Women on the Move: Open call for socially engaged visual artists

The residency, run under the heading ‘Women on The Move’, is expected to result in three artistic outputs: 1) a mural at KU Leuven, Campus Sint-Jacob in Antwerp: 2) 2-3 socially engaged, participatory, and co-creative workshops leading to the creation of the mural, and: 3) visual documentation of the process, which may include written reflections or accompanying text. The final mural should aim to challenge and disrupt gendered stereotypes related to women and migration, as well as the gendered logics underpinning the unequal organisation of society in the contexts of coloniality, global capitalism, and planetary destruction. Additionally, the mural should propose alternative relational imaginaries that are inclusive, creating space for multiplicity and
difference.

We particularly welcome proposals from artists from underrepresented and marginalized backgrounds. In keeping with the social history of mural making and the RE-WIRING project’s innovative ‘transformative equality approach’ to societal change, an affinity with socially engaged art and experience with participatory and co-creative methods is desirable. This could involve, for example, working with a particular migrant community to design the final mural.

The mural will be displayed indoors indefinitely at KU Leuven, Campus Sint-Jacob (Sint-Jacobsmarkt 49-51, 2000 Antwerp).

Deadline and application

Please send in the following documents to creativity.antwerp@kuleuven.be by November 18, 2024, at noon (12:00, CET), with the subject heading: ‘RE-WIRING Open Call’.

We ask you to send in the following:

1. Please provide a brief paragraph expressing your interest in participating in the project. Explain how your mural idea and working process will explore the intersections of gender and migration within the broader contexts of coloniality, global capitalism, and planetary destruction. Additionally, describe how your mural and process will thematically and methodologically contribute to the project’s broader goal of promoting positive social change, with a focus on gender equality.
2. Description of your work process, including proposed time schedule.
3. 3-7 images representative of your visual style (e.g. past murals / other painted works) in a single PDF, including brief contextual information.
4. A sketch of the starting point / idea behind your proposed mural piece.
5. A detailed description of all production materials, including access equipment (such as scaffolding) for the making of the mural, and their estimate costs.

All submissions will be carefully examined by a panel consisting of artists, curators, gender studies scholars, students, and other experts in the field of contemporary art, who will select one proposal to go ahead for realization. Final selection will be made known by the end of December, 2024.

What we offer

• Honorarium (5000 euro).
• Production costs (max. 1200 euro).
• An indoor wall (approx. 6,28m x 4,56) for an indefinite placement of your mural within the KU Leuven Antwerp, Campus Sint-Jacob.
• Visibility of, and access to view, your mural from the street.
• Have your mural contribute to an interdisciplinary and international dialogue on gender equality as part of the scientific research project RE-WIRING: Realizing Girls and Women’s Inclusion, Representation, and Empowerment.
• Inclusion of your mural in an online exhibition catalogue featuring four other international art exhibitions and artistic responses focused on the inclusion, representation, and empowerment of women and girls.
• Inclusion of your artwork created during the residency in a small publication.

More information

For additional questions, please contact creativity.antwerp@kuleuven.be.