Painting at Night 2024: An Artist/Mother Podcast and Collar Works exhibition at Opalka Gallery
Curators: Alisa Sikelianos-Carter and Sean Desiree
Deadline to submit: April 1st, 2024
Exhibition Dates: September 3 - October 12, 2024
Artist/Mother Podcast, Collar Works, and Opalka Gallery are excited to announce an open call for entries for the fourth edition of the Painting at Night exhibition, curated this year by Alisa Sikelianos-Carter and Sean Desiree. As part of the Artist/Mother Podcast Community’s ongoing work to bring exposure to and provide opportunities for artists who are also caregivers, the A/MP is seeking submissions for this exhibition. The name for the exhibition came about during episode 28 of the A/M Podcast, a conversation between host, Kaylan Buteyn, and artist Allison Reimus. In the episode, Allison recalls the time she read a statement in a New York Times article about how “You can’t paint at night in your kitchen and hope to be a good artist. It doesn’t work that way.”
In true Artist/Mother fashion, this seemed like a great statement to respond to for a group show, as an act of resistance and rejection. To imply that good art cannot be made in domestic spaces, or that a person cannot claim the title of artist without meeting arbitrary requirements is a patriarchal myth, one that artists who are caregivers have been resisting for decades. For this show, we would like you to offer a response, addressing the ways you are making excellent and inspiring work while also navigating your role as a caregiver. The work may respond to thematic obstacles such as domestic duties, ambivalent feelings, restraints on time, minimal support, the joy and labor involved in caregiving. Show us, through the work, how you are “Painting at Night”—making art as an artist and balancing your unique caregiving responsibilities.
“Painting at Night” has become a monumental exhibition for our caregiving community. The first version took place at Fort Houston Gallery in Nashville, TN (2019), the second at Artlink in Fort Wayne, IN (2021), and the third was hosted by Collar Works, Troy, NY (2022). The fourth will be held at Opalka Gallery on the campus of Russell Sage College in Albany, NY. The exhibition has no defined expectation for type or style of work that will be considered or selected. This exhibition is open to artists of all gender identities.
ARTIST AND CURATORIAL PROPOSALS
Emerging and underrepresented artists and curators, working in any media, exhibiting challenging and culturally relevant contemporary artworks are invited to submit artworks for consideration in exhibitions. Both artists and individual curators interested in submitting curatorial proposals, must fill out a submission form and adhere to guidelines. Submissions will be reviewed on an ongoing basis by an exhibition committee of artists and arts professionals.