FOOP Fourth Year Forward Art Show

Friends of Occupy Portland benefit
a Fourth Year Forward event

Commons and a Nation

an open-call, juried art show

Friday, December 5, 2014 -- Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Artists' Meet Up: Friday, December 12, 2014, 5-6:30 p.m.
Red and Black Cafe, 400 SE 12th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97214

Featuring the art of: Diana Karan, Alexandria Oesch, Kyle Key, and Alan Skally

Curated by Sarah A. Morrigan

Due to some miscommunication screw-up with the venue, we won't be having an opening reception for this show. However, we are designating Friday, December 12, 5-6:30 p.m. for an informal artists' meet up.

Juried by Ameena Bossier, Robert Wetherington, Heather Viets, Sarah A. Morrigan

“We may regard totalitarianism as a process of the annihilation of individuality, but, in more fundamental terms, it is the annihilation, first, of those social relationships within which individuality develops. It is not the extermination of individuals that is ultimately desired by totalitarian rulers, for individuals in the largest number are needed by the new order. What is desired is the extermination of those social relationships which, by their autonomous existence, must always constitute a barrier to the achievement of the absolute political community. The individual alone is powerless. Individual will and memory, apart from the reinforcement of associative tradition, are weak and ephemeral. How well the totalitarian rulers know it. (…) To destroy or diminish the reality of the smaller areas of society, to abolish or restrict the range of cultural alternatives offered individuals by economic endeavor, religion, and kinship, is to destroy in time the roots of the will to resist despotism in its large forms.”
― Robert A. Nisbet

Call For Artists

commons (n.)

1. A central section of (usually an older) town, designated as a shared area, a common.

   The Renaissance festival started with the "peasants" meeting in the commons.

   The commons is the green space surrounded by the village hall, the school, and the church.

   The commons of New England towns are important contributors to their charm.

2. (figuratively) The mutual good of all; the abstract concept of resources shared by more than one, for example air, water, information.

   "The tragedy of the commons" is that none wish to make sacrifices of their or their family's interests for the common good

nation (n.)

1. An historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and/or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.

   The Roma are a nation without a country.

   The Kurdish people constitute a nation in the Middle East

2. (international law) A sovereign state.

   Though legally single nations, many states comprise several distinct cultural or ethnic groups.

3. (chiefly historical) An association of students based on their birthplace or ethnicity. ^syn.

   Once widespread across Europe in medieval times, nations are now largely restricted to the ancient universities of Sweden and Finland.

4. (obsolete) A great number; a great deal.

   a nation of herbs

Both commons and nation are terms that are loaded with multiplicity of meanings. Sometimes everyone has a very different idea of what a nation or  commons might be. Yet, they are both words that describe something that unites individuals into a peoplehood.

Three years of the Occupy Wall Street movement (2011-) saw many efforts at defining and redefining both what it means to be a nation, and what a common good means. From the hundreds of Occupy encampments around the world, to efforts such as Occupy Sandy Relief and the Eugene Occupy Medical, and novel initiatives such as the Occupy Money Cooperative and the Occupy Madison Build, the movement and its manifold manifestations united previously disparate and detached groups of people into an unprecedented coalition.

This is a juried, open-call show in commemoration of the third anniversary of Occupy Wall Street movement and a fundraiser for the Friends of Occupy Portland (FOOP), an Oregon non-profit corporation.

The art should address the question of how we can build an authentic human community with those whom we might not agree with, whose values may be drastically different from ours, or share very little cultural commonalities. While artists are encouraged to approach this challenge imaginatively, they must follow the following guidelines:

1. This is a fine art show. No propaganda art is accepted.
2. The idea is to evoke an open-ended audience imagination. Avoid including slogans or other overt textual messages as a prominent part of art.
3. The show is meant to be all-ages and family friendly. Sexually explicit contents, depictions of cruelty and murders, and other grotesque materials unacceptable by prevailing social norms will not be accepted.
4. While whimsical and satirical art is welcome, please avoid defaming, overtly criticizing, or slandering any living persons, government officials or agencies, or corporations. Again, this is not a propaganda show.
5. Materials deemed racist, xenophobic, misogynist, homophobic, or otherwise repulsive according to “Occupy Portland Community Norms” (Oct. 2011) and the "Safer Space Policy of Red and Black Cafe" will be rejected.
6. Works must be two-dimensional (any medium) and mountable on a wall, and may not exceed 30 inches in any dimension.

Entries: Open to artists residing in or working in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alaska, Yukon, Montana, or Idaho. Send an email with a link to your art portfolio and if any, a bio or C.V., to alleycatmews@###### with subject line“FOOP Art Show.” Deadline: November 10, 2014. Acceptance will be notified by email by November 15, 2014. While there is no entry fee, a suggested voluntary contribution of $10 to $30 per accepted artist is requested towards promotional materials (show cards, etc.) and show supplies. Number of accepted artists will depend on gallery size. If you are unable to pick up any unsold art at the end of the show, an actual shipping and packing cost plus a $10 handling fee will be charged; if no fee payment is received by January 15, 2015, you will forfeit ownership of the artwork.

Art sales: As this is a fundraiser, 30 percent of sales will be donated to FOOP. As FOOP is a 501(c)(4) civic/social welfare organization at this moment, artists may not deduct this for income tax purposes. The other 30 percent goes to Red and Black Cafe for hosting the show. The remaining 40 percent will be paid out to the artists, no later than 30 days after the conclusion of the show.

Curator: Sarah-Andrea A. Morrigan – alleycatmews@########