Overview

Mid-South Sculpture Alliance (MSA) is excited to present 2024 Student Pop-Up, a juried exhibition held in UAB 2300 Studios in Birmingham, AL during the 2024 MSA Conference.

This exhibition fosters MSA’s mission to advance the creation and awareness of sculpture in its many and varied forms and promote a supportive environment for sculpture and sculptors. Selected sculptures will offer a dynamic exhibition highlighting a variety of techniques, media and content. 

MSA Student Member Artists are encouraged to submit up to three artworks for consideration.

Application and Exhibit Timeline

Call opens:                              June 2

Deadline for submission:         September 1

Artists to be notified:               September. 15    

Shipping artwork deadline:     November 6

In-person delivery deadline:    November 6, 8am-2pm

Installation dates:                    November 6-8

Exhibition dates:                      November 9

Exhibition Reception:               November 9, 2-5:30pm

De-installation dates:               November 10, 9am-12pm

Artist Eligibility

• This opportunity is open to all enrolled BFA and MFA visual artists, aged 18 and older, who are current or new Student members of MSA. 

• Each applicant may enter up to THREE artworks; all entries must have been conceived and created by the artist submitting the artwork; all media suitable for indoor exhibition will be considered. 

• Applying for membership can be made when submitting for this exhibition.

• Application is free for MSA Student members

Jurors
Rich Gere:

Rich is an interdisciplinary print media artist working in alternative photo processes; works of paper, sculpture, and installation. As a researcher/artist, and co-investigator, he has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including funding from the Rauschenberg Foundation and a multimillion-dollar grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which supports his research on integrating the visual arts as pedagogy into nursing and medical science curriculums.

Gere has served on many national and international art boards and juries and appeared on a wide range of conference panels and councils. His recent conference activity includes presentations at SGCI (Southern Graphics Council International Conference), Southeastern College Arts Association Conference (SECAC), the College Arts Association Conference (CAA), and the Mid America Print Council (MAPC).

His work has appeared in more than 250 juried, solo, and group exhibitions, including recent exhibits at the El Paso Museum in El Paso, Texas; the Museo de Arte de Ciudad, Juarez, Mexico; SCOPE Basel, Switzerland; ArtHelix Gallery, Brooklyn, New York; and at the Toolbox Gallery, Berlin, Germany. His artwork appears in numerous public and private collections across the country and in Europe. He is represented by Marcia Wood Gallery of Atlanta.

Stacey Holloway:

Holloway currently serves as the Associate Professor of Sculpture at the University of Alabama Birmingham. From 2009 to 2013 Holloway served as Sculpture Technician and Instructor of Sculpture, 3D Design, and Sculpture Foundry Methods at Herron School of Art and Design.

Holloway is an active national installation-based artist and sculptor that focuses on the transformation and growth on individuals as they mature. Through the exploration of storytelling and ethology, she constructs sculptural stills that represent anxieties and fears that collide with a world of ambiguous subconsciousness.

Holloway has exhibited throughout the Midwest, South and East Coast in galleries such as Wayfarers, Brooklyn, NY; FM Gallery, Chicago, IL; Gallery 924 at the Arts Council of Indianapolis, IN; Huntsville Museum of Art, AL; Edington Gallery in Three Oaks, MI; Artfields Competition in Lake City, SC; Gallery13 in Minneapolis, MN; The Front, New Orleans, LA; and InLight Richmond in Richmond, VA. Holloway has received distinguished awards such as the 2010 Efroymson Contemporary Arts Fellowship through the Efroymson Family Fund: Central Indiana Community Foundation in Indianapolis and the Juror’s Choice Award at the “Red Clay Survey: 2014 Exhibition of Contemporary Southern Art” at the Huntsville Museum of Art.

Site

Art Studio faculty from UAB’s College of Arts and Science’s Department of Art and Art History will open their studios to share their visual research. Visitors will be able to see a wide range of artwork, including printmaking, photography, new media, sculpture, graphic design, painting, illustration, and drawing. This exhibition will be displayed in the back studios of Rich Gere and Stacey Holloway during the open studios.

Artwork Themes

The open call for submission requires no theme nor specific media or subject matter. Innovative, new, excellent examples of formal, process-driven, transformative and strong conceptual or technical works in sculpture are desired. The shape and content of the show will be defined entirely by the jurors.

