We are now accepting proposals for our 2021 programming!
We are thrilled and thankful to provide another season of exhibition opportunities for local and regional early-career artists.
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DEADLINE for submissions EXTENDED TO:
Sunday, March 28th @ 11:59 pm EST
ABOUT THE JURORS
Ashley Page
Ashley Page is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Portland, ME. She presently holds a BFA in Sculpture and a Minor in Public Engagement from Maine College of Art (MECA). As a maker, a woman of color, a community organizer, a little sister, and a daughter, she creates space for dialogue, intergenerational exchange, and creative expression. She currently works at Indigo Arts Alliance, as their Studio and Programs Coordinator where she is able to learn within the intersection of art and activism. In spring 2020, she was awarded the Heart and Soul Student Award by Maine Campus Compact for her D.E.I work as a student. In 2018 - 2019, she was a Warren Public Engagement Fellow at MECA with Alejandra Cuadra where they collaboratively created an artistic philosophy of representation, diversity, equity, and justice. Her curatorial and studio practice has been seen in the Center for Afrofuturist Studies, The Abyssinian Meeting House, The Portland Public Library, Congress Square Park, Able Baker Contemporary, New System Exhibitions, Engine, and more.
Gelsey Amelia is a gay, white, multi-disciplinary artist, a founding member of New Fruit art collective, and 1/3 of the performance group Cavatica. She has spent the past 10 years focusing on the creation of collectively-run spaces, striving to work beyond the often elitist & constricting “art world” by organizing & curating accessible, experimental opportunities and experiences for all outsiders — especially queers and freaks. With installation, movement, video, and illustration, Gelsey’s current work explores healing through themes of transmutation, ritual, dualities, mythology, ancestry, liminal spaces, the passage of time, and utopian/dystopian visions. Capricorn sun, Cancer rising, Virgo moon :-*
Gelsey Amelia
Jenna Crowder
Jenna Crowder is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, and editor working in publication, installation, criticism, and curation as modes of public practice. She is interested in writing as a visual practice and language as a site of collaboration and performance. Jenna is the Co-Founding Editor of The Chart, an online arts journal that celebrates slow publishing, regionally-specific critical artistic dialogue, and IRL conversation as a form of publishing. Her writing has appeared in such publications as Art Papers, Boston Art Review, The Brooklyn Rail, BURNAWAY, Liminalities: a journal of performance studies, Temporary Art Review, and The Rib, among other places. The exhibition Persephone in the Late Anthropocene, which Jenna co-curated with poet Megan Grumbling, is currently on view at the University of New England.
Veronica Perez (b. 1983) utilizes hair, kitschy, and other unconventional materials in my sculptural works - I create intense personal moments by means of material hybridization and ideals of beauty. Material fragility echoes sentiments of a lost self, and at the same time comments on contemporary Latinx and feminist issues. Recently, I have been working at the intersection of identity, vulnerability, protection, and power through the facade of dark absurdity using materials such as sugar, fake hair, chain link fences, and fake sunflowers.
Veronica Perez
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How long are exhibitions? When will exhibitions be held?Each exhibition will be 17 days long (open hours are Friday to Sunday, while Tuesday to Thursday are by appointment). Exhibitions will begin on June 4th and conclude in the early Fall.
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What events and programming accompany an exhibition at NSE?For all exhibitions in 2021 we have decided to forgo hosting opening and/or closing receptions. To facilitate dialogue between the artist and viewers, artists are encouraged (but not required) to sit for as many of the gallery’s open hours as they would like. We are also hoping to host a virtual artist talk for each exhibition, giving artists the chance to contextualize and discuss their work if desired.
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Can you apply as a collaborative for an exhibition or curated project?Yes! While NSE prioritizes solo exhibitions, we also accept curated exhibition proposals and proposals for exhibitions of work by collaborating artists. Keep in mind the limits of the New System space in your proposal.
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My work is in-progress. Would you rather see older, finished work or in-progress shots?"Perhaps both... Older work gives the jurors an idea of how developed your finished pieces can be, while works-in-progress show the ideas you're currently processing. If you include works-in-progress, make sure to be clear about what the finished project will look like, what your expectations are and some evidence that you can achieve what you're envisioning. A detailed sketch of your final vision will be a helpful inclusion. With any super-specific questions please feel free to reach out to us via email at newsystemexhibitions@gmail.com.
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How does New System divide the space for exhibitions? Can I apply for the full space (both Gallery A and B)?We prefer to hold two simultaneous solo/collaborative exhibitions: one in Gallery B and the other in Gallery A. While uncommon, we will consider allowing any proposal to use both Gallery A & B, depending on the necessity of the request. We also encourage any large-scale curation project (with numerous artists/ideas) to consider proposing using the full space. See gallery layout below, and feel free to use it to make mockups of your proposal submission. Also, check out pictures of past exhibtions to get a better feel for our space.
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If selected, can my exhibition evolve or differ from my submission?"Yes, of course! But please make sure your submission and any changes to it are made in good faith! At NSE we want you control your exhibition’s final product, giving you the platform and agency to put forth the exhibition you feel best about!
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When will I be notified?Mid to late April. Please be patient with us :)
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How is New System handling the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic?We will use a limited crew to help the artist(s) install their exhibition. As gallery sitters, we will enforce the basic safety protocols above and adhere to CDC and other advised institutional standards as they change. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us.
Frequently Asked Questions