The Shock of the Now - Issue #99

Afternoon All,

I hope you’re all well, and welcome to Issue 99 of The Shock of the Now.

This week there are eight weekly Recommended Exhibitions, as well as four fresh Artist Opportunities.

I hope you enjoy Issue 99, 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

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Recommended Exhibitions Opening This Week:

John Maclean - ‘New Paintings’ Solo Exhibition + Siân Newlove-Drew - ‘Tealoe’ Solo Exhibition - The approach, Bethnal Green (14th September - 28th October, opening Wednesday 13th September, 6-9pm)

The approach presents John Maclean’s solo exhibition ‘New Paintings’, as well as Siân Newlove-Drew’s solo exhibition ‘Tealoe’ in The Annexe.

“Landscapes seemed to be an obvious subject matter for Maclean to work with; growing up in the Scottish Highlands surrounded by dramatic, almost romantic, surroundings, he always had a strong relationship to the natural environment.” - The approach

“Meteorites are usually named after the area of which they fall. However, Tealoe is a meteorite named after teen sisters Te’Ara and Chloe. It fell in 2003, in Illinois, crashing into a family’s laundry basket in their basement. Tealoe is a metallic, rocky girl, a bruised, special sister protagonist. And telos, is the ancient Greek term for end.” - Siân Newlove-Drew

Narges Mohammadi & Laila Tara H - ‘Hastan (هستن)’ Two-Person Exhibition - Copperfield, Southwark (14th September - 10th November, opening Wednesday 13th September, 6-8:30pm)

Copperfield presents ‘Hastan (هستن)’, a two-person exhibition of work by Narges Mohammadi and Laila Tara H.

“The domestic is inherently political for both artists and carries within it the idea of a home or the lack of it, the idea of leisure time or the lack of it and the need to make ‘home’ in another country.” - Copperfield

Sonya Derviz - ‘Closer’ Solo Exhibition - Sherbet Green, Bethnal Green (15th September - 28th October, opening Thursday 14th September, 6-9pm)

Sherbet Green presents Sonya Derviz’s solo exhibition ‘Closer’.

“Shifting and layered, so often obliterated into her own dialect of soft chaos, Derviz’s compositions react to collated, ephemeral visual sources, from found drawings, illustrations, paintings and film stills. Focusing not on the image as a whole, but on the specific elements contained within it, she draws in and repeatedly readjusts these pictures until they dissipate into new metaphysical shapes.” - Sherbet Green

Rhiannon Rebecca Salisbury - ‘Matrescence’ Solo Exhibition - Unit 1 Gallery | Workshop, Latimer Road (15th - 30th September, opening Thursday 14th September, 6-9pm)

Unit 1 Gallery | Workshop presents Rhiannon Rebecca Salisbury’s solo exhibition ‘Matrescence’.

“‘Matrescence’ builds upon Rhiannon’s foundation but turns her focus inward, spotlighting the extraordinary journey of pregnancy. The three-month Solo Residency coincides with the latter part of Rhiannon’s gestation. Her pregnancy came to light only during the interview stage, as her selection for the residency was based solely on her artistic integrity. We were thrilled to champion a pregnant artist, using her work to initiate conversations about motherhood and artistic practice.” - Stacie McCormick

Bex Day - ‘Petal’ Book Launch & Solo Exhibition - Have A Butchers' Gallery, Dalston (15th September - 6th October, opening Thursday 14th September, 6:30-9pm)

Have A Butchers' Gallery presents Bex Day solo exhibition ‘Petal’, celebrating the release of the artist’s photobook. Alongside, a series of special evening workshops and events include an In Conversation with Bex Day and Gem Fletcher on the evening of 4th October (tickets here), as well as vulva casting workshops, ceramics by Bloom and Body and vulva life drawing.

“A bewitching celebration of the vulva, Petal is a daring addition to Day’s repertoire of provocative, boundary-pushing projects – seeking to challenge the damaging narratives and misconceptions enveloping female genitalia that have long been reinforced by cultural censorship, typecasting in porn and portrayals in mainstream media.” - Have A Butchers'

Rosalind Howdle - ‘Press Close Magnetic Night’ Solo Exhibition - Blue Shop Gallery, Oval (14th September - 1st October, opening Thursday 14th September, 6-9pm)

Blue Shop Gallery presents Rosalind Howdle’s solo exhibition ‘Press Close Magnetic Night’.

