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The Shock of the Now - Issue #86
Afternoon All,
I hope you’re all well and welcome to Issue 86 of The Shock of the Now.
A change to regular proceedings this week, as following a handful of requests and in honour of Slade’s BA & BFA presentations opening tomorrow, I bring you The Shock of the Now’s inaugural Degree Show special edition! I’ve compiled degree presentation dates for London’s eight premier art schools, all accurate at the time of print. As is sometimes the case, these dates are subject to change and further preview evenings are currently TBC, so I recommend keeping an eye on each institution’s own social media or newsfeeds. Otherwise, enjoy the fruits our finest and freshest art students have to offer over the next few months!
Alongside, there are five fresh Artist Opportunities, and Recommended Exhibitions will return next week.
I hope you enjoy Issue 86, and if so do forward it along! As always any questions, comments or feedback are welcome, so feel free to get in touch.
All the best, and speak soon, H x
Camberwell College of Arts
BA Fine Art: Drawing, BA Fine Art: Painting, BA Fine Art: Photography, BA Fine Art: Sculpture, BA Graphic Design, BA Illustration, BA Interior and Spatial Design & Graduate Diploma Illustration: 9th-17th June (Preview Monday 12th June, 6-9pm)
MA Fine Art & MA Illustration: 3rd-8th July (Preview Tuesday 4th July, 6-9pm)
Central Saint Martins
BA Fashion Communication: 25th-31st May
BA Art, Design, Materials, Innovation and Culture: 15th-18th June
Postgraduate Art: 28th June-2nd July
Chelsea College of Art & Design
BA Fine Art, BA Graphic Design Communication, BA Interior Design, BA Product and Furniture Design, BA Textile Design, Graduate Diploma Fine Art, Graduate Diploma Graphic Design, Graduate Diploma Interior Design & Graduate Diploma Textile Design: 9th-17th June (Preview Thursday 8th June, 6-9pm)
MA Fine Art and MA Curating and Collections: 4th-9th July (Preview Monday 3rd July, 6-9pm)
City & Guilds of London Art School
BA Fine Art, Conservation and Carving: 24th-30th June (Preview Friday 23rd June, 6-9pm)
MA Fine Art, Art & Material Histories, Conservation and Carving: 2nd-9th September
Goldsmiths
BA Fine Art, BA Fine Art & History of Art & BA Media: 23rd-26th June (Preview Thursday 22nd June, 6-9pm)
MFA Fine Art, MA Artists' Film & Moving Image, MA Art & Ecology and Graduate Diploma in Art: 21st-25th July (Preview Thursday 20th July, 6-9pm)
MA/MFA Computational Arts (St James Hatcham): 31st August-4th September
MA Digital Media and MA Photography: 13th-16th July
MA Theatre & Performance: 28th June-1st July
Royal Academy Schools
RA Schools Show 2023: 8th-25th June
Royal College of Art
RCA2023 (MA1) at RCA Battersea w. School of Arts & Humanities (Ceramics & Glass, Contemporary Art Practice, Curating Contemporary Art, Jewellery & Metal, Painting, Photography, Print, Sculpture, Writing & History of Design) + School of Design (Design Products & Fashion): 30th June-3rd July
RCA2023 (MA1) at RCA Kensington w. School of Architecture (City Design, Interior Design & Environmental Architecture), School of Communication (Animation, Digital Direction, Information Experience Design & Visual Communication) & School of Design (Service Design & Textiles): 30th June-3rd July
RCA2023 (MA2) at The Truman Brewery, Shoreditch w. School of Architecture, School of Arts & Humanities, School of Communication & School of Design: 13th-16th July
Slade School of Fine Art
BA & BFA: 19th-25th May (Preview 18th May, 6-9pm)
MA, MFA & PhD: 10th-18th June
Artist Opportunities:
Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023, National Portrait Gallery. Deadline - Monday 22nd May.
The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize returns to the Gallery in St Martin’s Place after three years. This Prize is one of the most important and anticipated photography competitions in the world and a showcase for both celebrated professionals and talented amateurs. It’s always a highlight of the National Portrait Gallery’s year – and is a must-see for anyone interested in contemporary photography. The competition is open to everyone aged 18 and over, whether professional, a talented amateur or an exciting emerging artist. Photographers are encouraged to interpret ‘portrait’ in its widest sense, with photography focused on portraying people with an emphasis on their identity as individuals, with prizes ranging from £2,000 to £15,000.
