their work to an International audience of gallerists, collectors, museums and the general public at a major contemporary art fair featuring contemporary craft.
Collect Art Fair
The leading global platform for museum-quality contemporary craft and design, Collect focuses on quality, exclusivity, reputation and curation and seeks variety and diversity in its content and vision. It is a requirement of the fair that over 80% of the artworks for sale have been made in the last five years. This ensures the fair remains current, relevant and is about the living artist. This allows each gallery to curate their own space and commissioning new artworks especially for the fair.
Craft Alliance Atlantic had a very successful exhibition at Collect Art Fair in 2024. All craft artists selected for the 2024 exhibition, are eligible to submit an expression of interest for 2025, however, the submission must be different from the work juried and/or shown in 2024 and must align with the curatorial statement in the call for 2025 (see statement below).
To be eligible, you must –
Submit an Expression of Interest, online, with the Google Form link provided. Your work must align with the intent of the curatorial statement provided.
Apply Online at this link: https://forms.gle/DrJ74JDBD3ZgYFrv7
Curatorial Statement – by Bruno Vinhas, Curator
HERE + NOW Exhibition 2025
“Water’s nature lies in its ability to flow continuously. An essential part of human life, bodies of water have been the focus of numerous scientific research, essays and artworks.
For the Canadian Atlantic Provinces, this element is present in the daily life of its artists, individuals and communities, indigenous and settlers alike. Craft processes often utilize it in one or many steps or even without knowledge, water is present in the raw materials manipulated by craft artists every day.
A compelling artwork about water captures its multifaceted nature, its fluidity and transformative power. It explores water’s connections with the cultural, geographical and spiritual properties, its life-giving or life-taking abilities, its ability to erode and rejuvenate, its capacity to symbolize purity and mayhem at the same time. The language of craft and craft artists is precise and evocative.
Just like this natural element, artists convey the tangible qualities of movement, sound, colours and texture by altering the raw materials they are in contact with. Through skillful choice and imagery, the artwork produced of this transformation evokes the emotional resonance that water evokes, from tranquility to awe, from beauty to chaos. Moreover, these artworks consider the interrelationship between water and human existence, revealing the interconnectedness of all living things.
Drawing parallels between water physical properties and human emotions, experiences, or ideas we aim to create a cohesive exhibition that discusses how the Atlantic Canadian Provinces’ craft community is connected; how “water ” connects both the culture and the landscape of the region.
Put your best work forward and let us know how it is connected with water “Here + Now”.
General Criteria:
– Submit an expression of interest to Craft Alliance Atlantic by deadline of July 2nd or earlier
– A jury of experts from our Atlantic provincial craft council partners and Craft Alliance will review all submissions and select a group of craft artists and possible alternates will be put forward to the Collect jury for consideration.
– A shortlist of craft artists will be selected after the Collect jury and the final exhibition participants are confirmed.
– Collect will advise on acceptance by early September, at which point we will advise those whose work was submitted, of their acceptance.
Consideration will be given to representation from all four Atlantic provinces, as well as medium, size and scale of work to be presented. Collect places a main focus on contemporary fine craft, so work must representative of their criteria and the curatorial direction for the Craft Alliance exhibition. All work shown at Collect, must be offered for sale. Prices must be in excess of £500.
Commitment: IF you are submitting to Craft Alliance and approved to participate in the exhibition, there is an expectation that you will follow through, as there are no secondary jury processes, if those approved, then decline, then the entire project will not be able to move forward.
Craft Specific Criteria:
Collect requires that all work shown at Collect be produced after January 1, 2020 and that 30% of work shown be produced since January 1, 2024. There is a possibility to show work made prior to these dates, however, it is the exception and older works would have to be related in context to the curatorial statement and the overall curated direction of the exhibition.
– Work shown at Collect must have not been previously shown at this or other current or previous exhibitions in the UK and work shown must not also be represented by another gallery or organization at the event.
– Must be actively producing new contemporary works that will be available in time for shipping to Collect 2025. Date to be determined – expected early January 2025.
– Based on our 2024 experience, work may have to be confirmed by mid-December, as photography, and other logistics take time to prepare.
– Established mid-career or emerging contemporary craft practitioner(s) currently living and working in Atlantic Canada, with a focus on a contemporary fine craft practice and with sufficient exhibition experience for COLLECT level exhibition.
– Participants must have high-quality images of current work, a current CV, artist biography and statement.
– It is preferred, but not required; that artist are either seeking gallery representation in the UK or Europe or other opportunities related to their studio practice.
The number of artists selected will depend on medium, size, scale of the work, along with the size and scale of the space allocated by Collect for the exhibition. We are looking at 8-12 artists from the region and the number of pieces of work may vary, again, based on space allocated by Collect.
Artists are not required to travel to London for Collect, however, we will be seeking funding assistance to cover a portion of travel costs. More details on this will be shared, once we have the jury and approval process with Collect completed.
A committee consisting of Craft Alliance senior staff and provincial craft council representatives will review all expressions of interest for suitability for participation in the exhibition. Artists and their work will be reviewed based on; previous exhibition experience, body of work and suitability for the Collect exhibition and readiness for an International export markets.
Expressions of Interest MUST be completed and submitted online through our dedicated Google Form, by the deadline. If you require assistance with that process, please contact us in advance of the deadline.
Apply Online at this link: https://forms.gle/DrJ74JDBD3ZgYFrv7
Please ensure you have the following information ready and available when completing your online submission. The Google Doc form can be saved as a PDF, you can also edit the form until the deadline.
1 – A short paragraph explaining how your work will respond to the intent of the curatorial statement. See curatorial statement.
2 – Name, Province, Nationality, Medium, Website or Social Media
3 – Website or Social Media: IMPORTANT NOTE – The Collect jury requires a website where there is a body of work is shown, it does not have to be your own site, it could be a gallery or other organization that has a dedicated space for your work as the Collect jury will look at other work done by you, besides the submitted images. When submitting your social media, please identify if it is a personal profile, work profile or other entity.
4 – Images of recent work – You MUST include with each image:
You must submit 3 Images. The images do not have to be the exact works to be shown at Collect, though they must be representative of current work.
The Google form, has a template for completing the upload and content for the images
Images must be 3MB in size or less
Images must be formatted as: .jpg, .jpeg, .png – type files
Image file names must be in the format: ARTISTNAME_NAMEOFPIECE_YYYY
Please send a separate list indicating the following: see template in google docs link
– Name of Piece
– Size of Work (in centimeters, CM’s ONLY)
– Year Made
– Materials/Description
– Price in Canadian Dollars
– Photographer Credit
5 – A current CV, Artist statement and Biography is required
6 – Contact information – phone, home address and email
For further information please contact:
Bernard Burton, Executive Director – Craft Alliance Atlantic bernard@craftalliance.ca
Craft Alliance Atlantic Assoc