How to participate in the Visual Arts Programme at Clifden Arts Festival.
OPEN-CALL EXHIBITION APPLICATION
The deadline for receipt of applications is 5 pm on 22nd April 2025.
Late or incomplete applications cannot be considered.
Application format: Please send ONE PDF with all of the questions below answered (from 1. – 14.)
Application file name: Please include your name and medium in the file title of your proposal PDF, e.g., Janesmithpainter.pdf
Send application to: visualarts@clifdenartsfestival.ie subject line '2025 proposal'
Clifden Arts Festival is looking for a wide range of different art pieces, experiences and exhibitions to display between September 17th – 28th, 2025. We are open to performance art, land art, collections of ephemera, sculpture, interactive pieces and experiences, prints, paintings, sculptures, photographs, and anything else we may not have even thought of.
The visual arts element of the festival occurs in the town itself, kindly hosted in many non-gallery venues. We use the community's museum, courthouse, unoccupied spaces, restaurants, bars, cafes, tea rooms, office spaces, outdoor spaces, churches, and many more. Some spaces are great for hanging on walls, some spaces are perfect for sculpture, and some spaces are quite dark and will only be used if the proposal is a good fit. Feel free to mention your exhibition/performance requirements in your proposal. Please bear in mind that if you are not selected, it is most likely because we do not have enough suitable venues and not a comment on the quality of your work.
Your proposal should include all pertinent details, including all requested details below, so the panel can make the best decision about your work. Please mention if you have access requirements so our panel can allocate assistance accordingly, as some of our venues do not have wheelchair access.
The Clifden Arts Festival is committed to the Arts Council's guidelines regarding paying the artist and as such have been funded to pay a fee of €350 to all exhibiting artists. At the same time, the festival runs on an extremely tight budget. We may not be in a position to pay all your costs, but please include reasonable costs in your proposal.
Please be aware that in order to be chosen to take part in the festival, you must ensure that you will be available to install/set up/perform your exhibition/art piece in and around the 15th-17th of September 2025 in Clifden (install dates will differ between media).
Please provide all of the below details for your application to be considered:
1. Name of artist
2. Email
3. Phone number
4. Visual Arts discipline/practice, e.g., sculptor, printmaker, painter
5. Proposal/Exhibition Title
6. Short Proposal Description (Please describe your proposal using a concise physical description of the main content of your exhibition and how it will be displayed):
Example 1: exhibition of 8-10 2D works on paper, around 50cm x 75cm, framed to be hung on walls, in indoor space.
Example 2: exhibition of approx. 15 3D ceramic pieces, approx 15 cm in height, displayed on free-standing plinths, in indoor space.
Example 3: Dance performance, 15 mins long, accompanied by 1 live musician, performed in an outdoor setting.
1. Detailed Proposal description (Please describe your proposal in terms of its theme and background, any methods or processes you used that are important to the work, your inspiration for making the work, what story your work tells, who you hope your work speaks to or any other details about your proposal you feel are important for the panel to know. approximately 250 words max)
2. A short budget including installation/production needs, travel costs and if accommodation is required.
3. Images of work (Maximum of 10 images of your work with accompanied image list of title, dimension, medium, year made, and if you so wish, short descriptions. You can include up to 4 work-in-progress images out of 10 total.)
4. Artist CV (4 pages max)
5. Assurance that you are available to take part in the festival and how long it will take you to install/set up your art.
Click here for a downloadable version of this form
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