“Figuration is alive. The constant metamorphoses of painting mimic processes of biology, processes that run as a current through Howdle’s work: evolution, reproduction, self-repair. She paints growth: a germinating seed, a splitting chromosome. Emergent forms exist between the botanical and the animal, the microscopic and the cosmic.” -

Remi Ajani - ‘it's not what you look at...it's what you see’ Solo Exhibition - Sid Motion, South Bermondsey (15th September - 21st October, opening Thursday 14th September, 6-8pm)

Sid Motion presents Remi Ajani’s solo exhibition ‘it's not what you look at...it's what you see’.

“The paintings in the exhibition have been made since the start of the year, and many finished since Ajani’s residency at The Villa Lena Foundation, Tuscany earlier this summer. Ajani practice is an exploration of the language between figuration and abstraction.” - Sid Motion

Rafał Zajko - ‘Clocking Off’ Solo Exhibition - Queercircle, North Greenwich (16th September - 26th November, opening Saturday 16th September, 12-8pm)

Queercircle presents Rafał Zajko’s solo exhibition ‘Clocking Off’.

“Drawing from Zajko's personal connection to his grandparents' workplace at a textile factory in post-communist Poland, he presents a new body of sculptural work. ‘Clocking Off’ delves into themes of labour, anxiety, and the precarity of workers' rights. The title itself references the practice of ‘clocking out’ symbolising the end of the workday through the historical act of punching time cards. This term is linked to the colloquial phrase ‘pissed off’ suggesting a connection between the frustration of work and a broader emotional context.” - Queercircle

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Artist Opportunities:

Open Call, Diasporas Now U.K. Tour 2023-2024. Deadline - Friday 15th September.

Diasporas Now is looking for performance artists of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) backgrounds for the U.K. Tour in live events across autumn 2023 to spring 2024 in three locations: Humber Street Gallery in Hull, NN Contemporary Art in Northampton, and the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. Diasporas Now is a platform for expanded performance by and for artists of the global majority, opening up contemporaneous discourses on displaced identities and celebrating cross-diasporic solidarity. For this Diasporas Now tour, we will be commissioning a total of 15 artists across three events. For each event there will be a line-up of 5 artists, consisting of 3 local artists (living and/or working in the city where the event will take place) and 2 external artists (living and/or working in a different city from which the event will be taking place). The artist fee will be £150 for local artists and £270 (£150 artist fee + £120 to cover travel costs and accommodation) for external artists.

Open Call Solo Residency 2024, Unit 1 Gallery | Workshop. Deadline - Sunday 17th September.

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: 8th January – 25th March. Residency Exhibition: 29th March – 6th April)

Artist Woodwork Fellowship, City & Guilds of London Art School. Deadline - Sunday 17th September.

City & Guilds of London Art School is seeking applications for a 1 to 2 year Artist Woodwork Fellowship. The successful applicant will have a recent undergraduate or postgraduate qualification in Fine Art or Sculpture, or equivalent experience, and demonstrate a commitment to 3D contemporary art practice that utilises wood or woodworking-based practices. The Wood Workshop is a dynamic learning space where students from across the Art School’s courses are introduced to and taught processes involved in making and constructing with wood. The post offers a unique opportunity for an artist to develop their own practice in the context of the Art School’s Wood Workshop, working alongside artists and technicians David MacDiarmid and Ana Kazaroff.

The Ingram Prize 2023. Deadline - Monday 18th September.

The Ingram Prize is an annual purchase prize open to visual artists who are within five years of graduation from a UK-based art school. Now in its eighth year, this leading prize for contemporary artists was established by The Ingram Collection to celebrate and support artists at the beginning of their professional careers. They recognise the vital importance of practical support in these early years, and through their prize we offer opportunities to exhibit and sell work, a programme of continuing professional development, and the chance to develop both industry and peer-to-peer networks. Eligible artists can submit up to two works in any media, with no restrictions on size. The Prize is free to enter. All shortlisted artists (Ingram Prize finalists) will be invited to showcase their entries in a group selling exhibition at Cromwell Place in London, 22 – 26 November 2023.

The 9th International Awards for Art Criticism. Deadline - Wednesday 20th September.

