A call for artists - In Case You Missed It

Be part of our celebration of UMIST. We are pleased to announce an open call for our winter exhibition 'In Case You Missed it'

With the forthcoming redevelopment of Manchester University's North Campus, formerly known as UMIST, we are likely to see many of its original 1960's modernist landmarks demolished or re-purposed and the finest cluster of modernist buildings in the city lost for good.

It is now over ten years since we unilaterally declared the campus a 'conservation area' during our uninvited aritst's residency and now the modernist will once again celebrate the site that marked the era's 'white heat of technology'.

the modernist will host an exhibition of artistic responses to the cultural, historical and personal impact that this important site has had on the city and beyond. Interested artists working in painting, drawing, graphics, digital art, film and photography are invited to apply for participation.

We want to hear from artists, creatives, past UMIST students and employees and lovers of concrete!

Selected artists will be given the opportunity to display and sell their work at the modernist, a central Manchester gallery & bookshop dedicated to modernist architecture and design.

There is no fee to submit your work, and we can not guarantee that every entry will be shown. An accompanying catalogue will be published which may include work not included in the exhibition due to very limited gallery space.

All work should respond to the history, heritage or buildings of the former UMIST campus.

How to enter the open call:

Email subs@modernist-society.org with the subject heading, #UMIST

Please include:

  • Your name and contact details
  • A short introduction about yourself/group 500 characters
  • A description and title of the artwork/s (we can only accept up to two pieces per person/group) 500 characters per piece
  • The size and medium of the art work/s (wall based artworks should be no wider than 100cm)
  • Display requirements e.g. fixings, access to mains etc
  • Send images of your work as a jpeg or similar
  • For digital or video work please send a link, no files sent will be accepted
  • Tell us if you would like your art work to be for sale and the price of the work
  • Please note we will add VAT on top of the wholesale/artist price and will take a 30% gallery commission of the artist price on any sales. Work will be held on consignment.

    Why the long gap between call out and exhibition? We want to give people time to gather or even make their work for the show. If it's the case that your work doesn't exist yet, please specify this in your email and try to answer the check points as best you can.

    Any questions contact subs@modernist-society.org

    Timescale:

    • Final deadline for submissions: 31.08.23
    • Selection: Sept 2023
    • Response to all artists by 30.09.23 
    • Artworks to be delivered to the modernist: by 20.10.23
    • Exhibition dates: 03.11.23 - 23.12.23
    • Unsold work to be collected by 31.01.24

    images:

    Feature image - Renold Bulding, Bill Ayres
    Multistorey Car Park - the modernist society
    Lego model of UMIST - Tony Bolton