Call for Proposals - Iraqimemorial.org

Call for Proposals: Iraqimemorial.org

(http://www.iraqimemorial.org -or- http://www.iraqimemorial.org/arabic/)

11/29/30

Information/Project Contact:
Project Director Joseph DeLappe
Associate Professor
Digital Media Studio
Department of Art/224
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno, Nevada 89509
775-784-6624
delappe@unr.edu
delappe@iraqimemorial.org
http://www.iraqimemorial.org
http://www.delappe.net

Iraqimemorial.org is an online call to action to artists, designers, architects or other interested creative individuals or collaborators to propose concepts for the creation of memorials to the many thousands of Iraqi civilians killed in the War in Iraq. As of 2007, estimates range from 77,000 to over 655,000 deaths in Iraq of non-combatants as a consequence of “Operation Iraqi Freedom”. The memorial concepts will be featured in a growing online exhibition/database of proposals accessible on the site. Proposals are available to be viewed and rated by the public as well as by an internationally diverse group of individual scholars and curators who are serving as jurors.

Jurors include:
-Dr. Nadje Al-Ali, Centre for Gender Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK
-Yaelle Amir, Independent Curator and Writer, New York City, USA
-Dr Bernadette Buckley, Lecturer in International Politics, Goldsmiths University of London, UK
-Monica Narula & Shuddhabrata Sengupta, The Raqs Media Collective, Delhi, India
-Dr. David Simpson, Professor of English, University of California Davis, USA
-John David Spiak, Curator, Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, USA
-Dr. Marjorie Vecchio, Director/Curator, Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery, University of Nevada, Reno, USA

Participating artists as of 11/29/07 include:
http://www.iraqimemorial.org/proposals_list.php
Tony Allard-USA, Paul Dixon-UK, Carla Drago-Australia, Al Fadhil-Germany, James Hutchinson-UK, James Johnson-Perkins-UK, Sabine Kacunko-Germany, Suzanne Kanatsiz-USA, Lynn Marie Kirby-USA, Erik Krikortz-Sweden, Patrick Lichty-USA, Maria Paschalidou-Greece, John Quinn-UK, Kate Sicchio, UK, Jack Toolin-USA.

Guidelines for Entries:
http://www.iraqimemorial.org/proposals.html
This project seeks to highlight conceptions of memorials in the broadest context possible. All media and processes are to be featured on the project site, this includes but is not limited to experimental or traditional applications of: sculpture, architecture, installation, performance, murals, web art, digital art, photography, video, film, audio art, etc. Please visit the project web site for further detailed entry requirements and information.

Who May Submit Proposals?
All artists, architects, designers, individuals or collaborations are welcome and invited to submit proposals. You must be at minimum 18 years old to participate in this project.

How to Submit
http://www.iraqimemorial.org/proposals.html
Entries are solely accepted via an online submission process available through the project website.

Deadline
As a user generated content site, the project is ongoing indefinitely – Iraqimemorial.org will continue to be realized as new memorial proposals are uploaded to the site. A first “Juror’s Deadline for Review” has been established as March 19th, 2008, the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.

Iraqimemorial.org Official Launch

As of November 29th, 2007, Iraqimemorial.org (http://www.iraqimemorial.org) has been officially launched and is open and available to accept proposals. Proposals that have been received as of this date are also available for viewing and public rating on the exhibition pages of the site. I am presently in the process of widely distributing the Call for Proposals. Finalizing the design and publication of the site online has been an amazing and exhausting process. The Arabic translation of the site is now online and accessible!

Of the original 22 artists who agreed to create the first round of proposals we have received 15. A number of these artists will be posting their proposals in the next few weeks. Several of these artists have relayed to me that the would like to take more time to effectively address the enormity of the difficult issue of the deaths of civilians in the war. This is surely one of the questions that this open forum will be addressing as the project moves forward - how do artists address such a difficult subject? How do we choose to function in a time of war?