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PLEASE NOTE: YYZ determines its programming based on an artist’s overall practice. Please do not submit a project proposal. See #3 below for guidelines on drafting a description of practice. This is a rolling deadline.

 

YYZ Artists’ Outlet provides an open forum for the presentation of local, national and international contemporary artist-initiated exhibitions and activities in all media. YYZ maintains a multipurpose venue that accommodates solo and group exhibitions, screenings, lectures, performances and installations of any duration, with a typical exhibition running approximately six weeks. YYZ welcomes submissions for participation in its program from artists of all disciplines and at any point in their artistic development. YYZ supports the development and presentation of artistic practices and as such provides artists with the physical, financial and intellectual resources required to produce their respective exhibitions or activities. YYZ pays fees to all artists who participate in its programming activities.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Please include only the support material requested in these guidelines. Any additional support material will not be presented to the Programming Committee. Email submission as ONE PDF document to abarajas [at] yyzartistsoutlet [dot] org with a subject line Open Call Submission.

1. SUBMISSION FORM: Download the submission form here.

2. CURRICULUM VITAE: Attach a recent curriculum vitae of no more than 2 pages in length (single-spaced 8 1/2″ x 11″ white paper, using one side only).

3. DESCRIPTION OF PRACTICE: Your description should incorporate the following points in 500 or fewer words (one page, single-spaced 8 1/2″ x 11″ white paper, using one side only). Please clearly and concisely describe:

  • your artistic practice (situate your previous and current work within your practice)
  • your artistic concerns (approach to artistic creation or the aesthetic or cultural tradition that relates to your practice)
  • any technical requirements (specify special installation needs present in your practice and time-frame to complete works or installation or any other relevant items connected to the production of your work)

NOTE: If the description exceeds the indicated word limit, supplementary text will not be presented to the Programming Committee.

4. SUPPORT MATERIAL: Please send support material that presents the Programming Committee members with a clear idea of your overall practice. Attach a numbered list of support material items that indicates the title, year, size and medium of each work represented. The Programming Committee will only examine the quantity of materials outlined below:

  • 10 digital images, or
  • 5 digital images and 5 minute video or audio excerpts, or
  • 10 minutes of video or audio excerpts;
  • Submissions for projects involving two or more artists may increase the above slide or digital image amounts by 5 and video or audio excerpt duration by 5 minutes.

DIGITAL MATERIALS
YYZ can accommodate support materials in most digital formats. Computer-based support material must be self-explanatory and self-supporting (include required plug-ins in your material with complete installation instructions). YYZ assumes no responsibility for unreadable material. All computer-based support material must be Mac-compatible and disks must not be zipped or otherwise compressed. Digital images and digital video will be projected during Programming Committee meetings.

  • DIGITAL AUDIO: Submit digital audio in .mp3 format and indicate track numbers
  • DIGITAL IMAGES: Submit digital images in .jpg file types at 72 dpi with a maximum resolution of 1024 X 768 pixels, a maximum of 500K (0.5MB) per image file and in RGB colour mode (no CMYK). Label each image with a number (number the first nine images with a zero: 01title.jpg, 02title.jpg 10title.jpg) to ensure they are presented chronologically.
  • DIGITAL VIDEO: Submit digital video files that are supported by Quicktime, RealPlayer, Shockwave, Windows Media Player or Flash (or submit a DVD). Video Links accepted,

5. YYreZidency: Please let us know if you would like to be considered for this program.

Open to GTA residents. Residency exhibitions are scheduled in the spring of each programming year.

YYZ recognizes that studio space is at a premium in Toronto and that artists might not have the working space to realize complex projects. For that reason, we give artists in this program the freedom to access the gallery 24/7 so that they can work on a project over time. The gallery is open to the public during gallery hours and you would have to be comfortable with visitors dropping by.

As part of the residency, staff can facilitate working partnership with other organizations in the city, tech assistance for production if needed, and/or introduction to other artists and curators.

ASSESSMENT PROCESS
Submissions are first reviewed by the Programming Coordinator and Director. Shortlisted submissions are evaluated by the YYZ Programming Committee, which is comprised of contemporary artists and other cultural professionals with broad knowledge of diverse artistic practices and current issues in contemporary art. At their meeting, the Programming Committee reviews and discusses submissions in an open and supportive environment. The Programming Committee makes final decisions about which submissions to invite for participation in YYZ’s program.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
YYZ places emphasis on the role of the artist and the artist’s initiative in the development and delivery of its program. Submissions are assessed through consideration of the artist’s practice as demonstrated in the description and support material, the artist’s ability to produce work for an exhibition at YYZ, and the relation of the respective practices to local, national and international issues in contemporary art. The Programming Committee also evaluates submissions within the context of YYZ’s internal programming priorities, the relevancy of projects to community issues and the development of a balanced program that represents cultural diversity and an equitable representation of artistic practices.

NOTIFICATION OF RESULTS
Artists will be notified of the results, in writing, no later than six months after their submission has been received. Results are not released over the telephone.Every submission will be carefully considered through YYZ’s program decision making processes. However, due to the quantity of submissions that YYZ receives, individual critiques or comments cannot be provided. Please remember to contact YYZ if you have a change of contact information.