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Archive for January, 2025

COMME CA ART x AWOL STUDIOS OPEN CALL EXHIBITION 2025 ENTRIES OPEN!

Friday, January 31st, 2025

Comme Ca Art and AWOL Studios invites submissions from artists living in Northern England**. Work can be in any 2D or 3D media, video, sound or performance for the Open Call Exhibition. All work must have been completed in the previous 2 years. Submission does not guarantee selection and entry fees are non-refundable.

Please read ALL the following information carefully BEFORE entering. Exhibition info and T&C’s below.


The Comme Ca Art X AWOL Studios Open Call Exhibition

  • 1st prize award £2,000 
  • Highly commended award £500

Submissions will be shortlisted and presented to a panel of external judges from which the winner and highly commended will be chosen. 

The judging panel includes:

Mike Chavez-Dawson : Interdisciplinary artist curator based at Rogue Artists’ Studios and lecturer on the Foundation at University of Salford.

Jessica Bennett : Director of Paradise Works in Salford and independent curator.

Fiona Corridan : Senior Curator & Programme Manager at Manchester Art Gallery.


HOW TO ENTER

• Each artist can submit up to TWO artworks.  Please fill in the separate entry form HERE

• If you have any further enquiries, please feel free to email opencallawol@gmail.com 

• All submissions to be made by Monday 31stth March 2025 (midnight)

• There is an entry fee for all artists of £10 per work. 

For entry fee, a link to our payment partners ‘SumUp’ will be sent via email after submission (this may take a few days)


ADDITIONAL INFO

• If selected, please ensure all works come with hanging fixtures or clear instructions on how to display.

• Artwork will be installed by our team of technicians; artists do not need to be present.

• The Comme Ca / AWOL Studios Open Call Exhibition Private View and winner announcement will take place on Friday 30th May 2025.

• The exhibition will continue to run until Sat 28th June 2025. During the exhibition people can view by appointment, Wednesday & Thursday 11am – 4pm and on Saturdays from 11am – 2pm.

• Collection of work after the exhibition will be on Tuesday 1st – Friday 4th  July 2025 between 11am – 2pm, artists mustbook a time to collect with the gallery direct.


KEY DATES

• Submission deadline: by Monday 31stth March 2025 (midnight)

• Notification of selection: by April 28th 2025

• Delivery of exhibiting art works to the Comme Ca Art Gallery: Tuesday 13th May – Thursday 15th May, between 11am – 3pm.

• Exhibition Private View and Winner Announced: Friday 30th May 2025 from 6pm – 8pm.

• Exhibition: Fri 30th May until Sat 28th June 2025 (Open times Wed & Thurs 11-4pm by appointment & Sat 11-2pm)

• Collection of art works: Tuesday 1st – Friday 4th  July 2025 between 11am – 2pm, artists to book collection slots with the Comme Ca Art Gallery first.


Please view our data protection policy here

Please read our T&Cs below


** All Artists Must Live Within The Areas Below **

Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Cumbria, County Durham, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire


Terms and Conditions (Please Read before entering)

By entering the COMME CA ART x AWOL Open Call 2025 Artists agree that:

a)     The work(s) is executed by the Artist and declared their bona fide property and that no other person has any financial or other interest in the work(s)

b)     The Artist holds all intellectual property rights in the work(s) and have obtained prior written approval for the use of any third party copyrighted material contained in the submitted work(s)

c)     Work(s) must have been completed within the last 2 years

d)     Work(s) will be available for the dates stated in the ‘Open Call 25 Information Document’

e)     Artists take full responsibility for the delivery, insurance, and shipping of any selected work(s).

f)      If artwork is for sale Comme Ca Art charge 40% commission on each sale, so please amend your prices prior to entering.

g)     The Artist lives in the following areas: Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Cumbria, County Durham, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire

h)     Submission does not guarantee selection

i)      Entry Fees of £10 per entry are non-refundable

j)      Artists agree to allow AWOL Studios / Comme Ca Art to use any images of their artwork on publicity associated with the Open Call 2025

k)     AWOL Studios / Comme Ca Art are not liable for any loss or damage incurred to the artwork if shortlisted and exhibited, and advises all artists to seek their own insurance

l)      Any unsold work not collected within 1 calendar month of final collection date becomes the property of Comme Ca Art and may be disposed of.

Anastasia Borodina 

Tuesday, January 28th, 2025

I am a contemporary artist studying the transformation of traditional symbols of European culture

in modern society through classical fine art techniques and mediums. My subject of interest is

always a person and their search for certain points of support in the form of rituals, signs, and

visual forms adapting and confronting rapid changes in human society. I believe childhood is one

of the key periods – when all patterns form, touching the base of our self-identity. I found many

clues in the subconscious world of a young person’s feelings and dreams.

For my paintings, I deliberately select iconographic language as it is the only means I know

powerful enough to communicate on such delicate and deeply hidden matters. I never just portray

children but rather aspire to deliver in an indivisible artistic space all integrity and separation of

the hidden internal world with the environment where a pure young person is located.

If successful, it makes the power of art explicit giving the viewer a unique opportunity to enter

and relive their own childhood experience, contemplate or have a new intimacy of interaction with

the magnificent world of children. Ultimately, it provides me and my viewers space for

development and suggests new symbolic keys allowing better communication with a frightened but

so exciting contemporary world streaming around us.


Website: https://anastart.myportfolio.com

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/_anastasia.borodina/

Olga Mun 

Tuesday, January 28th, 2025

Olga Mun is a Contemporary British painter based in Manchester, whose work intricately explores cultural hybridity and identity through the lens of her Iranian and Russian heritage. By blending abstraction with figuration, Olga’s paintings delve into the transformative processes of identity negotiation in the diaspora experience, influenced by her life in Britain. Her art seeks to bring to the forefront the narratives of Iranian and Russian diasporas, often sidelined in mainstream discussions, and aims to reflect the socio-political complexities these minority communities face within a multicultural society.

Olga’s painting practice thoughtfully interrogates the human condition, weaving historical and lived experiences into dynamic canvases that challenge viewers to contemplate the fluidity of identity in the context of migration. Her use of almost abstract figures, transformative forms, and infinite color blending reveals the tensions and creative expressions that arise from cultural exchanges.

Holding an MA in Contemporary Fine Art from the University of Sanford and a BA in Fine Art from the University of Salford, Olga has showcased her work in numerous exhibitions, including the Royal Summer Exhibition in London and solo shows at the Lowry Hotel. Her art continues to provoke dialogue on the ever-evolving narrative of multicultural identities and their place in modern society.

Website: https://www.olgamun.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mun_olga

Email: mun_olga@yahoo.com

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