whitespace814

Discussions (0) Opportunities (2) Events (0) Jobs (0)
OPPORTUNITY

Short Shorts 2015: Video Festival


Deadline:
Fri Jul 03, 2015 12:59

Location:
Atlanta, Georgia
United States of America

Submissions Deadline: July, 3rd 2015 11:59 PM, EST
Notifications: week of July 20th
Submission format:
EMAIL: gallery@whitespace814.com
SUBJECT LINE: Short Shorts 2015, submission
Include 1 PDF attachment.

Whitespace Gallery is proud to announce the 2015 edition of the Short Shorts video festival with the title Somebody Else’s Problem, and guest curated by Rachel Reese.

Selected video works will be shown at Whitespace Gallery in Atlanta, GA on August 13, 2015. A DVD anthology presenting the selected video works and their authors will accompany the exhibition.

Application Instructions:
There is no entry fee.
Works must be shorter than 10 minutes in entirety, no exceptions.
Each author may submit only one work.

Application Format:
Please submit 1 PDF document with the following:
-Contact information (name, email, mailing address, artist website-if applicable)
-Link to video via youtube or vimeo ONLY (1 video/submission)
-Video statement/description (300 words or less)
-3 video stills with caption information (72 dpi and 1000 pixels on largest side, within PDF)
PDF not to exceed 2mb.

2015 Festival Prompt

Somebody Else’s Problem

The 2015 Short Shorts prompt uses the lens of the psychological effect known as “Somebody Else’s Problem,” or SEP, as a method to explore reactions and responses to recent American political and social events, particularly current, galvanizing American police brutality and racial discrimination cases. With protests and demonstrations fueling renewed national civil rights concerns, many of us are wondering what actions can make an impact, how to be involved, and how to transfer our individual passivity from SEP syndrome into collective forward action.

Are there connections between the ways we access and share information online, and individual civic engagement thresholds? Specifically, has instantaneous access to digital information and imagery contributed to a state of mere voyeuristic empathy, or even learned helplessness? Overload of visual information can create an environment of apathy and also a false sense of public engagement through passive forms. Does being able to see more conversely contribute to less experiential involvement by allowing screen viewing to stand in for actual bodies in real space? Does it overwhelm any desire for curiosity or engagement? We want to read, see, and learn more, but simultaneously we are restless: attention spans and comprehension rates are rapidly diminishing.

The images we see and share online are of real people in real time and space, happening “live”. Or are they? With the ever-rising influence of the media, questioning who owns and controls information is integral to discussing voice within our democratic system. Which platforms—social media, the Internet, traditional print media—do we believe to be reliable? How has the global ubiquity of smart phones, illuminated, or alternatively hindered, the distribution and perception of current political events – especially those most recently related to abuse of police power and structural racism.

How do we transfer collective energy and motivation into thinking about isolated or localized events as “somebody else’s problem” into collective societal motivations and wants? And then how do we fight against an oligarchal system masquerading as democracy in order to start real conversations and, ultimately, change?

We’re interested in representing video forms in all media, demanding a critical assessment of the systems of information and visualization we have established. What is the artist’s role in shaping public discourse, public outcry, public protest? What is the citizen’s responsibility to engage in radical political ideologies?

We seek short films and video works (no more than 10 minutes) from authors that explore and challenge ideas presented in this prompt, as well as works that open the conversation to include other related social concerns such as housing discrimination and food justice. We encourage submissions from a plurality of viewpoints, methods and forms, from artists, documentarians, students, citizens and amateurs alike.


OPPORTUNITY

Short Shorts: PRESENTISM


Deadline:
Sat Jul 05, 2014 17:00

Location:
Atlanta, Georgia
United States of America

Presentism is a philosophy of time that states nothing in the past or future exists. The only reality is the present moment, which is redefined. A moment is no longer like the blade of a knife, gone the instant it is felt. Rather, it is an extended duration of conscious experience. Reality is also redefined. The world is no longer characterized as a set of historic and anticipated facts, as in "once and for all." The presentist defines reality as a world that relies on constant survey. And when events happen in multiple places simultaneously, they are part of the same reality.

We seek short films and video works (no more than 10 minutes) from filmmakers and artists that explore the following: How do we experience the present? What events today constitute a sense of the present? What activities constitute a constant survey of facts and ideas? How is the concept of presentism expanded globally in the era of live data? How does the moving image define a duration of extended consciousness? In what ways might the human condition change if removed from the past and the future? All genres will be accepted including documentary, narrative, animation and experimental.

FOLLOWING REVIEW AND SELECTION, FILMMAKERS WILL BE NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL IF THEIR FILM HAS BEEN ACCEPTED.

ACCEPTED FILMS ARE DUE AT THE GALLERY NO LATER THAN AUGUST 1ST.

About whitespace
Whitespace is a contemporary gallery active in Atlanta and across the southeast that seeks to foster an immersive environment of free-expression, intimacy, and dialogue. Under the direction of owner Susan Bridges, the gallery has housed numerous exhibitions across all mediums promoting artistic innovation and inquiries into the relationships that define who we are, both collectively and as individuals. As a respected institution in Atlanta’s art community, whitespace and the artists it houses continue to inspire all who attend through thoughtful examinations of the world around us, allowing viewers a new mode of seeing beyond meaning.

About the Curator
After studying psychology, journalism and fine art, Ruth Dusseault began her career at the Georgia Institute of Technology before teaching cross-discipline art studios at Emory University. She has curated exhibitions for the Carnegie Museum's Avery Center for Architecture, the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center and the District of Columbia Art Center. She has published numerous features for Art Papers and other national journals. Her own work explores experimental documentary practice through film, photography and installation. It falls at the intersection of geography, ethnography and media studies, recording utopian expressions as they enter the built environment. She has won awards from several institutions including the National Endowment for the Arts and the Artadia Foundation.