Shipping, Installation, and Deinstallation

All accepted artwork should either be shipped or hand delivered at the artist's expense. All shipped artworks must arrive by Nov. 6, 2024. All artworks requested to be returned by shipping must include a return shipping label in the arriving package. 

Shipping address:

UAB Department of Art and Art History
Heather Holmes (SH) 501
506th St. S.
Birmingham, AL 35233

In-person delivery:

2300 7th Ave. S. 
Birmingham, AL 35233
(in-person deliveries must arrive on Wed. Nov. 6, 2024 8am-2pm)

Please coordinate in-person delivery with Stacey Holloway, stacey@staceyholloway.com

Deinstallation 

Deinstallation will begin Nov. 10, 2024 9am-12pm.

Return Shipping: All artists requesting return shipping of artworks must include a return shipping label during delivery. 

Artwork Scale

The exhibition space allows for free standing, pedestal, wall-hung and suspended pieces of varying sizes. Please contact Chelsea Gardiner, MSA Administrative Assistant, at admin@midsouthsculpture.org for suspended or wall-hung pieces weighing over 50lbs.

Limitation & Restrictions

1. All work must be original and completed within the last 5 years.

2. Wall mounted artworks must be ready to hang upon delivery and include anchoring hardware appropriate for masonry walls.

3. All shipping or hand delivery and the return of work for the exhibition is the responsibility of the artist.

4. MSA reserves the right to reject works that are misrepresented in the application process or are not properly outfitted to display in the gallery.

Artist Responsibilities

MSA and UAB 2300 Studios will supply power, tools, pedestals, basic installation materials and assistance for installation. The artist will provide any specialty hardware that is needed. Selected artists are encouraged to send a detailed installation instruction of artwork. If needed, Artists may come during installation to set up their own artwork.

Notification: Both selected and rejected artists will be notified of their selection by email.

For further information regarding MSA and this exhibition, please visit www.midsouthsculpture.org, or contact Chelsea Gardiner, Administrative Assistant, at admin@midsouthsculpture.org or 803.956.9876

Application Requirements

1. Completed entry form 

2. Artist statement - about artwork conception. Submissions should be no more than 400 words in length. These statements will be used for exhibition didactics including artist labels and exhibition catalog. Saved in .doc format as artist's last name and statement (DOE_STATEMENT.doc)

3. Artist biography statement - 100 to 150 words in length. Saved in .doc format as artist's last name and bio (DOE_BIO.doc)

4. Images - please submit up to three artworks. Detail images are encouraged with a maximum of up to ten image files total. Works in progress will be considered only if images clearly depicting where the sculpture is to this point and a detailed technical drawing are included. For work better suited for representation by video (installation, kinetic sculpture, etc), post a video and include a link in the application form.
   
   Image upload directions - each image must be:

• Saved in jpeg or png format

• Set color to RGB

• Image size should not exceed horizontal pixel dimension of 1600 pixels or vertical pixel dimension of 1200 pixels

• each file must be less than 1MB

• Saved as the artist's last name and image title.
  Example: DOE_UNTITLED.jpg
  
  

5. Image list - Saved as .pdf or .doc format as artist name and image list (DOE_LIST.pdf) For each image, include:

• Title

• Date completed

• Media

• Dimensions (please be as accurate as possible)

• Weight of artwork

• Description of how the artwork would be installed/hung etc

• Optional description about the artwork

Submitting your application indicates that you have read and understood all guidelines and criteria contained within this prospectus. To the best of your knowledge, you are eligible to be considered for 2024 Student Pop-Up. Your application contains your work and the information in your statements is complete and true. You understand that if accepted, it will be your responsibility to ship/deliver your exhibition ready artwork to the correct location and on time, concurrent with any schedules given to you upon acceptance. If accepted, the artwork presented with this application is the artwork that will be installed in the exhibit. 

UAB 2300 Studios does not provide insurance for the artwork during the exhibition. The Artist assumes all liability and any injury or damages incurred directly from the artwork or associated malfunctions of equipment/technology in the exhibition. This includes damages to networks in conjunction with internet or server access required for the exhibition.

No person will be excluded from participation in or otherwise subjected to discrimination in regards to services, programs and employment, provided by the exhibition venue based on color, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, age or religion.