Hot Bed is excited to announce WACK!, the Summer 2023 open call celebrating our fifth anniversary. We are looking for art that celebrates the most important thing in life: our ability to express our individual uniqueness. Selected works will be exhibited from June 17th through August 12, 2023.
Since its founding five years ago, Hot Bed has cultivated spaces where creativity flourishes. We provide the Philadelphia community with an environment of growth and enrichment carefully curated in our trademark biophilic space. Our goal is to help produce the next great idea. Our method? Leaning into the zany, the wild, the weird.
When the world gets too weird to comprehend, art & design of the moment reflect that. Weirdness is becoming the new norm. In light of forced detachment from pre-COVID lives, we’re interested in gathering the latest perspectives on the new and unfamiliar. WACK! invites artists from Philadelphia to lean into the absurdity of our present moment. We encourage artists to fearlessly embrace how “wack” life in Philly has become and show us what wonderful things this weirdness creates.
Artists are invited to think creatively about topics of interest, which include but are not limited to:
Boldness
brightness, energy, innovation, shock, uniqueness
Magic
cosmologies, fantasy, mysteries, planets, space, stars, the unknown
Politics
climates/climate change, communities, cultures, current events, infrastructures, political undercurrents, uprisings
Surrealism
absurdity, bizarreness, chaos, confusion, humor, infinity, spirals
Weirdness
anomalies, resistance, newness, subversive behavior, surprises, the unexpected, the unfamiliar
Submission Guidelines
EXHIBITION AND SALES AGREEMENT
The exhibition will run in Hot Bed’s Main Gallery from June 17, 2023 through August 12, 2023.
Work must be able to fit into the physical space and through our door. Please inquire for details on specific measurements if you have any questions.
All mediums except performance will be considered.
All work must be available for sale and available to be displayed online and in the gallery for the duration of the exhibition.
Work must arrive framed, if applicable.
Commission for works sold will be split 50/50 between Hot Bed and the artist.
If your work is sold, the gallery will arrange shipping/delivering the work to the buyer after the exhibition concludes. Artist & Hot Bed will split the cost associated with shipping or delivering work to the buyer.
REQUIRED MATERIALS
Your submission must be emailed to hello@hotbedphilly.com by April 15th at 11:59 pm with the subject line “WACK SUBMISSION”. It must include:
1.5mb 150 dpi .JPG images of each work submitted as an attachment or WeTransfer. We will consider up to five works per artist.
For 2D work, you may submit one image per work. For 3D work, you may submit up to three images per work.
For moving image work, you may include an .mp4 file up to 90 seconds in length.
Confirmation that you have completed the submission form linked on Hot Bed’s website https://www.hotbedphilly.com/open-calls, which requires:
Your first and last name as it should appear in written material
Your Instagram handle and/or other social media handles
Your website, if applicable
Mailing address and phone number (only used in the event we need to contact you about your submission and/or finalize a sale)
A brief artist statement (50 - 100 words)
Didactic information for each work submitted, including:
Title (and coordinating image title)
Year of completion
Media
Dimensions
Submission Fee: $30-$50 sliding scale
Please submit your form & fee via https://www.hotbedphilly.com/open-calls. Submission fees are non-refundable.
By submitting to this open call you are agreeing to the terms as dictated above. Selected artists will sign an individualized artist agreement.