Come Up To My Room 2017

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS — Come Up To My Room (#CUTMR)

Submission Deadline — June 15th, 2016 11pm EST

Come Up To My Room (#CUTMR) is an alternative design exhibition that provides a platform for experimentation outside the norms of art and design, at the edges between intention and interpretation. Freed from the constraints of traditional practice, CUTMR encourages spatial exploration that engages our senses, our memories and our perceptions of reality. The exhibition challenges participants to push their everyday practice by offering a blank canvas upon which to explore new themes and ways of working. Framed within the backdrop of the historic 126-year-old Gladstone Hotel, CUTMR invites artists and designers to create site-specific, immersive installations that stimulate the imagination and encourage discussion and dialogue between contributors and visitors alike.

The 14th installment of CUTMR will take place between January 19 and January 22, 2017. We invite you to submit proposals as individuals or as collectives, and multidisciplinary teams are encouraged. This call is open to Canadian and international participants.

2017’s THEME is Transplant.

Transplant.

verb (used with object)

1: to remove from one place and plant it in another.

2: to move from one place to another.

3: to bring (a family, colony, etc.) from one country, region, etc., to another for settlement; relocate.

verb (used without object)

4: to undergo or accept transplanting: to transplant easily.

noun

5: the act or process of transplanting.

6: a plant, organ, person, etc., that has been transplanted.

Our relationships with the world and those around us, from local to global and our exchanges in-between have been affected by global issues, media and digital social interaction. Ideas, knowledge and culture expressed in the exchanges between individuals are constantly evolving; transferred from one place to another. The act of transplantation is a phenomenon to be explored. Everything converges and diverges to reemerge as a collective entity, translated into experiences and things that we have yet to foresee. If so, are we going to be immersed in disruptive or disciplined environments?

Through our dealings with the fast evolving environment surrounding us – designers and artists in a global context – we are left working to define our place in the chaos.

PROCESS

The Come Up To My Room (CUTMR) curatorial process is unique in that we select the artist/designer/teams for room installations based on their portfolios and then work with them in an open dialogue to create site-specific installations based on their personal vision. We choose you, but we don’t know what you will do with your space until we “come up to your room.” With this kind of curatorial process as the core premise of the show, CUTMR reinvents itself each year and is never presented the same way twice.

PARTICIPATION OPPORTUNITIES

1. Second Floor Immersive Installations: Participants create new, site-specific work in rooms or public spaces on the second floor. A total of 8 rooms are available. Public spaces include, walls, foyers, alcoves and a pop-up bar. Submissions for these spaces should be installation based and aim to transport the visitor into a complete immersive, “otherworldly” environment.
2. 3rd and 4th Floor: Hallways and public spaces are available for exhibition proposals which will orient visitors to Toronto to its vibrant alternative design scene. Curated group works and associated exhibits are welcome to apply.
3. Other Public Space Projects: Participants create functional or performative pieces that engage visitors throughout the hotel. This includes:
   • Exterior Spaces – Available spaces include the green roof, facades, alleyways, windows, balconies and projections that activate the street.
   • Ground Floor & Main Stairwell – Available spaces include the vestibule, front desk, cafe brick wall, ballroom for the Love Design Party, main stairwell, elevators, balcony alcove archway (BAR). Proposals for activating our food and beverage areas are welcome as well as installations in the cafe and the Melody Bar. We also have smart TVs for animations/film (some limitations due to service).
   • Other Spaces – Got an idea you don’t see here – let us know!
4. Performances & Events: Ask us if you’d like to collaborate with Gladstone Resident Artist Bruno Billio. We also accept proposals for performances during programming, sound pieces and proposals for works or events at offsite Locations. The sky’s the limit really!

Floor plans of the hotel are available here

HOW TO SUBMIT

Please submit electronically no later than Friday June 15, 2016. Submissions must include:

• Completed online submissions form, found here.
• Emailed Proposal to [email protected], including:
  Portfolio of visual representation of 2-5 previous projects and your website URL
• Your CV
• A one-page Expression of Interest specific to CUTMR 2017
• 2-5 images of your work (ArtistName_Title.jpg)

NOTE: Unlike the room installations, participants submitting for a public space project MUST include details of specific works to be exhibited in the show. All participants are required to showcase new work and are asked to produce work specifically for CUTMR 2017. Please include as much detail as possible on your proposal for the space, as well as images of your previous work. Drawings, descriptions, etc., of your proposed project are essential.

EXHIBITION FEES

$600 + HST for room installations

$250 + HST for public space projects

Fees are payable upon acceptance.

NOTE: Several of our past participants have been successful in obtaining exhibition assistance grants and sponsorships from Toronto Arts Council and Ontario Arts Council or private donors respectively.

WHAT YOU GET

Fees include space rental for the run of the exhibition; exhibition administration, curation and coordination; inclusion in the promotion, professional PR services, social media promotion, VIP events, exhibition catalogue and cross-promotion with the Toronto Design Offsite (TO DO) list. Past press coverage has included: Toronto Life, Where Toronto, Canadian Architect, Forbes Mag, Torontoist, CBC (Stephen & Chris), Azure, Design Lines, Now Toronto, the Globe and Mail, Monocle and many more!

Apply to Come Up to My Room 2017 HERE!

The Gladstone Hotel
1214 Queen St. West,
Toronto, ON M6J 1J6
(416) 531-4635, ext. 7105
[email protected]

Learn more here.