[artinfo] Hormones at the Crossroads of Art and Science

[e-artnow]

International Video Art Exhibition Open Call For Artists

Transitional States: Hormones at the Crossroads of Art and Science

Arts Feminism Queer Ltd

DEADLINE: 31 MARCH 2017

'Calling for videos or performances for video 
that explore hormones, medical technologies, 
sexuality, gender and body modifications.'

Hormones play an immense role in every single 
human being's life. Even before we are born, 
hormones are at work; they affect us in our 
mother's womb and, as we get older, they regulate 
our moods, sleeping patterns, and growth. Once we 
hit puberty we are practically at the mercy of 
our hormones; they dictate our sexual development 
and impact our emotional and, in many ways, 
psychological development. As we grow older they 
affect our fertility, especially for women. Yet 
for playing such a critical role throughout our 
lives, few people stop to consider how important 
hormones are.

With the introduction of artificial hormones in 
the 1930s, medical scientists sought to identify 
and employ hormones in new ways. Since then, 
hormone treatments have affected the lives of 
millions of people and they are used in a variety 
of ways throughout contemporary society: 
contraceptive pills use hormones to prevent 
pregnancy; transgender people use hormones to 
express themselves more freely; thyroid disorders 
are now treatable; and, controversially, athletes 
are increasingly using hormones to enhance their 
performance.

Working with a range of stakeholders, we are 
developing an international public engagement 
programme entitled 'Transitional States: Hormones 
at the Crossroads of Art and Science'. The 
programme will consist of a traveling exhibition 
of videos and a number of public debates. It will 
start in February 2018 at Project Space Plus at 
the University of Lincoln and travel in May 2018 
to the Peltz Gallery at Birkbeck University in 
London. It will then visit Bologna (venue TBC) in 
Italy and Barcelona (venue TBC) in Spain at the 
end of 2018. The exhibition will remain 15-35 
days in each city where three public debates that 
have been created specifically for each location 
will supplement the exhibition. The public 
engagement programme aims to raise awareness of 
the central role hormones play in our lives and 
how medical research has employed them in 
contradictory ways.

We are inviting artists to submit existing work 
or to create new videos or performances for video 
that explore hormones, medical technologies, 
sexuality, gender and body modifications. We are 
particularly interested in the relations and 
interactions between hormones and transsexuality, 
non-binary genders, intersexuality, physical 
alterations, birth control, fertility, menopause, 
sexology and performance enhancement to boost 
both athletic and sexual performances.

The Jury members Lois Keidan, Laura Leuzzi, 
Carlos Motta and Issey Osman will select up to 10 
works for the exhibition, which will be curated 
by the arts organisation, Arts Feminism Queer 
(<http://www.cuntemporary.org/>www.cuntemporary.org).

Artists will receive a fee of £100 for screening 
their work and will be invited to take part in 
the launch of the video installation in London. 
Where possible, we will contribute to travel 
costs and cover accommodation expenses for video 
authors.

We will also publish a full colour catalogue for 
the public engagement programme, which will 
feature all the artists' works and topics 
discussed in the public debates.

For more information, application and guidelines 
visit: <http://transitionalstates.com/opencall>
transitionalstates.com/opencall

For further information about the open call, 
please contact: 
<mailto:infotransitionalstates at gmail.com>infotransitionalstates at gmail.com