The OSTRALE – Centre for Contemporary Art – organises its international exhibition of contemporary art in Dresden during the summer months, planned in the year 2021 from July 1 to October 3. Artists of all nations, age groups, backgrounds and art forms are invited to apply with their works to participate in the OSTRALE Biennale O21. All proposals will be evaluated by an international team of curators. The final selection of artworks will be made from the works of the applicants and the artists invited by the curators. Applications will be accepted exclusively online via the OSTRALE database till June 28, 2020.

 

The OSTRALE Biennale of 2021 will be organised under the main theme of “quota” (more precisely: quota, target / GDP / (de)growth / rivers, streams, currents / upstream). Andrea Hilger explains: “Looking at the environmental, social and economic dynamics of the lastdecade, it is increasingly clear that the imperative of continuous growth and development is no longer a sustainable vision for our future, if we want one at all. But the greater systems that govern our world and our societies seem less willing to change their ways. Sometimes it feels as if we are caught in a current against which it is pointless to fight, but swimming upstream seems more important than ever as we do not have as much time as would normally be needed for such fundamental cultural shifts.”

The role of art in this context is problematic: should it serve as a means of to develop sensibility and empathy for a deeper understanding of these questions? Or would this be a restriction of artistic freedom and an invitation to propaganda? Is art a luxury of the developed world that should be abolished first when we reduce our consumption and limit our material needs? Or is it, on the contrary, the most important tool to survive and maintain our hopes in an otherwise hopeless and frightening world?

Application deadline: June 28, 2020

Exhibition date: July 1 to October 3, 2021, Dresden, Germany

Follow-up exhibition: 2022, Kaunas, Lithuania

1st jury meeting: 41st calendar week 2020 (October 5-9)

2nd jury meeting: 48th calendar week 2020 (November 26-29)

Selection results: 2 weeks after the jury meetings, at the earliest

 

Terms and conditions:

• All artists, regardless of age, nationality, background or career status, are invited to apply with thematically relevant artworks.
• All forms of contemporary visual art are welcome, including drawing, painting, graphics, photography, sculpture, installation, performance, digital and video art, sound installations and other forms not mentioned here.
• Applications are only possible online, via the database system of the OSTRALE. You can register and upload your works by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.
• An artist can apply with a maximum of 5 artworks.
• Applicants must pay 12€ (6€ for art students) to cover the administrative costs of the application procedure, regardless of the number of works of art proposed.
• There will be absolutely no further costs to be covered by the artists during the exhibition process. All costs for transport, catalogue, exhibition organisation, material for Artists in Residence and insurance, etc., as well as travel and accommodation costs for artists invited by the OSTRALE to install their works personally before the exhibition opening will be provided by the organiser.
• The final decision of the jury will be communicated in writing (by e-mail) following the end of the second curators’ meeting (November 29, 2020).
• You can read the complete terms and conditions of participation on our website (http://ostrale.de). Please make sure that you have read it carefully before applying.
• Applications can be made either in English or in German.

The jury consists of renowned art scholars, curators and art historians from four Eastern European countries, including the OSTRALE direction:

Patricija Gilyte (Lithuania)
Krisztián Kukla (Hungary)
Ivana Meštrov & Nataša Bodrožić (Slobodne veze, Croatia)
Andrea Hilger & Antka Hofmann (OSTRALE, East Germany)
N. N. (Germany)

 

More detailed information:

O21 open call: https://ostrale.de/en/O21_Open_Call_EN.html
O21 terms and conditions: https://ostrale.de/downloads/O21/OSTRALE-Biennale-O21—AGB—EN.pdf?m=1585141113
O21 curatorial team: https://ostrale.de/en/About-us/O21_curatorial_team.html
O21 press releases: https://ostrale.de/en/Press/press-releases.html

 

Photo by Peter Fischer