Here not There - Call for Local San Diego Artists!
by Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
MCASD zeroes in on ‘Here’ (aka San Diego)
By Robert Pincus, Union-Tribune Staff Writer
October 18, 2009
Union Tribune
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego has announced that it will do its largest exhibition of local artists in a quarter-century. The show, “Here Not There,” will be on view from June 6 through Sept. 9, 2010, in La Jolla.
Underpinning the desire to present a wide-ranging show, in terms of media and approaches to the making of art, is the notion that the art scene in San Diego has, as the museum's press release says, “developed a critical mass of local talent.” The ambition is not to try to pinpoint any single notion of a regional style or sensibility, but to emphasize “the variety, strength, and vitality of individual contemporary art practices in this region.”
Lucia Sanroman, the museum's associate curator, is curating “Here Not There.” The museum is also issuing a call for submissions and is setting forth guidelines at its Web site. The link is: mcasd.org/about/proposals.php . Art students at any level are ineligible. Final selections for the show will be made by Sanroman in conjunction with the other members of a curatorial committee that includes museum director Hugh Davies, curator Robin Clark and education curator Gabrielle Wyrick.
Sanroman will be looking at the local art environment from different vantage points. One major factor, in the critical mass, has been the graduate programs at UC San Diego and San Diego State University and the artists the programs have nurtured and produced. There will also be a focus on what it calls the “alternative art scene,” with artists who have emerged from North County to North Park and points south. There will also be recognition of the networks in which art emerges: schools, alternative art spaces and collaborative groups.
The previous exhibition at the museum that most closely parallels “Here Not There” in scope is “A San Diego Exhibition: 42 Emerging Artists,” presented in 1985 (the museum was then called the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art). That project was curated by Lynda Forsha and the late Burnett Miller, who were the museum's staff curators at that time, as well as the then recently appointed director Hugh Davies. It included many individuals who have become leading local figures, including Raul Guerrero, Jay Johnson, Kenneth Capps and Ernest Silva and still others who have achieved high profiles elsewhere, such as Guillermo Gomez-Peña and Roy McMakin.
Other noteworthy shows of local artists organized by the museum include “San Diego '72” (1972-73), which showcased artists Faiya Fredman and Joyce Cutler-Shaw, both still active and well-known. In 1988, there was “Civilians,” guest-curated by celebrated critic Dave Hickey and featuring such accomplished artists as Deloss McGraw (no longer local) and Li Huai (who is).
Seven years later, the museum organized “Common Ground: A Regional Exhibition” (1995), focused on artists from San Diego. It emerging figures like Roman de Salvo and Jean Lowe, who have remained local while enjoying national followings. (Both have been featured subsequently at the museum.)
“Off Broadway: New Art From Downtown San Diego” in 2000 — put together by former MCASD curators Elizabeth Armstrong, Miki Garcia and Toby Kamps — concentrated on a small number of artists. Among them were Shepard Fairey (now located in Los Angeles and best known for his iconic Obama posters), Brian Dick (a recent recipient of a San Diego Art Prize) and Melissa Smedley (who has been recognized with significant public art commissions).
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Artist Proposal Guidelines
If you are interested in submitting your work for review, please follow these guidelines:
Visit the Museum and review catalogues to assess whether your work is appropriate for MCASD's program. If a visit is impossible, explore our Web site.
Submit one sheet of slides, or a video tape, CD ROM, DVD, or Web site address along with a resume, a short statement, and/or cover letter as well as any other supporting materials (such as exhibition reviews). If you would like your materials returned to you, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your submission. Please note that MCASD does not accept original work or models nor can the Museum be responsible for any materials that are sent.
MCASD asks that you submit slides or other photographic documentation no larger than 8 x 11 inches. The Museum is unable to accommodate submissions that fall outside of these guidelines or solicitations made in-person, via e-mail, by fax, or by phone.
If you are submitting a proposal for Here not There, please note this on the submission envelope and letter: "Here not There Proposal". Artists must have established residency in San Diego County for consideration. Art students at all levels will not be considered. The deadline for submissions is January 1, 2010.
Here not There submissions should be mailed to:
MCASD
Attention: Here not There Curatorial Department
1100 Kettner Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92101
Please note, MCASD makes every effort to turn around submissions in a timely manner but review may take 6 months or more. If your work is appropriate for a future exhibition, your materials may be retained for consideration. Thank you for respecting these guidelines and making it easy for the Curatorial staff to review as much work as possible.
General Submissions should be mailed to:
MCASD
Attention: Artist Proposal Curatorial Department
700 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
