CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS (closed)

2022 FESTIVAL THEME

TELL IT LIKE IT IS

“The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is - it’s to imagine what is possible”

- bell hooks 

“In this world, there is a kind of painful progress. Longing for what we've left behind, and dreaming ahead.”

- Tony Kushner, Angels in America

As the art world dives into another year of the pandemic, we as artists and audiences are at a crossroads, ready to strip off the inauthentic and become vulnerable as we encounter feelings of isolation. Art makes space for dreams, whimsy, imagination, desire, and change. Art teaches us to be hopeful while calling on us to examine pain and what we’ve left behind. The 2022 Queer Spectra Arts Festival is interested in exploring the following questions: 

• What truths does queer art tell? 

• How can art expose our authentic selves and experiences? 

• What possibilities does queer art imagine? 

• What can queer art help us find space for rest? How can queer art help us find space for exuberance? 

• What does queer art teach us about hope? 

• How does queer art break us out of isolation? 

• What does queer art tell us about our desires? 

• How does the act of “telling” with your art change it?

Please note: if you would like to submit but your artwork doesn’t align with this theme, don’t worry! In your application, please tell us about your work and why you would like your work to be included in our festival. We are always looking for submissions that contribute to contemporary queer and queer art discourse.

SUBMISSION DETAILS

DEADLINE: MARCH 13, 2022 at 11:59 PM MST

Artists from all disciplines are invited to submit, including those in inter/multidisciplinary fields. Categories include (but are not limited to): 

• 2D visual arts (drawing, painting, photography, graphic design, etc…)

• 3D art works (sculpture, installation, fashion, etc..)

• Time-based arts (dance, theatre, music, poetry, comedy, literature, film, drag, performance art, etc…)

We accept both finished works and works-in-progress. For works-in-progress, in your application, tell us how you plan to complete your work and provide us a detailed timeline.

Panel Discussions & Workshops: 

We highly encourage submitting artists to consider being a part of our open conversations regarding their work and their queer identity. Panel discussions will focus on topics related to our festival theme, “Tell It Like It Is,” as part of our mission is to promote a nuanced conversation with audiences about these topics/issues.

COVID-19 Safety:

At this point in time, we are planning on holding an in-person component to our 2022 festival with full COVID-19 precautions in place, including requiring masks and capping attendance. We plan to be flexible, adjusting our safety precautions to the needs of the Salt Lake City community at the time of the festival; we will communicate all of our COVID-19 plans to accepted artists and any changes made. As an artist, you will have the choice whether or not to be present for the in-person portion of the festival. There will also be a virtual component which you may elect to participate in if you are uncomfortable entering the physical space.

Virtual Component: 

We will “install” your artwork on our virtual gallery site in the week prior to the festival. 

If you elect to showcase your artwork in our virtual gallery, 2D and 3D artworks will need to be sent to Queer Spectra Arts Festival organizers in high-quality files no later than May 18th. 

Time-based art works can be submitted as video files to be installed in the virtual gallery, or can be aired live during the festival if that is the preference of the artist. For time-based art works, we encourage the following time limits:

• Dance, theatre, performance art: maximum 8 minutes for solos, 10 minutes for group works (including duo)

• Music: 10 minutes max

• Short films: minimum 3 minutes, maximum 8 minutes

Submission Fee: 

Thanks to generous support from our donors, this year’s festival submission fee has been waived!