Call for Entries: IMPLICIT BIAS - Seeing the Other: Seeing Our Self

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IMPLICIT BIAS - Seeing the Other: Seeing Our Self The exhibition will explore the unconscious racial bias that affects our decisions, choices, friends and beliefs about others. REQUIREMENTS: Media Images - Minimum: 1, Maximum: 5 Audio - Minimum: 0, Maximum: 5 Video - Minimum: 0, Maximum: 5 Total Media - Minimum: 1, Maximum: 5 Entry Fee (Implicit Bias- Seeing the Other Seeing Our Self): $5.00 Call for Entries: IMPLICIT BIAS – Seeing the Other: Seeing Our Self Presented by the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts and Busboys and Poets LOCATION: A multi-site exhibition at The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery and at Busboys and Poets Restaurant locations in Washington, DC Joan Hisaoka Gallery, 1632 U Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009 Busboys and Poets, 14th and V Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 DATES: September 18 – December 4, 2015 JURORS: Shanti Norris and Carol Dyson APPLICATION FEE: $5.00 APPLICATION DEADLINE: August 15th, 2015 midnight EST CALL DESCRIPTION: "Maybe, we now realize the way racial bias can infect us, even when we don’t realize it. So we are guarding against, not just racial slurs, but we are also guarding against the subtle impulse to call Johnny back for a job interview, but not Jamal." President Barak Obama’s Charleston eulogy at the funeral of the Rev. Clementa Pinckney IMPLICIT BIAS - Seeing the Other: Seeing Our Self is an exhibition that seeks to explore the unconscious racial bias that affects our decisions, choices, friends and beliefs about others. The growing body of social science research suggests that each of us harbors unconscious beliefs and values about race (as well as gender, age, etc.) that are often at odds with our conscious beliefs about our values. At the heart of discrimination lie powerful unacknowledged biases about the Other, which affect our decisions and choices, and all too often have adverse affects on the lives of others. Given recent news events in Charleston, Ferguson, Baltimore, New York and several places across America today, how do we find solutions? One suggestion is to begin with ourselves and look at our own bias. With this emotionally charged subject matter, we want work that squarely addresses the issues of racial disparity in our country, as well as work that helps us visualize what an equitable future might look like. We’re looking for work that addresses the need for greater self-awareness about our own biases, beliefs and consequent actions. The work does not need to solely imply an introspective view of Bias, but can extend to more prevalent matters, such as injustice in all its forms; police, judicial, education, voting rights and urban planning for example. We are living in important and dangerous times, where racial bias has stepped into a place that can no longer be ignored by the powers that be. IMPLICIT BIAS - Seeing the Other: Seeing Our Self is an exhibit that strives to reflect these matters with honesty, integrity and an urgency these times deserve. “Sometimes the behavioral research leads us to completely change how we think about an issue. For example, many of our anti-discrimination policies focus on finding the bad apples who are explicitly prejudiced. In fact, the serious discrimination is implicit, subtle and nearly universal. Both blacks and whites subtly try to get a white partner when asked to team up to do an intellectually difficult task. In computer shooting simulations, both black and white participants were more likely to think black figures were armed. In emergency rooms, whites are pervasively given stronger painkillers than blacks or Hispanics. Clearly, we should spend more effort rigging situations to reduce universal, unconscious racism” (Brooks, 2013). “This is the frightening point: Because [implicit bias is] an automatic and unconscious process, people who engage in this unthinking discrimination are not aware of the fact that they do it” (Wilkerson, 2013, p. 134). Everyone is susceptible to implicit biases (Nosek, Smyth, et al., 2007; Rutland BACKGROUND HISTORY JOAN HISAOKA HEALING ARTS GALLERY: Founded in 2008, the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts is a nonprofit arts space in Washington, DC dedicated to exhibiting fine art that explores the innate connection between healing and creativity. The gallery is founded on the core principles that art has the ability to mend social, psychological, and physical ills by building community, inspiring change, and celebrating life. A rotating exhibition schedule features contemporary, international and national artists addressing a diversity of themes, such as spirituality, social change, multiculturalism, health, environmentalism, and community. Resources for historic information on the gallery can be found at: http://www.smithcenter.org/arts-healing/joan-hisaoka-art-gallery.html Busboys