The dust covering this hallowed space laid like a blanket over everything with its still, velvety softness. It had been ages since this space resonated with the music and movement that had made it a sanctuary for so long. We shuffled forward and broke the silence-- disturbing the stillness and watching the ghostly dust rise up from the floorboards just to be captured within the colorful streams of light from the stained glass windows. We could see that despite the age, this was a vessel that held countless stories, both visible and invisible. The walls were covered with symbols and allegories, and all around us the surfaces were decorated with inscriptions and sculptures paying homage to the idea of finality.
Impermanence is both comforting and terrifying. We held hands and thought about time, and space, and history, and humanity, spirituality and the cosmos, and the great beyond... We have always been, and will always be, temporary.
This too, shall pass…
THE END IS NIGH
An end of year exhibition about finality.
Opening October 29th, 2021, 7-10PM
Light Grey Art Lab, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Join us for an amazing Halloween exhibition about the Allegories, Symbols, Stories, Characters, and Ritual surrounding death -- we want to investigate everything we can about how cultures and societies prepared for, honored, symbolized, and spoke about the great sleep. We will be decorating the walls of our space for a giant experience honoring the end, and would love to have you be a part of this project. Read on for more details!
But before we continue -- there is no delicate way of saying this--- this exhibition will celebrate our last show in our Whittier / Minneapolis space. It’s been 10 wonderful years of hosting art shows, classes, workshops, and more here and it feels very weird saying that this is THE END… but truly, is anything ever the end? Like the Death card in Tarot, the end of something makes way for new growth. Light Grey will live on beyond the walls of our space, and we will continue to do fun, collaborative programming in all the ways we love in 2022 --- just not here. We’ll call it an evolution -- a reinvention -- a reincarnation. Thank you to the thousands of people around the world that have shown up and collaborated in any form with us! Don’t worry, we’ll see you in lots of other formats. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT OUR STORY + WHAT’S NEXT!
That being said --
We are looking for artists that want to create a work of art about death in one of the following categories for an exhibition as well as participate in a comprehensive softcover zine / book featuring all of the works from the show! The exhibition / book has five categories:
Allegory (to be made into faux stained glass windows in our space! -- we have 11 huge 13ft windows and will be turning them into giant storytelling pieces to be seen from inside and outside!) (this category will have a template that will be provided for the window clings)
Characters of Death (in history, folklore, legend and culture)
Tombs / Tombstones / Monuments
Wearables / Ritual Garb / Burial Outfits and Objects
Misc -- Omens, Tools and Ritual Objects, Science
THINGS TO NOTE: We are looking for an even amount of folks in each category so we will be jurying to make the sections even. Please note your top 3 categories in order of interest so we can try to get you into the category of your choosing!
More information will be provided on how to send artwork / timing / contract / other information on how to see the show in person or online / sales of work will be provided to all of the participating artists in a shared sign-in page. As always, artists will be able to price their work as they see fit, and the gallery has a 40/60% split in favor of the artist and the work will be available and fulfilled via our online shop as print-on-demand.
We will be printing and preparing the works for each artist for the install, printing and shipping a copy of the limited edition show book out to everyone involved in the project along with the printed work at the end of the exhibition for $46 (national) and $66 (international). There is no need to send original pieces, so in order to expedite the exhibition, we are taking digital files only for this show.
If you are interested in participating, please comment below with your name, email, a link to your work online (can be a website / social media showing your work, etc.) and your choice of category. Please only comment here, do not send an email as it’ll get lost in the shuffle when we jury the exhibition!)
Example:
Lindsay Nohl
instagram.com/lindsaynohl.tattoo
hello@lightgreyartlab.com
Allegory
Tombs
Wearables
** But I’d be happy / flexible to take any category if these aren’t available.
Important dates & deadlines to note.
Monday August 30th- September 8th Call for Art
Sept 10th: Artists Announced
Sept 24th: : Artist Information Form, Contracts Due, and Print-on-demand services due
September 30th: Press Deadline. If you would like your work to be included in our press package, please submit it before this date!
October 6th: All final artwork files, paperwork, and print-on-demand information due.
Friday, October 29th, 2021: Exhibition opens!
Thank you so much and we hope you can join us!
Questions? Please send a note to hello@lightgreyartlab.com and/or gallery@lightgreyartlab.com and we can help!