From the statement – “In July 1946, the United States tested two nuclear bombs at Bikini, a small island in the Marshall Islands. My father, Will Whitmore, was a civilian participant in this project, Operation Crossroads. The devastation of the small island, the displacement of 167 Bikini Islanders, and the demise of their culture have haunted me for years.”
From the statement – “The marshes in southern Iraq, formed by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, are home to one of humanity’s oldest cultures. These rivers cross on the eastern edge of the marshes, so this intersection is thought to be a possible site of the historic Garden of Eden.”
From the statement – “When referring to the female body a blighted ovum speaks to a type of miscarriage most often occurring within the first trimester. In clinical terms, an anembryonic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg attaches itself to the uterine wall, but the embryo does not develop to produce a viable life. A pregnancy sac forms and grows but not the embryo itself, no fetal pole (heartbeat) is produced. Now blighted, the womb is a barren land not fit to sustain life, a stark comparison first coined by male doctors in the mid-1800s.”
Marisa Sage is the Director and Head Curator of the New Mexico State University Art Museum in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Sage is a curator with a passion for emerging contemporary art and artists. Throughout her fifteen-year career, Sage has planned and executed over 100 international exhibitions, which included more than 200 individual artists globally. Previously, Sage served as the Director of the Rema Hort Mann Foundation, in New York, NY, and Galleries Manager for Salisbury University Art Galleries, in Salisbury, Maryland, before that, she established Like the Spice Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn which held over 65 exhibitions between 2006 and 2012. At NMSU Sage has curated “Off the Wall”, a two-parted exhibition tracing the history of Sol LeWitt’s relationship with NMSU, as well as showing the extent of his influence on a new generation of artists who use the surface of the wall as their canvas. Sage has written and received multiple grants for NMSU including the National Endowment for the Arts which funded the exhibition GEOMAGIC: Art, Science, and the Zuhl Collection. Sage is a New York native, who received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography from Syracuse University and Master of Digital Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art.
General Application Guidelines
Submit
• Up to 5 – 10 images from a complete or nearly complete body of work
• 325-word Project Statement
Final Submission Deadline: April 20, 2021
ELIGIBILITY
• GRANT REQUIREMENTS: The Grant and funds are provided to a complete or nearly complete project from a photographer living and based in New Mexico for more than 2 years, includes photographers taking a temporary residence leave.
• ELIGIBLE: All of CENTER’s Call for Entries opportunities accept submissions from national and international photographers and lens-based artists. Work can have been made at any time and work that has been previously submitted may be re-submitted as we invite new jurors each year. Work derived from all photographic processes is accepted, as well as mixed media that is photo-based. Only the Multimedia Award accepts video, multimedia files, and/or still images for submission.
• NOT ELIGIBLE: Submitters must be a New Mexico resident for at least 2 years or more to apply. | If the photographer is represented by a major international photographic agency. Applies to the Project Launch Grant, Project Development Grant, and the me&EVE Grant ONLY.
• FUNDS: Provided Grant funds may be used for most expenses related to the project. Review more details regarding grant funds on our FAQ page.
• CONTRACT: Grant recipients are required to sign a contract and must fulfill contractual obligations in order to receive the full funds. Submission to the Project Launch Grant, Project Development Grant, and/or the me&EVE Grant indicates acceptance of these terms.
If you have additional questions about your eligibility for a grant, please email us before submitting your application.
CRITERIA & THE JURY PROCESS
Q: WHAT ARE THE SELECTION CRITERIA?
A: 1) Projects, as well as all submitted text, should be examples of excellence within the discipline, both visually and conceptually.
2) The award winners should be at a place in their work and career where they can benefit from the exposure, networks, and opportunities that CENTER offers.
3) The photographer must be committed and able to ensure the advancement of the project with the grant funds and support received.
Q: DO YOU “PRE-SCREEN”?
A: No, all work submitted is seen by the jurors only.
Q: WHAT ARE JURORS LOOKING FOR?
A: The jurors are looking for cohesive, compelling bodies of work that are ready for international recognition.
Q: WILL I RECEIVE FEEDBACK ON THE WORK?
A: Due to the number of submissions the committee is unable to provide specific feedback at this time but we will let you know if the work advances to the higher rounds of judging.
Q: MAY I SEND MY BOOK, POSTER, EXHIBITION ANNOUNCEMENT, ETC.?
A: Websites, books, posters, announcements, and other materials will not be seen by the judges or reviewed for submission.
Q: CAN WE APPLY AS A DUO OR GROUP?
A: Yes, please use one artist’s name and information on the application, and in your project statement note that this is a collaboration and includes all names. Please note that winners will receive one slot at Review Santa Fe, so the group would sit together in front of each reviewer.
APPLICATION FAQS
Q: WHEN IS THE DEADLINE?
A: March 20, 2021 for discounted entry fees and April 20, 2021 for the final submission deadline.
Q: WHAT ARE THE FILE REQUIREMENTS?
A: All images and files must be uploaded through our online submission system. We now accept JPG, PDF, TIFF & PNG files for all applications. When submitting JPGs, please size at 1400 pixels on the longest side with a minimum dpi of 72. To successfully order files during upload, we suggest you rename files before uploading them as they are uploaded and organized in alpha order. Begin the filename with a lower-case alphabetical letter. Include the title in the filename after the letter and underscore [ex: a_Title.jpg, b_Title.jpg].
Q: WHERE DO I APPLY?
A: You will apply within our online submission system that is sent to you via email once your payment has been processed.
Q: WHY DO MY IMAGES NOT HAVE THE CORRECT COLOR OR CONTRAST AND LOOK VERY SMALL ON APPLICATION?
A: Once you have uploaded your images to the online application, you are now viewing them through an internet browser that does not recognize color profiles. Your images are unaltered by this process.
Q: DO I HAVE TO SUBMIT THE EXACT AMOUNT OF IMAGES PER THE GUIDELINES?
A: We will not disqualify entries that have less than the specified amount (15-20). However, do keep in mind that submitting fewer images may put you at a disadvantage.
Q: MAY I SUBMIT TWO OR MORE BODIES OF WORK?
A: Yes, you can submit more than one portfolio to the same category, however you must pay for an additional entry. This applies to all categories open for submission.
Q: MAY I COMBINE BLACK AND WHITE AND COLOR IMAGES INTO ONE BODY OF WORK?
A: Yes, all types of image processes are allowed into each submission.
PROJECT STATEMENTS:
The first sentence of your project statement should include a short synopsis of the project. Statements are limited to 325 words and should indicate the process or medium used as well as the final exhibition dimensions [ex. 8×10 black and white negative, 20×24 gelatin silver prints, or 35mm slides].
Q: WHERE DO I UPLOAD MY STATEMENT?
A: You will upload your artist statement within our online application form.
Q: TO WHICH DIMENSIONS ARE YOU REFERRING TO INCLUDE IN THE PROJECT STATEMENT?
A: The dimensions of the final product. For instance, if you print 20″x24″ Cibachrome and are submitting 8″x10″ digital prints please indicate the final version of the work.
Visit our application FAQ’s & guidelines page for more information. Have additional questions? Contact us directly.
Marisa Sage – Director & Head Curator, New Mexico State University Art Museum
