Annual call for submissions

THIS CALL IS NOW CLOSED

The FOFA Gallery is not taking submissions for projects to be presented with our gallery until 2024.

Details from previous Call:

We accept submissions in various forms, and applicants from all levels of practice are encouraged to apply. Proposals could be for:

• individual visual art pieces or solo/group exhibitions
• written and visual research, publications, curatorial proposals
• conferences, workshops, screening programs
• film and video art, digital art, sound art, audio-visual explorations
• residencies, educational programming, performances
• online projects
• any other form of work

We are happy to review and discuss new ideas.

Eligibility

This call is open to current and past graduate students, faculty, staff, and alumni from the Concordia University Faculty of Fine Arts including those from Art Education, Art History, Contemporary Dance, Creative Art Therapies, Design and Computation Arts, Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, Music, Studio Arts, and Theatre programs.

Undergraduate students are invited to apply for our annual Undergraduate Student Exhibition or the annual Graduating Students’ Exhibitions.

The FOFA Gallery is committed to paying exhibition fees to all artists, curators, and cultural workers. We offer hands-on technical and curatorial support with installation, and we can provide basic tools, display furniture, painting supplies, and some media equipment. If you need specialized equipment, technicians, or assistance to present your project, please indicate this in your proposal and check with us in advance to see what is feasible. If you need additional financial resources to present your project, we can also offer letters of confirmation and support with grant-writing.   

We provide professional documentation of each exhibition as well as promotional material and presence on our website and social media platforms. Opportunities for artist talks, tours, publications and educational programming can be explored on a case-by-case basis. We have a limited budget and can occasionally offer modest funds for shipping and travel.

If you have any questions about whether your project is suitable for our space, please get in touch before submitting your application. You can also consult our past exhibitions to see the kinds of projects we’ve presented before.

Our indoor exhibition spaces are comprised of the Main Gallery, the Sainte-Catherine Street Vitrine, the Black Box, and the York Corridor Vitrines.

The FOFA Gallery’s outdoor spaces include the exterior wall of the gallery (the ‘Image Grid’) suitable for large-scale banners and projections, and the Courtyard space directly outside of the gallery. 

Applicants are invited to visit the FOFA Gallery during opening hours.

Projects will be selected based on artistic impact, feasibility, and the scope and clarity of the project statement. The committee will also strive for balanced representations of diverse communities and media. 

The FOFA Gallery selection committee (composed of Faculty, Staff, and Students) will jury the submissions and aim to notify applicants within 2 months of the submission date.

Successful proposals from this call will be presented between Spring 2024 and Fall 2025. Presentations vary in length but are generally between 4 and 8 weeks in duration. We are also open to proposals for longer-term installations in the Courtyard or short-term events such as performances and talks.

If you have any questions about the application process or need specific accommodations to help you succeed in applying, please get in touch at info.fofagallery@concordia.ca.

Guidelines

• Please submit a CV, Artist statement and project proposal, and up to 15 items of support material (10 images + 5 additional files) to show/describe the work or project that you would like to present.
  • If the work is not yet made, please provide sketches, references, or documentation of relevant past work.
• Any linked content (video, audio, etc.) must be viewable for at least 1 month after the deadline. Please include passwords for password protected content.
• Applicants are encouraged to consider the physical spaces of the FOFA Gallery and indicate which space would be most suitable for their needs. 
• If you a have a preferred timeframe for when you would like to present your project, please indicate this in your application.
• Please indicate whether you have exhibited at the FOFA Gallery before.
• Submissions will be accepted in either French or English.

Submissions must include:

• Curriculum vitae including contact information and Concordia ID (if available) for the applicant(s)
• Artist statement and project proposal (max. 2 pages), include space requested and technical requirements. Provide details about any assistance needed from gallery staff in order to install/present the work. If your project is not exhibition-based (conference/workshop/residency/etc.), please use these 2 pages to describe your proposed project (include rough budget, timeline and required support)
• Support material:
  • Maximum of 10 digital images – JPEG images only, MAC formatted. Images should be 72 dpi 1024×768 max.
  • Maximum of 2 video OR 2 audio recordings, no longer than 3 minutes each (if longer please indicate section to be viewed).
  • Supplementary materials are optional and could include sample writing, press/reviews, sketches, 3D mockups, or extra information about your submission. 
  • Please label all files with the following format: number_artistsname_title, for example: 01_jsterbak_vanitas.jpg
• Descriptive list of included materials with artist(s) name, title, date, media and size/duration.

The FOFA Gallery is working towards dismantling barriers in its work, structure and programming. It is our aim to create an environment where individuals with diverse backgrounds and knowledge are valued and welcomed.

We strongly encourage, among others, Black, Indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC), people with disabilities, people identifying as 2SLGBTQIAP+, formerly incarcerated or institutionalized people, immigrants, and people from working class backgrounds to apply. 

As part of our commitment to anti-racist and decolonial ways of working, we recognize that whiteness carries immense privileges which shield white and white-passing artists from the marginalization that racialized artists have faced from and within arts institutions. We also recognize that the term 'BIPOC' and other acronyms can flatten nuances of identity, and that experiences of privilege and discrimination are intersectional and complex. 

Should they wish, applicants may self-identify as belonging to an equity-seeking group and/or describe the unique contributions that they, as individuals with diverse experiences, would bring to the FOFA Gallery.

Our heartfelt gratitude goes to the team at the VAV Gallery who have generously shared their Equity process and Anti-Oppression Statement with us and allowed us to adapt parts of it here.