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CALL FOR ARTISTS
Living Spaces
Dec 10, 2002 - Hartford, CT
Contact: Jill Chopyak Assistant Director, Public Programming and Development at ICR: 860 278-2044 ext. 290 or Colleen Coleman, ext. 310

Living Spaces, sponsored by the Institute for Community Research (ICR), aims to bring together artists (contemporary, hip-hop, conceptual, visionary and traditional) and social science researchers to address issues communities face, and their interaction with the social, physical and imagined spaces of our environment.
Artists from all media (music, literary, dance and visual art) are invited to submit project proposals and work samples to be considered for participation in a dialogue on the concept of Living Spaces. Selected artists will be invited to a meeting (January 30, 2003) to discuss the concept with ICR staff, community residents and service providers. We hope this dialogue will inform and inspire the artists' work and enhance the community's thinking about the social, physical and imagined spaces which we inhabit. Participating artists will then exhibit their work at ICR's community-based gallery in Hartford, CT (exhibit dates: March 27-May 30, 2003).

Living Spaces is a program of events throughout the year, sponsored by ICR. Aimed at further examination of the subject, these events may include a panel discussion, performances, poetry reading and film series.

THE CONCEPT
Living Spaces brings artists and social science researchers together to examine and discuss the interaction between physical and imagined spaces, our individual and social identities, and issues of social justice. The exhibit is the first in a program of events designed to create dialogue on the concept of Living Spaces. We are interested in work that interacts with the following questions:

	How do individuals interact with different living spaces (e.g., apartment/home, neighborhood, work/school, recreational spaces) and imagined spaces (spaces of thought, identity, culture)? What is the process of "dialogue" between theses spaces and individuals/community?
	How does the physical, social and cultural environment impact one's attachment to place?
	How does the migration/immigration of ethnic and cultural groups impact physical and social urban, suburban and rural spaces? How does it impact the mental space of the community and its identity?
	How does the physical and social environment impact one's sense of accessibility? Is it open to me? Do I feel welcomed? How are different spaces - physical, virtual or social spaces - inherently inclusive/exclusive? For men vs. women? Different ethnic groups? Different socio-economic classes?
	How does one's socio-economic status impact attachment to different spaces?
	How do people define their living spaces? What influences these definitions?
	What is the dialogue between a city's "collective identity" and the way an urban environment is designed, developed and transformed?
	What is the interaction between physical and social spaces and identity? Who controls/determines the development of urban and rural physical or social spaces and what impact does that have on individuals who live there?
	What happens to people when their housing is destroyed in the name of development? Where do people go? How does that impact their social space? Their identity?
	Particular spaces are tied to particular activities - how do the two interact, and how do meanings about space change when it begins to be used for alternative activities? And who controls the dialogue?

CALL FOR ARTISTS
We are looking for emerging, mid-career and youth (ages 13-21) artists, working or living in Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts, to participate in a multi-media exhibit at the Institute for Community Research Gallery in Hartford, CT. The exhibit will open on March 27 and run through May 23, 2003.
All applicants are asked to include a one-page statement on your response to the concept of Living Spaces and what motivates you as an artist to create work around this subject. Artists are asked to submit a resume, support materials and work samples, depending on the medium. Include self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) and the following:

	For 2 and 3-d visual arts, minimum 8-10 slides, video or DVD
	Performance and musical arts may be presented using DVD, VHS or CD
	Poetry or short prose (one type written page maximum) applicants should include three work samples.

Registration Fee: $10.00 entry Fee
Jury Panel: Connecticut-based visual artist Peter Waite, ICR Executive Director Jean J. Schensul, and Hartford-based social science researchers, anthropologists, artists and community activists

DEADLINES
Submission Deadline: Proposal packages must be in the ICR offices by Jan. 3, 2003
Notification of acceptance: Selected artists will be notified by January 15, 2003
Living Spaces dialogue: January 30, 2003
Work Delivered to ICR: March 7, 2003
Exhibit Dates: March 27 - May 23, 2003

ARTISTS RESPONSIBILTIES

	Artist is responsible for delivery of work by March 7, 2003 to ICR. If there are special needs for installation, arrangements must be made with program staff prior to date of delivery.
	Artists are responsible for the mailing of invitations to their own mailing lists
	ICR reserves the right to reproduce any of the artwork used in this exhibit, for the promotion of the above-mentioned exhibit, its programs or its partners
	Artist is responsible for return/pick-up of work by May 29, 2003

For information contact: Jill Chopyak Assistant Director, Public Programming and Development at ICR: 860 278-2044 ext. 290 or Colleen Coleman, ext. 310

Please mail all inquiries to:
Institute for Community Research
2 Hartford Square West, Suite 100
Hartford, CT 06106
ATTN: Colleen Coleman