The “Gnezdo” Gallery is announcing an award competition for an artistic exhibition concept! Awards will be given in two categories, one of which is dedicated to young artists, with a total prize fund of 125,000 RSD!
Applications are open for individuals, associations, and informal groups, and should contain an artistic concept for an exhibition activity in the fields of visual arts and performance.
Artists are invited to submit the concept for an entire exhibition and/or performance, rather than already existing works, because “Gnezdo” aims to encourage and support new ideas and productions, viewing art as an invitation to reflection and dialogue.
The exhibition concept should be elaborated in detail in written form and, if necessary, supplemented with sketches, photos of works, ideas related to the catalogue, or accompanying activities that would contextualize the exhibition. Such a clearly defined artistic concept, together with a short biography of the author or exhibitor, should be submitted electronically to akc.gnezdo@gmail.com with the subject line: “Application for the AKC ‘Gnezdo’ Gallery Open Call for the 2024/25 Season”.
The four-member council of the AKC “Gnezdo” gallery will evaluate each application according to the following criteria:
– Interaction with the unique technical, physical, and value-based characteristics of the AKC “Gnezdo” exhibition space (applications that thoughtfully engage with the value system upheld by “Gnezdo,” as well as those striving to visually integrate into the specific exhibition space, will receive the highest scores. The gallery’s tendency is to develop its visual potential and to keep its value system permanently within the prism of artistic consideration.)
– Re-examining the relationship between author – artwork – audience (applications in which this relationship remains classical and standard will receive the fewest points, while those in which the audience is placed in the role of creator, and where active audience participation in interpretation or even creation of the artwork is expected, will receive the highest scores. AKC “Gnezdo” aims to be not only a cultural but also a social center, involving its community in the creative process and developing the community’s creative potential as directly and extensively as possible.)
– Re-examining the relationship between artistic production and contemporary society in the Balkans (applications that do not reflect on the position and role of art in modern society will receive the fewest points, while those that deeply and objectively explore this relationship will receive the highest scores. AKC “Gnezdo” seeks to actively reflect on the role and position of creativity in today’s society.)
The expert council of the AKC “Gnezdo” gallery consists of:
– Luka Knežević – Strika, freelance artist and cultural worker
– Marko Đorđević
– Kaća Dimitrijević, independent artist, program coordinator of AKC “Gnezdo,” cultural worker
– Nenad Dimitrijević
Only applications received before May 15, 2024, will be considered. The council will strive to inform all applicants about the status of their application and may ask additional questions related to the proposal. The results of the open call will be published no later than June 15, 2024, on the AKC “Gnezdo” website and social media channels, and all applicants will be individually informed.
We emphasize that applicants should submit an exhibition concept, not the artworks themselves. It is possible to apply with works that are in progress or not yet started. Finished works may also be submitted, but they must be placed within a new context and given new meaning different from previous exhibitions. We encourage all applicants to be as explicit as possible in explaining how their proposal relates to the competition criteria.
Awards will be granted through this open call. The application with the highest number of points will receive 65,000 RSD, along with coverage of travel expenses for exhibitors, production costs for new and in-progress works, and exhibition production costs (materials, catalogue printing, fuel, bus tickets, artwork delivery costs, etc.) up to 30,000 RSD. The second and third prizes will include coverage for exhibition production and travel expenses for exhibitors (up to 30,000 RSD). The awarded concepts are expected to be realized, while exhibition dates will be negotiated after the final decision on awarded applications.
The open call has been supported by the European Endowment for Democracy.