In the Window 2022 – a call for Irish makers

Decorative element: a piece of handcrafted glass, reminiscent of a skyscape, made by Sophie Longwill
UPDATE 28 June 2022: In the Window deadline extended to 10am, Mon 25 July 2022. *Please share* with any Irish makers you know.
 
Hunger can be interpreted as a hunger to create or as a means to sate hunger in people. Creative domestic ware (crockery, ewers); tools for food preparation or serving (chopping boards, knives); items that help in food collection (baskets, punnets, fruit bowls) will all be considered. Furniture that supports people’s hunger for comfort or textiles that inspire nostalgia or hold food are all of interest. Alternatively, jewellery celebrating food cultures or cuisines, could be equally compelling. We have a broad approach to the theme hunger, we just need you to help us understand yours.
This is an exciting opportunity for an Irish maker (emerging or established; living or working in Ireland) to display their work, for one month In the Window at the Bluecoat Display Centre as part of Liverpool Irish Festival 2022 (aka #LIF2022). It will allow you to sell your work in to private collections, for which the Bluecoat Display Centre has a strong history and contacts list for, with support from the Festival and the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland.
First published 2 Feb 2022.

The same advert can be seen on Bluecoat Display Centre‘s website, here.

Designers, applied artists and makers are invited to submit work related to the Festival theme of “hunger” (more here), to go on display at the Bluecoat Display Centre from 1-31 October 2022, with shiping costs supported by the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland.

Overview

This short film gives a 90 second overview of the process (please ignore the ‘Sept 2021’. reference and take it to mean Sept 2022).

More info

This is an incredible chance to
  • receive an exhibition in an award-winning gallery (Bluecoat Display Centre), which is itself housed in the oldest combined arts centre in the country (Bluecoat) and in one of the busiest city centre shopping complexes in Britain (Liverpool One)
  • feature in a 20-30k run of the Festival newspaper along with other Festival promotional materials
  • involve new audiences in your work, via an online event during the Festival
  • sell your work
  • increase your profile with an active buying market
  • expand your portfolio.
Ideally, you will want to share your work, process and ‘brand’ and therefore you will be prepared to
  • take part in an online (or in-real-life, funds and chances allowing) studio event as part of the Festival, that allows the audience to meet you and your work (not critical, but desirable)
  • answer questions about your work for an article (via email)
  • have an online presence to promote, which you will share details of in your application (again, this isn’t essential, but we hope to help promote you and your work, so this would be beneficial).
Design and Crafts Council of Ireland will contribute up to 500EUR for transport costs.

Partnership and remit

For seven years the Bluecoat Display Centre has partnered the Liverpool Irish Festival, selecting a contemporary Irish maker to exhibit – In the Window– for the month of October. This year, we would like the In the Window maker to link in to #LIF2022’s theme “hunger”. We invite submissions and designs from producers working in
  • ceramics
  • jewellery
  • new or old technologies
  • metal, wood, glass, paper and leather work
  • textiles
  • upcycling
  • weaving.

We are open to other applied forms, too, but reiterate: this is not a fine art call. Paintings, photography and other fine art forms will not be considered.

Bluecoat Display Centre and Liverpool Irish Festival are delighted to be working with the Design and Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) again, who will support the call out and contribute towards transport costs. The selection panel is made up of senior representatives from

  • Bluecoat Display Centre
  • Liverpool Irish Festival and
  • DCCI.

Criteria and submission requirements

Open to any professional Irish craft maker, living and working in Ireland; in any discipline (although consideration should be given to suitability for display In the Window (see dimensions below)).

We welcome submissions from

  • Black and other ethnic inheritance makers
  • LGBTQI+ creatives
  • Cis and non-binary gender producers
  • Neurodivergent, disabled and Deaf originators

Your statement must demonstrate how you believe your work connects with or exemplifies the Festival theme of “hunger”, either in your process, output or user experience. Use this link to read the full artstic statement and creative call. We expect you to reference this and be able to answer interview questions on this subject, if selected. The exhibition work does not have to be new (preferably made within 2 years), but will be available for sale. To submit a proposal you must email: [email protected] with

  • a selection of 5 images (maximum size per image 2MB)
  • prices of your proposed submissions
  • a statement about your work and how it is relevant to the “hunger” theme (available here)
  • your current biography/CV.

The deadline for submission is 9am on Mon 27 June 2022, with announcement of the selection made within 6 weeks.

Featured image is Bealtaine, part of Sophie Longwill’s winning installation in 2022.

In the Window

The dimensions of the exhibition space your submission needs to fill are below. Click to expand.

 

 

 

 

 

Background

Bluecoat Display Centre (BDC) is an independent, regional centre for artistic activity. It brings together craft makers and audiences, in an environment that encourages creativity, collaboration and the exchange of ideas. A registered charity since 2010, based in Liverpool city centre, BDC runs a gallery; education and community outreach programmes. The Centre provides over 60 local and 300+ nationally selected contemporary craft makers and designers a retail platform, displaying and selling work. Originated as one of this country’s earliest craft and design galleries (1959), Bluecoat Display Centre was the first public gallery space within Bluecoat. We are an advocate, facilitator and audience maker for contemporary crafts.

The Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) is the national agency for the commercial development of Irish designers and makers. DCCI stimulates innovation, champions design thinking and informs Government policy using funding from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation via Enterprise Ireland. It has over 60 member organisations and over 3,000 registered clients.

Liverpool Irish Festival (LIF) brings Liverpool and Ireland closer together using arts and culture. It is this use of arts and culture as an instrument for observing, learning, sharing and debating Irishness, in the particular context of Liverpool, which makes us unique. We represent Northern Ireland, the Republic and the Irish diaspora’s creativity throughout the festival. Our thematic approach to programming, critical-thought and curation develops depth, resonance and inclusion. In this context, we believe the Liverpool Irish Festival is the only Irish arts and culture led festival in the world. We can’t find another!