OPEN CALL – WITH DOORS CLOSED ARTISTS GO VIRAL 2

Medrar for Contemporary Art is excited to launch the second edition of “With doors closed artists go viral”. This time, it expands its program and virtual reach not only to Egyptians but also Arab artists.  

The first edition was held last May-June 2020, inspired by the ambition to boost the unheard artistic need of expression of artists grappling with ongoing global issues. An online program of live art performances gave the young participants the opportunity to come forth by performing live in front of global virtual audiences. https://staging.medrar.org/doors/

Following the success of the first edition, with this new edition, Medrar hopes to encourage cultural exchange among Arab artists, acknowledge, award, and promote outstanding performances created by artists through a wide variety of interdisciplinary approaches, and engage regional and international audiences. 

In this prolonged period of global and regional uncertainty and distress in which we are asked to reinvent ourselves, Medrar calls for artists to reimagine formats for artistic expression and invites them to present their most recent and innovative ideas for performances to stage live through Medrar’s online platforms. Applicants are invited to take creative approaches to performing arts – whether in an apartment or artist’s studio or an open space – and encouraged to collaborate with other participants and the public through shared online spaces. Artists are invited to reflect on the novelties – whether challenges or benefits – entailed by conceiving a site-specific work in a non-arts environment, and explore notions of space and situatedness in relation to their artistic practice, as well as to experiment and push beyond the physical borders of participation and interaction with the audience.  

Questioning the idea that the digital world is disrupting human connections, Medrar motivates artists to explore and benefit from available digital technologies to bring new enriching perspectives to arts practices. It may be surprising how performing live could be both artistically inspiring and an effective human way for people to connect, express themselves and share interests, perceptions, thoughts, and tastes. 

“With doors closed, artists go viral 2” online program will run from November to December, showcasing to Medrar’s social media platforms a variety of live performances by emerging and defining voices of contemporary art and culture in the Arab world. 

 GUIDELINES AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: 

• The call is open to Arab artists living in the Arab region or elsewhere 
• The call does not impose any age limit and welcomes participants from all genders, backgrounds, and religions 
• There are no theme or discipline restrictions. The selection criteria will be based on originality, creativity, and authenticity of the proposed performances. The program selection will encourage a variety of genres and disciplines. 
• The proposed performance can range from theater, dance, music, lectures, spoken word, circus arts etc, and/or incorporate some or all of these through an interdisciplinary approach. 
• The duration of the performance should not be less than 15 minutes and not exceed 40 minutes 
• You can present a new creation or a readaptation of a performance you created and/or staged not before 2019. 
• The selected artists will not be allowed to pre-record their performance and share it. They must perform live in front of a camera using any of the software suggested by Medrar to go live to Medrar’s Facebook account. 
• The artist(s) can complement their live performance with additional online material, such as videos, photos, and written content. 
• The selected artists living in Egypt will have the possibility to be supervised by an expert technician, who will provide technical support with the preparation and setting up, in order to ensure the best quality possible for the live performance. The setting up will be either done at the location chosen by the artist or at Medrar’s premises according to the artist’s preference and the logistic capacity of the place in terms of internet connection and devices. 
• Medrar will support artists with a symbolic fee for each performance(regardless of the number of artists involved) provided after the end of the program

To apply, the applicants are required to fill the application form including all the required material. 

-Only applicants whose artworks are selected to participate in the exhibition will be notified via email, no later than 4 November 2020.

 Apply here 

For any questions regarding the application contact: victoria@medrar.org 

The deadline for receiving applications is 21 October 2020 

We’re looking forward to seeing your new artistic creations!