The Ninth Edition of the International Awards for Art Criticism (IAAC 9) 2023, is open to candidates from anywhere in the world writing in Chinese or English about any contemporary art exhibition held anywhere in world or on-line between 1st September 2022 and 31st August 2023. Candidates are invited to write a review of 1,500 words or 2,500 Chinese characters on any exhibition of contemporary art. The First Prize will consist of a cash award of 10,000 Euros(pre-tax) or the RMB equivalent of this amount (currently, around 80,000 RMB). Each of the three Second Prizes will be awarded a cash prize of 3,500 Euros(pre-tax) or the RMB equivalent of this amount (currently, around 30,000 RMB). The Organising Committee of the International Awards for Art Criticism aims to support independent critical coverage of contemporary art, away from the immediate pressures of the market, media and private patronage. The Awards are to stimulate good writing, critical thinking and dialogue and research in China, the UK and wider afield.

Shape Open Exhibition 2023, ‘Open All Hours’. Deadline - Sunday 24th September.

For this year’s Shape Open exhibition, titled Open All Hours, submissions are welcome of work that explore the pressurised relationship we have with time, productivity, and the pace of our modern, increasingly digital, society. Submissions from any artform in 2D, digital or 3D format, are welcomed although you will need to submit samples of your work digitally. Artists may submit a maximum of 2 artworks. Moving image work should not be longer than 20 minutes. There is no limit on what year the work was created but works that speak most authentically to our current times are preferable. The opportunity is open to all artists over the age of 18 located anywhere in the world. There is no submission fee. All participants will receive a £250 fee.

Open Call, ‘Invisible Hands’ Exhibition. Deadline - Monday 25th September.

Do you identify as a digital artist? Does your work relate to 'telecommunications' 'intergeneration' or 'diaspora'? Curators from MA Culture, Criticism, and Curation at Central Saint Martins, working alongside the British Digital Art Network, announce their November exhibition 'Invisible Hands' and Open Call. With no application fee and a simple application process that takes less than a minute, artists will not only receive a commission fee of at least £100, but also a great opportunity to showcase your work in Central London to a reputable audience. The exhibition which takes both physical and digital form and will be set up at the Central Saint Martins campus during the launch event of the British Digital Art network occurring in November.

Open Call: Identity and Self-Representation, Autograph. Deadline - Monday 25th September.

Are you a creative practitioner or collective looking to take up space, share and inspire conversation, or build creativity and connection? Autograph are inviting artists, producers, performers, musicians, curators to suggest, shape and host a public programme event to take place either in their gallery in Hackney or via our online platforms. This year is Autograph's 35th anniversary. As part of their celebrations they will be sharing three Open Call opportunities over the course of the next 12 months, each focusing on a different theme. The theme of this first open call is identity and self-representation, in honour of Autoportraits, the first major exhibition that Autograph organised and curated. Autograph will consider submissions for events on all manner of creative issues so long as it speaks to the theme. This might include – but certainly isn’t limited to - launch events, spoken word or performance, in-conversation and Q&A events, creative workshops, or film screenings. The successful applicant will receive a £600 budget as well as a £400 curatorial fee. The selected event proposal will take place in either December 2023 or January 2024.

Open Call, Foundwork Artist Prize. Deadline - Tuesday 26th September.

The Foundwork Artist Prize is an annual juried grant that we award to recognize outstanding emerging and mid-career artists working in any media. Honorees receive unrestricted $10,000 grants and studio visits with our jurors who include distinguished curators, gallerists, and artists. Honorees and shortlisted artists are also invited for interviews as part of our Dialogues program to further public engagement with their practices. The Prize is open to artists residing anywhere in the world with limited exceptions. To be considered for the 2023 Foundwork Artist Prize, you will need to maintain a published artist profile on Foundwork, with at least 6 artworks and an artist statement published on your profile page, throughout this year's selection period: 5:00 pm PT, September 26–5:00 pm PT December 31, 2023.

Studio 1.10 Residency, Art in Perpetuity Trust. Deadline - Wednesday 27th September.

Since 2010 A.P.T has provided temporary project studios to artists. These fully funded studios offer artists the opportunity to develop new work, by taking risks without the financial concerns of studio costs. The Studio 1.10 Residency provides free studio space for 12 months. At the end of those 12 months, the resident artist will be offered their Gallery for a 2 week period, for an exhibition of their own work, or with chosen artists for a group exhibition or events programme. A.P.T invite applications from artists who live or work in the London Borough of Lewisham, and who are under-represented in the visual arts or have faced barriers to access due to their protected characteristics. The opportunity is aimed at applicants who have at least 3 years of experience practicing as an artist in any media. A.P.T understand visual arts in the broadest possible sense and encourage applications from those who have not necessarily had a formal art education.

