Aspex is seeking artists working in all media for their open submission biennial exhibition Emergency. This is an established international opportunity, seeking applications from critically engaged artists who consider themselves to be emerging.

A maximum of eight artists will be selected for a group exhibition, which will open in April 2020. During this show, one of the artists will be chosen for a solo exhibition at Aspex in 2021, and will receive a fee of £1,000.

Emergency was established in 2003, and each edition has provided an opportunity for an artist or artist collaboration to realise a solo exhibition at the gallery. Previous solo exhibitions have included: Susan Collis (2004), Tim Machin (2007), Cathy Ward & Eric Wright (2009), Kihlberg & Henry (2011), Charlie Tweed (2013), Jim Howieson (2015), Maya Ramsay (2017) and Maggie Roberts (2019).

Through the support of their Patrons, Aspex is delighted to announce that submissions for this year’s exhibition will be free of charge for the first time.

Artists Juneau Projects, who were part of Emergency in 2003 said: “We were really excited to be picked for Emergency. It was very early in our career and we were happy to be showing alongside our peers and more experienced artists. Being in the show led to working with the first gallery that represented us, FA Projects, as Nick Baker, one of the co-directors, was on the selection panel. This was a big step forward in our career and helped cement the way we work together.”

Joanne Bushnell, Director of Aspex, describes that “Emergency provides an excellent snapshot of the research interests in critically engaged emerging practice today. In its ninth edition, the opportunity is well regarded in the contemporary visual arts sector, and now with no cost to artists we are expecting a bumper year of diverse and exciting work from which to select.”

Deadline for submissions is midday Sunday 1 December 2019. For more information, please visit the gallery’s website which can be found below.

Website: aspex.org.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/aspexgallery
Twitter: twitter.com/aspexportsmouth
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