Untitled 19: SooVAC’s 19th Annual Juried Show

SooVAC is now taking submissions for Untitled 19, one of our flagship exhibition series. SooVAC invites guest jurors with local, national, and international reputations to select work from open submissions. Untitled offers artists the opportunity to work with a professional art space and influential art figures toward producing an exhibition with a highly regarded reputation. We accept all mediums from artists at any stage in their careers. The work will be selected from the submitted work samples, so make sure that the work is available for exhibition.

Soo Visual Arts Center provides equal opportunity and access to its facilities and programs to all individuals regardless of race, national origin, gender, age, beliefs, sexual orientation, or disability in admission, access, or employment. Upon request, accommodations will be provided to individuals who face barriers to participation in SooVAC services, programs, and activities.

GUEST JUROR: Keisha Williams, Director and Curator of the MCAD Galleries and Exhibitions

We accept all submissions through Submittable with a $30 application fee; if the fee is a barrier, contact Malini at malini@soovac.org, along with any submission questions.

IF you are a SooVAC member/donated within the last year your submission is free, please follow THIS LINK.

ABOUT THIS YEAR’S JUROR

Keisha Williams is the director and curator of galleries and exhibitions at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) and program director of two of Minnesota’s longest-standing visual arts fellowships, the Jerome–MCAD Fellowship for Early Career Artists and the McKnight Visual Artist Fellowship. Her curatorial philosophy centers on care, meaning-making, community-centered collaboration, co-creation, and uplifting underrepresented voices. Before joining MCAD, Williams was the Curatorial Department Assistant and Artist Liaison in the Global Contemporary Art Department at the Minneapolis of Art (Mia). She also collaborated with other local and international arts and culture spaces, including the National Maritime Museum of London, the Emerging Curators Institute, and Battersea Arts Centre. She currently serves on the Board of Directors at Highpoint Center for Printmaking. She holds an MA in Visual Arts Management and Curating from Richmond American University in London (2017) and an MA in Art Gallery and Museum Studies from the University of Leeds (2015). In her role at MCAD, her curatorial strategy focuses on impactful conversations through art, building catalytic call-in moments, and showcasing the cultural impact MCAD has and continues to make nationally and internationally. This work has resulted in several collaborative exhibitions at MCAD, including The Bureau’s Grow, As We Are (2023), a retrospective of Douglas R. Ewart–Excursion: Visual and Sonic Galaxy (2023), a collaborative installation with artist Marin Hassenger–Love (from Minneapolis) (2023), and The Drawing Board (2024). Past curatorial projects include MSP Airport’s Chroma 2022: A Spectrum of Beauty from the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District. She was also curator and collaborator of multiple projects at Mia, including curator of Joe Horton: Vessel (2019) and co-curator of Mapping Black Identities (2019-2020) and Mapping Black Identities: 3 Films (2019). She is a contributing author to the Routledge publication “Accessibility, Inclusion, and Diversity and Critical Event Studies,” 2019, and the American Alliance of Museums publication “Small Wins to Sweeping Change: Internal Initiatives to Foster Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism in Museums,” 2022.

The following dates may be subject to change:

• ARTIST NOTIFICATIONS: Mid-January 2025 
• WORK DROP-OFF DATES: January 30th – February 1st, 2025
• Untitled 19 Exhibition Dates: February 15 – March 23, 2025
• OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, February 15, 2025 6 – 9PM
• Exhibition Closes On: Sunday March 23, 2025
• WORK PICKUP: March 27th – 29th

If you have any technical questions about uploading your submissions, contact Submittable. If you are a current member of SooVAC, please use the application for members only where the cost is waived; your SooVAC membership is annual.  PLEASE ONLY CONTACT MALINI at malini@soovac.org for questions no other SooVAC staff.

Application materials

1. Application Form-Fill in all of your contact information on Submittable.

2. WORK SAMPLES-EXACTLY 5 IMAGES (FOR VIDEO SEE BELOW*) Group exhibitions or collaborative projects are also accepted, but the images cannot exceed 5. Digital Image Specifications: Images should be in a JPEG format no larger than 1000 x 1000 pixels @ 72 dpi. Format each jpeg file name as “Artist’s last name_Artist’s first name_1.jpg,” “Artist’s last name_ Artist’s first name_2.jpg,” etc. Each JPEG may not exceed 1MB and 1000 pixels in any direction. *Video Submissions are also accepted in .mov format, no larger than 200MB, and no more than 2 min clips for each video submission label the same as image files. Work samples cannot exceed five but can be a combination of video and image files.

3. IMAGE LIST- Fill out each Image description field with the following information: List the following information for each work (make sure your image number corresponds to the label on your JPEG images):
-Title of work
-Date completed
-Medium
-Dimensions (H” x W” x D”)
PLEASE INCLUDE TITLE, MEDIUM, DIMENSIONS, AND DATE OR YOUR APPLICATION WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

4. ARTIST STATEMENT – doc, docx, txt, rtf, or pdf format accepted. Label this document: Artist’s last name_Artist’s first name_artiststatement.doc ex. Doe_Jane_Artiststatement.doc. No longer than 1 page.

5. RESUME – doc, docx, txt, rtf, or pdf format accepted. Label this document: Artist’s last name_Artist’s first name_Resume.doc ex. Doe_Jane_Resume.doc. Please provide a website if you have one. If you are applying as a group or collaborative team, include all participating artists’ resumes in one document.

GOOD THINGS TO KNOW 

1. Notification will be done by email or phone, so please include both on your application.

2. Paying for Shipping to and from SooVAC will be the artist’s responsibility.

CHECKLIST: The following must be submitted by Sunday, December 15th, 2024, at 11:59 pm:

• Application Form (Fill Out all of your information on Submittable Contact Info Box)
• 5 IMAGES OF YOUR ARTWORK-JPEG format (.jpg)
• IMAGE LIST IMAGE LIST (Fill out Description box for each corresponding image please include; Title, medium, date, and dimensions – additional description optional) 
• RESUME 2 Pages Max (doc, docx, txt, rtf or pdf format accepted.).
• ARTIST STATEMENT 1 page Max (doc, docx, txt, rtf, or pdf format accepted).

PLEASE FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY; INCOMPLETE OR INCORRECT SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.