Jonathan Ruffer Curatorial Grants. Deadline - Friday 29th September.

The Jonathan Ruffer curatorial grants support UK curators, museum professionals and researchers to undertake travel and other activities that will extend and develop their curatorial expertise, collections-based knowledge and art historical interests. The grants can support, for example: UK and international travel and accommodation for research trips and conferences, training courses and programmes of study (including online), subscriptions, for example archive subscriptions and other kinds of activity where a strong case can be made for its contribution to the development of curatorial skills and collections-based research projects. For the large grants category you can apply for grants above £2000.

Open Call FN006, FIELDNOTES. Deadline - Sunday 1st October.

FIELDNOTES is inviting submissions for its sixth issue. They are seeking non-conforming submissions of text and visual material, including but not limited to: fiction, theory, poetry, interview pitches, conversations, translations, lens-based work, drawing, collage, works-in-progress and ideas in transition. They are interested in new forms between genres and media, experimental modes and poetic innovation. Contributors selected from the Open Call will be paid a fee (between £100-£200) for original content not published elsewhere (online or in print – this does not include self-publishing). They are actively seeking contributions from underrepresented groups. Artists and writers who face cultural, social, physical or economic barriers to applying for opportunities in the arts are particularly encouraged to submit.

British Antique Dealers’ Association Art Prize 2023. Deadline - Sunday 1st October.

The BADA Award is returning for a third year, promoting “the antiques of tomorrow” by awarding a £1,000 grant to an emerging contemporary artist whose work exemplifies the enduring ingenuity and quality illustrated by The BADA members’ objects. Applicants must be enrolled in or have completed a post-secondary education at a UK institution. Submissions must be original works produced within the last two years. Beyond this, there are no criteria, all medium and styles are welcome. The finalist’s works will be on public view at the BADA Week reception.

NOW Introducing Open Call 2023, Studio West. Deadline - Saturday 7th October.

‘NOW Introducing’ is an annual open-call exhibition and art prize. It was founded in 2022, as part of STUDIO WEST's commitment to platforming the most exciting emerging and newly established London-based artists. It seeks to champion the practices of art school students and recent graduates, while helping to bridge the gap between arts education and the art industry. STUDIO WEST invites applications from unrepresented London-based artists who are currently studying on, or recently graduated from, a Bachelors or Masters programme at a UK art school (including alternative post-graduate studies and non-degree awarding programmes). The shortlisted artists are featured in our 'NOW Introducing' Exhibition at the gallery in November. The ‘NOW Introducing' 2023 award-winning artist are selected from the shortlist by a panel of industry experts and the gallery team. The winner recieves a £1000 cash prize, and the two runners-up each receive £500. All award-winners also receive a year of one-on-one mentoring with the STUDIO WEST gallery team.

Open Call 2023, Staffordshire St. Deadline - Wednesday 11th October.

Staffordshire St are looking for proposals from curators, artists, makers and performers to exhibit in their project space as part of a supported programme of events. Staffordshire St want to support artists at all stages of their career and will select proposals from this Open Call to deliver a 3-4 week project in their gallery space alongside the rest of our programme in 2023. They are looking for exhibitions that will engage with their audiences both in the artistic and local community. They highly encourage a cross-disciplinary approach through collaboration with partners to run events alongside or as part of the project to encourage engagement. Staffordshire St’s programme encompasses workshops, film nights, panel discussions, supper clubs, scratch nights, music and more.

Lewisham Arthouse Graduate Award 2024. Deadline - Monday 6th November.

The Lewisham Arthouse Graduate Award is an exciting opportunity providing recent graduates (between 2020-2023) with free studio space and production support. It is a studio and mentorship award for recent graduates from university and alternative art education programs, please see eligibility at the end for further details. It is free to apply and the award lasts one year, it provides a first floor 200ft studio based within the artist-led cooperative and community of Lewisham Arthouse and a mentorship program with local professional networks and mentors selected by the awardee. At the end of the year, the awardee is invited to share the outcomes of their time in Lewisham Arthouse through a public event; such as an exhibition, a workshop, performance, symposium or gig.