Open Call, Plop Residency. Deadline - Friday 26th May.
PLOP is a London-based artist residency with studio visits from industry professionals. Plop studios are based in East London near Bethnal Green. PLOP has provided studio space and mentorship to over 65+ international artists since 2018, from 4 different continents and 14 different countries. PLOP is a community-driven project. Each month, 2 artists work together in the free studio space, finishing in a curated exhibition. Plop is excited that we are offering six residency spaces for July, August & December (Within your application, please indicate which month(s) you are available).
Open Call, Solo Residency, Unit 1 Gallery | Workshop. Deadline - Monday 29th May.
Unit 1 Gallery | Workshop is offering one artist access for three months to one of its spectacular 350 ft² (35m²) studio spaces, with both natural and professional lighting. Working above the gallery space, the successful applicant has the opportunity to network with artists, curators, collectors and the wider public whilst visiting ongoing exhibitions and events organised in the gallery. The residency programme also provides guidance and promotion through our channels and network, as well as the Solo Residency Exhibition organised in the studio space upstairs. (Residency 19th June – 1st September 2023, with a Solo Residency Exhibition from 7th -17th September)
Open Call, The FLAMIN Fellowship 2023-2024. Deadline - Tuesday 30th May.
Film London and Arts Council England present The FLAMIN Fellowship, a major scheme for early-career artist filmmakers living in England. Part of Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network (FLAMIN), the Fellowship aims to support the most exciting, innovative and challenging moving image practices from filmmakers at the early stages of their careers, with development and funding for new work. The FLAMIN Fellowship offers a unique opportunity in developing professional artistic practice with a series of monthly workshops, which cover key areas including selling artwork, film festival strategy, writing funding applications, archiving your work, sound design, insurance, copyright and sustaining a practice.
Open Call, The Photographers’ Gallery New Talent 23. Deadline - Sunday 4th June.
TPG New Talent 23 (TNT 23) is a unique platform to showcase new talent and support the most exciting and relevant UK-based emerging artists working in photography today. This year, six finalists will be selected from an open call by acclaimed artist Hoda Afshar and Karen McQuaid, Senior Curator at The Photographers’ Gallery. Now in its third edition, TNT 23 offers each finalist a bursary of £1,500, a year-long mentorship with a photographer or industry professional, the chance to work with the creative team at An Endless Supply on a bespoke exhibition website, and see your work at large-scale on a billboard in London and your hometown, supported by our partner Jack Arts, part of BUILDHOLLYWOOD.
‘Desire Paths’ Open Call, Turf Projects. Deadline - Tuesday 6th June.
Desire Paths (19 August 2023 – 25 November 2023) is Turf Projects’ Croydon London Borough of Culture flagship project and part of Turf’s year exploring the theme ‘DEMYSTIFICATION’. A satellite arts festival across Croydon, the project aims to explore how communities and creatives can shape the spaces and places around them, with a focus on disused and underused spaces around the borough. Desire Paths will be led by artists, organisations or collectives chosen by open call. The project will start with a symposium event at Turf and then unfold and expand across Croydon via the projects commissioned through this open call. The open call will result in three large commissions (£5000 fee + £3000 production budget each) and six small commissions (£1000 fee + £500 production budget each). Turf Projects are also looking for expressions of interest from those in publication production.
Founded in 2017, ARCAthens is a not-for-profit organization offering two Athens Residency Fellowships (Visual Art and Curatorial). These fully-funded opportunities enable artists, curators, and scholars to live/work in Athens, Greece, and be immersed in—and consequently respond to—the ongoing cultural renaissance taking place here. The program has been lauded for providing promotional services and robust elective networking such as arranged studio and private collection visits, bespoke tours of institutions, as well as participation in varied community events. Residency Duration: Monday, October 2 – Monday, November 27 2023.
Open Call, Supported Commissions, Deptford X. Deadline - Sunday 11th June.
