Firefly Tunnels: Artist Call for May 2011 in Pittsburgh

Firefly Tunnels is now accepting applications from U.S. based artists.

A metaphorical “tunnel” or website is now set for Egyptian artists in preparation to investigate visual and performative colloquy with American artists. By building a discourse between the U.S. and Egypt, the goal behind the project is to break down the barriers between Muslim and Christian prejudices as well as addressing general xenophobia, gender and class issues. The project hopes to tap into the various forms of performance and installation, birthing a hybrid language of communication.

Through social, political, and environmental observations the “tunnels” will create an experience that seeks and speaks emotional truth and intelligence through art, unafraid of change, culture and inspired by the education of new ideas.

IMPORTANT: Artists are curated from the website, into the 3-D tangible exhibit at the Mattress Factory Museum. Therefore, artists must produce work on the website in order to be exhibited in the final show.

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The Workshop

Performance art grew out of DaDa and the avant-garde movement in the visual arts. It is conceptual by nature. It therefore is adaptable to a variety of artists who will be learning from one another in an intensive residency atmosphere. The workshops will incorporate performance, video, sculpture, movement, poetry and sound to create various installations sites throughout Pittsburgh. As a director and curator, La Follette’s mission is to develop a foundation of experimental artists in the U.S. who range in diversity (race, gender, religious/cultural beliefs, economic background etc) who will strive to push each other’s boundaries, stimulating dialogue and discovery through the exchange of aesthetic works. IMPORTANT: All artists who are a part of the project must participate in the full workshop (no part-time involvement). Artists who live outside of Pittsburgh will be able to stay at the Mattress Factory Museum artist apartments.

How to Apply

Interested artists should send a one page artist statement as to why s/he should be considered for the Firefly Tunnel Project, a resume, and collection of up to 10 images, 10 pages of written work or 10 minutes of video (performance, movement videography), or sound to: tavia @ artup.org. Please send inquiries to the same address. If you are including video, please provide a link to a website or upload to an open access site like You Tube or Vimeo. Artist can provide both images and video by sending, for example- 3 images and 7 minutes of video, but the average portfolio review time should amount to approximately 10 minutes.

Expectations of the artists and the role of art:

The Pittsburgh based collective will work together to build a dialogue based on perceiving that enunciates with space, body and cultural expressions. Hence, the need for a variety of mediums in which the artists work. Our topic of discussion will be around the issues of borders and identity with a common goal for peace. The project is seeking artists who are not naïve about human nature and see conflict as a necessary transcendental turning point. The major role of art in this project is to metaphysically investigate the concept of “peace”. The workshop portion of the project will demand a commitment of 6-8 hours a day. This intensive schedule is needed to produce a tolerant and safe risk-taking zone of performance and installation.

More Info

The Firefly Tunnel Project is a global network of experimental artists who communicate and work together through a virtual performance art lab. Our vision of a cooperative lab stems from the belief that the arts and symbolism can reach humanity on a deeper level than rhetoric, which is often misinterpreted. The overall goal of the project is to build a language of peace through the actions of art. The first “dig” will take place between the United States and Egypt. Tavia La Follette, a U.S. based artist, will lead and curate the project with the help of co-curator Katherine Talcott. All artists who are interested in the artistic exchange must be available to come to Pittsburgh for the intensive residency with La Follette from May 14th-22nd at the Bricolage theatre space in downtown Pittsburgh. The Firefly Tunnel Project seeks artists who are diverse in their medium, background and who are in various stages of their careers. The project is an opportunity for participating artists to achieve international recognition, participate in an ongoing global dialogue, and to explore their own work through performance and installation art.