and Poets is a community gathering place. It’s a space where racial and cultural connections are consciously uplifted…a place for art, culture and politics to intentionally collide… Both visual and performing arts are a constant and daily part of the Busboys’ environment and experience. By creating such a space, Busboys and Poets believes they can inspire social change and begin to transform the community and the world. More information about Busboys and Poets can be found at: http://www.busboysandpoets.com ABOUT THE JURORS: Shanti Norris is the cofounder and Executive Director of Smith Center for Healing and the Arts. She founded the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery and is a 2011 Distinguished Fellow of the Alliance for Arts and Health. She continues to curate shows and help oversee the selection and installation of artist projects for the gallery. She created the Smith Center artist in residence program at Walter Reed and sits on the hospital-wide Art and Healing Board. She created the 9/11 Arts Project, a citywide response to the 10th anniversary of 9/11. She is a founding board member of The Art Connection in the Capital Region as well as Arts in Healthcare Advocates (AHA.) She is a frequent speaker on the healing power of the arts. Her formal art training began at New York University and The Cooper Union in New York City. She is a member of ArtTable, the mother of three adult children, and is a painter and sculptor. Carol Dyson received a BA in Art History from Howard University and has worked as a gallery director and educational coordinator at galleries and museums in Washington, DC; Baltimore, MD; Ballston, VA; and Kansas City, MO. She also worked as an assistant to African American Artist and Historian, David C. Driskell for two years. Since 2013, she’s served as the Curator in Residence for Busboys and Poets, a job she will quickly say is awesome, from working with powerful and visionary artists and arts organizations to the expansive and supportive staff at Busboys and Poets. Carol is currently a MFA student in the Curatorial Practice program at Maryland Institute College of Art. ELIGIBILITY: The exhibition is open to artists from the Washington, DC Greater Metropolitan, Virginia and Maryland. WORK TO BE CONSIDERED: Artists are permitted to install works according to standard art installation practice. Artists are not permitted to make any permanent alterations of the gallery, or any of Smith Center’s indoor or outdoor spaces. Work shown outside of the building in two designated areas must be able to endure extreme weather conditions and will not be considered if it may pose any safety concerns for visitors. Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery insures works on-site for the duration of the exhibition. Transportation insurance is the responsibility of the artist. Work must fit through doors measuring 35”x78” (front) or 40”x80” (from rear loading area). A variety of pedestals are available but should be arranged and selected early to insure readiness. Arrangements for installation should be made in advance by calling the gallery director at (202) 483-8600. Gallery ceiling height is 118”. Artwork may be suspended from the ceiling with appropriate hardware. Please note the ceiling features white drywall “clouds,” as well as a gray concrete ceiling just above the clouds. Outdoor courtyard is approximately 16 ft by 18 ft and has a loose stone floor. There is an outdoor metal stairway to access the 2nd floor outdoor rooftop deck on which artwork must come up for installation. The stair width to 2nd floor is 45 inches wide. The outdoor deck is approximately 1,000 square feet. Artists are solely responsible for delivery and installation of their accepted work on the installation date and removal on the pick-up date. Artists are expected to install their artwork. Joan Hisaoka Gallery does not have staff to install artist work, however, limited help will be available. All work accepted must remain on display for the full duration of the show. Busboys information: All artwork must be framed, wired and ready to hang. Small sculpture will be considered. Busboys and Poets will take no additional commission for artwork sold at its locations. SUBMISSIONS: The juror will consider 5 images per artist or team of artists. Proposals (for works to be made), pre-existing works and video may be entered for the exhibition, plus supporting images of the artist/s previous works should be uploaded to www.callforentry.org If your piece is site or situation specific, please make it clear in your submission. We highly recommend that artists research the site and its history, and visit the Joan Hisaoka Gallery and Busboys and Poets locations. The Gallery is open to the public Wednesdays – Fridays, 11am – 5pm, and Saturdays 11 – 3pm. The Smith Center for Healing and the Arts is open Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM and gallery can be seen by appointment during those hours. For more information, click HERE.