Deptford X Supported is back again this year with funding for 3 projects to be commissioned for the 2023 Deptford X festival. Deptford X Supported is open to early-career Black and People of Colour artists from the London Borough of Lewisham who have not previously received a commission for their work. Their project will be chosen by a panel of professional artists and art professionals and selected artists will receive a fee, a production budget and curatorial support to produce their work for this year’s Deptford X festival. All applicants, regardless of whether their project is selected, will be invited to attend free artist development workshops. Deptford X are open to all kinds of projects from installations, public realm works, films, performances, happenings, workshops, interventions, and other kinds of art project that will contribute to 2023’s 10 day festival.
Open Call, British Ceramics Biennial Fresh 2023. Deadline - Sunday 11th June.
Applications for British Ceramics Biennial Fresh 2023 are now open. The Fresh exhibition celebrates and promotes emerging talent in contemporary ceramics in the UK and Ireland. Twenty-five exhibitors will be selected by a panel composed of young-people, artists, makers, educators and learning designers. Fresh will be situated at the heart of the 2023 British Ceramics Biennial festival programme of exhibitions, projects and engagement. Each exhibitor in Fresh will receive a £300 exhibition payment and £50 towards the transport of the work to and from the exhibition venue. Fresh exhibitors will benefit from a national PR and marketing campaign. Exhibitors in Fresh will also be eligible for the Fresh Talent Awards.
Freelands Award 2023, Freelands Foundation. Deadline - Monday 12th June.
The annual Freelands Award was established in 2016 to enable a UK arts organisation to present a solo exhibition, including significant new work, by a mid-career woman artist who may not yet have received the acclaim or public recognition that her work deserves. The award is open to art organisations across the United Kingdom, including London, for a total of £110k, which includes a fee of £30k for the artist. There are nominee awards of £10k each – including a £3k artist fee – for shortlisted organisations
The Hari Art Prize 2023, A Space For Art. Deadline - Friday 30th June.
Applications are now open for The Hari Art Prize 2023, in collaboration with A Space For Art, celebrating the global roster of artistic talents attracted to London. The award will be open to all applicants who are self-taught or have graduated in the last two years (2021-2023) from UK art colleges from 3rd April until 30 June 2023 via A Space For Art’s website. A shortlist of artists will then be chosen by the judging panel, and once shortlisted, artists will have their individual pieces exhibited throughout the hotel from 1 September 2023 until January 2024. The three finalists will then be announced at a VIP award event at The Hari in November 2023. The winner will be presented with a £10,000 cash prize, kindly donated by The Hari’s CEO and Chairman, Dr. Aron Harliela, and the two runners-up will become The Hari’s Artists in Residence for 2024, taking over a room each for the month of January, followed by an exhibition of their work in The Hari’s public spaces.
The Contemporary British Painting Prize 2023. Deadline - Friday 30th June.
‘Contemporary British Painting’ (also known as CBP) is an artist-led organisation which explores and promotes current trends in British painting through group exhibitions, talks, publications, and by placing paintings in art museums. The Contemporary British Painting Prize Exhibition 2023 will be selected from an open call for contemporary painters working in the UK. The prize is in two stages: shortlisting for the exhibition; and judging. A minimum of twelve artists will be shortlisted to exhibit by a panel of four painter members of the artist-led group Contemporary British Painting. The panel of judges will select one prizewinner and one highly commended painter from the CBP Prize exhibition at Huddersfield. The winner will receive £8000, a catalogue essay on their work, an invitation to become a member of Contemporary British Painting as well as a selector for the CBP Prize 2024.
Michael O’Pray Prize 2023, Film and Video Umbrella & Art Monthly. Deadline - Monday 3rd July.
Submissions are open for the 2023 Michael O’Pray Prize, an award for new writing on innovation and experimentation in the moving image. There is a £750 prize for the winner, with £350 prizes for two further awardees. This year’s judging panel includes writer/filmmakers Kondo Heller and Juliet Jacques. Named in memory of the critic, historian and film programmer, Michael O’Pray, the Prize is open to all early-career writers based in the UK. Entry is free. Applicants are invited to send a short pitch for a new text, alongside an example of previous writing. All awarded texts will be published by Art Monthly and FVU.