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2023 National Blacksmith Survey Exhibition

Entry details and Conditions

 

The Glasshouse Regional Gallery in Port Macquarie is hosting a national survey exhibition of

blacksmithing contemporary practice to celebrate the craftsmanship and creativity of hot forged iron in Australia.

 

This exhibition is organised and supported by the Artist Blacksmith Association of NSW and aims to celebrate the blacksmithing craft with examples of work from all states and territories and makers from diverse backgrounds. 

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Key dates

Entries close:                 17th July 2023

Selection notified:          August 2023

Delivery:                         24th November (Friday) 8am-1pm- Unless organised prior with Curator.

Professional install:        28th -30th November

Opening night:               15th December Friday 6pm – All Welcome

On view:                         2nd December 2023 – 25th February 2024

Collection of work:         1st March 2024, 8am-1pm

 

Entry Conditions

This is the first national survey of contemporary blacksmithing practice in Australia and we encourage all types of blacksmithing from diverse makers to enter work for this exhibition. 

 

Entry is free with a maximum of 2 entries per maker. 

A separate entry form will be required to be filled out for each entry.

 

Each entry must:

  • be no more than three years old.

  • be the original work of the maker.

  • have been made in Australia. 

  • have hot forging as a substantial part of the work.

 

Selection criteria

The focus is on current creative modes of blacksmithing. The mission is to showcase the diversity of what forging can offer from the technical to expressive, the conceptual, the sculptural or beautifully functional. These modes of making often depend on and influence each other and, as such, the evaluation and acceptance of work will be strongly influenced by how a work demonstrates a harmony between its intention, execution and the interest it provokes in the viewer. 

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This is a professionally curated and juried exhibition. Work will be selected by an independent selection panel consisting of:

Bridget Purtill – The Glasshouse Gallery curator. 

Doug Mosely – Highly experienced Blacksmith from South Australia.

Gerry Bobsien –Director of Maitland Regional Art Gallery and former blacksmith.

 

The amount of works selected is at the discretion of the selection panel.

The Selection Committee will consider all entries and their decision will be final. 

Artists both successful and unsuccessful in their entry will be notified.

Size and weight: The exhibition space is generous and the gallery has a modern loading bay. However if your work weighs more than 100kg or more than 3m in any direction you must discuss this with the curator (contact details below) before it can be accepted into the show. The gallery can accept and display large works but has to make allowances for handling them.

 

Insurance: The Gallery is unable to insure works in transit or while on loan in the show. Any insurance cover will be the responsibility of the Artist. 

 

Delivery and Collection: Transport and/or shipping costs of all work is the responsibility of the Artist. Work must be delivered Friday 24th November at 10am unless discussed prior with Curator.

 

Deliver to the loading bay at:

Glasshouse Regional Gallery

32 Clarence St, Port Macquarie NSW 2444

 

The curator, Bridget, can be contacted at: (02) 6581 8292, bridget@glasshouse.org.au

 

We do have limited funding to assist with transport costs which will be allocated on a needs basis. Any funding allocation will be finalised after the selection process and priority will be given where multiple works can be shipped together from a single point. Any funding is likely to only partially cover costs. We plan to utilise various collection points at various blacksmiths workshops to facilitate delivery. To be considered for transport assistance please email blacksmithexh@gmail.com

 

Sales: The Gallery will take 33.3% commission from any sales. Work does not need to be for sale.

 

Collaborative work: Blacksmiths from all over the country can contribute to the ‘Needle Stack’ collaboration. See separate outline document for details also available at the ABANSW website. No entry form is required to be part of this project just make a needle/s gather them together with other local smiths and post them off to the collection point for inclusion in the final work.

 

Entry details

You will need the following information to complete an entry online for the exhibition:

Personal/ contact details:

Details of Work being entered - 

Name of work; Medium; Size; Weight;

Retail price or not for sale (inclusive of gallery commission 33.33%):

Mode of display: plinth / wall / floor / other:

Short description of work (max 50 words):

Short bio of maker (max 50 words):

Images /sketch of proposed work, attach up to 3 images, Max 3MB (if a sketch is proposed please attach support images of past work)

Please ensure images are of a high quality as selection of work will be based off these.

 

Entries can be made online HERE through the Jotform platform.

Or you can access the entry form via the Artist Blacksmith Association NSW website at: https://www.artistblacksmithnsw.com/national-survey

 

For further information please contact:

Will Maguire – blacksmithexh@gmail.com

John Wood – 0423 289 648 

Jen Madsen 0416 057 798

Tasmania and Victoria - Ben Beams – 0424 852 487

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