DEADLINE: MONDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2020
Queer Art Projects in partnership with CUNTemporary is now accepting proposals for ‘Deep Trash: Turkish Delight’, which will be part of the larger programme ‘Turkish Delight’, taking place in London, UK in March 2020.
Deep Trash: Turkish Delight will be the 14th instalment of Deep Trash, the unique multi-disciplinary exhibition and performance club night created by CUNTemporary and running 1-3 times a year since 2014.
We accept proposals for performances, videos, photographs and installations to be shown at Deep Trash: Turkish Delight, on Friday 20 March 2020, at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club.
We are looking for artistic expressions that explore (but are not limited to):
- Queer/trans/feminist/migrant/sexual minority/non-binary/BDSM experiences from Turkey and its diaspora; especially migrant minorities living in the UK, like Turkish, Kurdish, Turkish-Cypriot and Alevi.
- De-stigmatisation of trans individuals, production of trans resistance and the celebration of trans identity, against all odds, in Turkey.
- The often-ignored multicultural side of Turkey, with its Kurdish, Armenian, Greek, Jewish and Arab minorities, their queer and activist connections.
- A non-binary approach to the East/West binary in relation to Turkey’s geopolitical location: new, queer and radical interventions to the old and never-ending dichotomy between the East and the West.
- Queer/trans/feminist/migrant/sexual minority/non-binary/BDSM experiences from the Middle East, the Balkans, the Mediterranean, Eastern European and West Asian regions – all of which have cultural and historical ties with Turkey. We especially welcome multicultural collectivity, collaboration and border-crossings within these areas and their diasporas.
- A queer answer to the complex and much contested question around the geopolitical and conceptual framing of Turkey (i.e. whether it is situated in the Middle East/East Europe/Near East/Mediterranean area/West Asia). We are welcoming migrant/multicultural/hybrid positionalities as fabricators of queer embodiments.
- The idea that queer and radical sexual manifestations – as well as queer and experimental art forms – cut through cultural divides, to manifest a shared, transnational and intersectional queer culture.
This is not an event exclusive to those of Turkish descent. We accept proposals by artists from any nationality and we encourage risk-taking in the name of bridging cultural divides. In this spirit, we are open to consider all sorts of subverted cultural couplings and dismantling of fixed national identifications – even those that might seem to carry the risk of ‘appropriation’ (be brave and let us be the judge of that!). Note: our team and jury is composed of a number of queer-feminist activists, artists and academics from Turkey and its diaspora.
We accept applications in both English and Turkish. However, we strongly recommend applying in English and keeping in mind that your work must be understood by English-speaking audiences.
Performances should be no longer than 10 minutes for the main stage. However, we welcome other lengths and formats (e.g. intimate, durational, interactive performances…) for other spaces within the venue.
Because of the nature of the event, printed copies will be exhibited instead of original artworks. Please note that if you want to show an original artwork, these cannot be insured, and we will not be liable for any damages. Painting submissions will be considered only as printed reproduction [please send a high definition image].
For performances there will be a flat artist fee, in which you should budget all your expenses. The final allocated amount will depend on the result of funding applications, but it will not exceed £150. We cover the costs of printing your artworks and we can have a modest budget for installation works. If your participation requires a specific type of reimbursement, please include that in your application.
To apply, please fill in the form at the link below by Monday 10 February 2020 midnight (UK time).
All your data is confidential and is only used for the purposes of this open call only. We will respond to all applications by Friday 21 February 2020.
An expert jury will select the finalists whilst the submission team will contact you with the outcome – or they might get in touch beforehand, for further information about your work.
Please note that there is a separate Call for Papers to the ‘Turkish Delight Symposium’ taking place at Goldsmiths Collage, hosted by the Mountain of Art Research Center, to be held on 19 March, 2020.
About Queer Arts Projects:
Queer Art Projects is a London based independent production company, which specialises in organising art events like exhibitions, performances, screenings, plays, conferences, workshops, talks and parties, as well as all related services from consultancy on applying to funds, to content writing for media campaigns.
Queer Art Projects was founded by Tuna Erdem and Seda Ergul, who have been partners for more then a decade. Both have a dual educational background of business and art. Erdem and Ergul are also artists and the founding members of Istanbul Queer Art Collective.
W: https://www.queerartprojects.co.uk/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/queerartprojects
IG: @queerartprojects
About ‘Deep Trash’:
During a time when public and private spaces are narrowing their ability to accommodate the concerns and lives of non-normative and non-binary subjects, events such as Deep Trash are crucial in bringing together a community of people interested in the themes of sexuality, gender, creativity and politics, with an intersectional, decolonial, antiracist and transnational approach. Deep Trash is an exhibition-cum-club night taking place in London at the Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, approx. twice a year, and every event explores a different theme.
W: https://cuntemporary.org/category/deep-trash-events
FB: https://www.facebook.com/DeepTrashClub
IG: @DeepTrashClub
#DeepTrash #EcoTrash
About ‘Arts Feminism Queer’ (CUNTemporary):
Arts Feminism Queer is a non-profit, volunteer-run arts organisation that works with individuals and groups exploring feminist, queer and decolonial art practices and theories established in 2012. The organisation provides a monthly calendar of queer-feminist events taking place in London and curates talks, screenings, exhibitions, performances, festivals and club nights with the participation of a multidisciplinary and international group of artists, performers and theorists.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/cvntemporary
IG: @kuntemporary
TW: @CUNTemporaryLdn
Open Call Information
W: www.cuntemporary.org/open-call-for-turkish-delight
APPLICATION LINK: https://forms.gle/YTBBkaxH7gTeNrHo6