Herland III: The Body Resilient

Resiliency is our ability to rebound from times of stress, misfortune, and difficulty and 2020 was one heck of a difficult year.

Devastating bushfires, drought and just when our heads were turned towards environmental destruction, COVID-19 dropped in like a dirty bomb. How have we coped and how have we adapted to these strange and uncertain times we now find ourselves in? Where do you place yourself in this so-called new normal? Where were you during the lockdown/s? Did geography impact you? Who were you with? Or were you alone? Did you move to a new house? Was your job impacted? Did COVID-19 inspire you? Or did it stifle your creativity? How many books have you or haven’t you read since March? As a Woman, was your emotional, financial, personal safety impacted?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines resilience as “Rebounding; recoiling; returning to the original position” and “Tending to recover quickly or easily from misfortune, shock, illness, or the like; buoyant, irrepressible; adaptable, robust, hardy.”

“Resilience is frequently characterized as the ability of something or someone to return to its original shape after it has been pulled, stretched, pressed, or bent. It is understood as the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused by compressive stress. Resilience, in sum, revolves around shock absorption.”~Sarah Bracke

But can we return our original shape? Or must we go forward into an unknown and uncertain future? How will you go forward? What will it look like for you?

We are calling for entries to the third iteration of Herland, an ongoing art project which provides a welcoming and inclusive space for Women artists and creatives to exhibit and explore their work. In March 2020 we found ourselves heavily impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions and as a result made the difficult decision to close our doors one week after opening the Herland II - Our Land exhibition. In 2021 the opening of Herland III will closely align with the one year anniversary of the COVID-19 lockdown and we would like to make it a celebration; of survival; of resilience; of remembrance for those who are no longer with us and we would like to turn our heads towards the future, to the new normal.

We accept all mediums of art practice and we encourage you to think outside of your usual parameters, i.e. sculptural, digital, performance, and sound as well as works on canvas and paper. Applications are welcome from professional, mid-career, and emerging Women artists Australia wide and beyond. The Women’s Library aims to provide a platform that is inclusive to all Women artists and creatives.

 

IMPORTANT APPLICATION INFORMATION

To apply please submit a brief artist statement detailing your work including the concept, medium, dimensions and any special requirements. Please include up to three images of your proposed work, previous works indicative of practice, plans or drawings for works as yet unmade. Include a brief artist CV, your website address and artist social media pages (Instagram, Facebook). In your proposal you should consider how the work will interact and stand within the existing infrastructure of The Women’s Library (which is a functioning public library space) and how it responds directly to the theme of Herland III: The Body Resilient.

For further information and any questions regarding applications please contact Freÿa Black at exhibitions@thewomenslibrary.org.au

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Click the [ Register & Apply ] button in the top right corner to start your entry. You can submit information any time before the closing date.
If you are already registered on this site, but are having trouble signing in, please contact Artcall Support (support [at] artcall.org).