The Sustainable Feast - Open Call

Prospectus

The 39th annual Art About Agriculture Competition and Touring Exhibition 2022: The Sustainable Feast invites all artists from the Pacific Northwest to celebrate the region’s sustainable, diverse, and innovative food.  Working closely with Oregon State University’s Food Innovation Center, this year’s open call asks artists to reflect on food, including production of ingredients, preparation of food, food packaging, cooking food, sharing meals, dining, and presentation.  We are also encouraging exploration of important food topics such as environmental impact, food waste reduction, nose-to-tail cooking, food ethics, local foods, food for medical needs, reduced waste food packaging solutions, plant varieties for enjoyment and disease resistance, sustainable fisheries, grassland management, food science, and nutrition among many others.  To help inspire we have included links below to food and food production research by Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

As a world-class leader in agricultural, environmental, and life sciences at Oregon’s Land Grant, Sea Grant, Space Grant, and Sun Grant institution, the College of Agricultural Sciences encourages diverse points of view and for nearly 40 years has invested in visual arts as an important part of its mission.

As the founding College of the state’s land grant university, it is dedicated to serving all Oregonians. As champions of science, the College of Agricultural Sciences embraces differences to find common ground and create opportunity – committed each day to make tomorrow better.

Featured artwork for the 2022 prospectus:  Robert Schlegel, Crab, 2007. Acrylic on panel, 12” x 16”. 2007 Paul Lamb and Reese Lamb Memorial Art About Agriculture Purchase Award, sponsored by the Lamb Foundation and the College of Agricultural Sciences. 

In joyful remembrance of Robert Schlegel (1947-2021)

 

 

Eligibility:

This regional, juried competition is open to artists living in Alaska, British Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Student artwork completed while enrolled in an educational curriculum is not accepted.

Conditions:

All submissions must relate thematically to agriculture and natural resources. All fine arts and crafts media are eligible for consideration. All approaches welcome.

The jurying process occurs in two parts:

Part 1 is the review of art submissions, the selection of artworks from those digital submissions for the inaugural exhibition at Giustina Gallery, and further selection of artworks for inclusion in the tour. In part 2, jurors will make final selections for Art About Agriculture Permanent Collection Acquisition Awards. 

Beyond those artists selected by the jurors, the Directing Curator of Art About Agriculture may invite one or more additional artists to participate in the 2022 Tour.

Art About Agriculture reserves the right to refuse artwork that does not meet the competition standards, or artwork that is beyond the scope or specification of the competition

Entry Guidelines

  • Submissions: May submit up to five artworks. Images should be titled accordingly: First_Last-shortened title-0x0x0in. 3D artworks may submit up to three additional images of different views for each artwork. Please group 3D views in the image title with A, B, C indicators.
  • Any photos or promotional materials provided by the artist of artwork selected for inclusion in the exhibitions can be used to promote the artwork, exhibitions, or venues.  This includes use in online galleries hosted on OSU websites and/or websites associated with tour venues. All photos and materials used for promotions will acknowledge the artist.
  • Fee: No fee for submissions. However, a 30% venue commission will be retained from all sales from Giustina Gallery (OSU, Corvallis, OR), Crossroads Carnegie Art Center (Baker City, OR), and the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center (Newport, OR).

Framing:

Work on paper must be framed and under acrylic/Plexiglas - no glass! 2D artwork must be framed, wired, and ready to hang. Other wall-hung artwork should be wired if possible.

Dimensions, weight, and Support:

All artworks must be less than 50 lbs.

  • 2D art, including frame: no larger than 48 inches in height and 56 inches in width, or 56 inches in height and 48 inches in width. Due to wall space restrictions at host venues, 2D artwork selections over 48 inches in height and 40 inches wide will be extremely limited.
  • 3D art: must not exceed 40 inches in height or width, 36 inches in depth, and must fit through a standard doorway.
  • Technology and time-based art: Please provide technology and maintenance needs for each submission. Artwork with audio should use personal listening devices, such as headphones or cellphones.

Shipping, dropping off, and supplemental materials:

Artists are responsible for the selected artwork delivery to OSU and return from OSU. If shipped, please provide a return shipping label. OSU must receive shipped artworks before 11am on Monday, May 5, 2022.  Artwork can be dropped off and picked up at OSU (Corvallis, OR) as well.  Artwork drop-off options are Saturday, April 30, 1pm – 5pm, or Sunday, May 1, 10am – 2pm at Giustina Gallery, 875 SW 26th St, Corvallis, Oregon 97331.  Art About Agriculture will transport artworks between tour venues. All artists selected by the jury to participate in the exhibition will receive an OSU Personal Property Loan Agreement (PPLA).  Artists will also provide OSU with a CV/artist resume, an artist statement, and a rigid reusable packing container for their selected artwork. CV/artist resume, artist statement, and OSU Personal Property Loan Agreement (PPLA) must be received no later than Monday, April 20, 2022.

Shipping Address:

Owen Premore
Art About Agriculture
248 Strand Agriculture Hall
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331

 

OSU articles and research for inspiration:

Calendar

(All dates are subject to change due to the COVID-19 situation.)

March 6, 2022 (Sunday) at 11:59pm: Application Deadline.

March 25 (Friday), tentative: Selection and non-selection notices emailed to artists. Selected artists will receive an OSU Personal Property Loan Agreement (PPLA) form, to be completed by the artist.

April 20 (Wednesday): Deadline for CV/artist resume, artist statement, and OSU PPLA form.

April 30 (Saturday), 1pm – 5pm: Artwork drop off at Giustina Gallery, 875 SW 26th St, Corvallis, Oregon 97331.

May 1 (Sunday), 10am – 2pm: Last opportunity to drop off artwork at Giustina Gallery, 875 SW 26th St, Corvallis, Oregon 97331.

May 2 (Monday), before 11am: Deadline for receiving shipped artwork.

May 10 (Tuesday), tentative: Notices emailed to artists selected by the jury to receive Art About Agriculture Permanent Collection Purchase Awards.

May 10 – June 15: Art About Agriculture 2022 touring exhibition at Giustina Gallery, The LaSells Stewart Center, Oregon State University.

May 26, 5:00-7:30pm (Thursday), tentative: Exhibition Reception at Giustina Gallery.  Open the public and all are welcome!

July 1 – July 30: Art About Agriculture 2022 touring exhibition at Crossroads Carnegie Art Center in Baker City, OR.

July 1 (Friday): Opening Reception at Crossroads Carnegie Art Center in Baker City, OR.

August 5 – September 30: Art About Agriculture 2022 touring exhibition at Pacific Maritime Heritage Center in Newport, OR.

August 5 (Friday): Reception at Pacific Maritime Heritage Center.

August 6 – August 27, tentative: Supporting exhibition at the Newport Visual Arts Center in Newport, OR.

August 6 (Saturday), tentative: Supporting exhibition reception at the Newport Visual Art Center.

Jurors

Helen Liu

Helen Liu was born in Taiwan and raised on a chicken farm in the southern part of the island. Since leaving the country with her parents in 1972, she lived in Jakarta and Bangkok and eventually came to study at the University of Oregon in 1977. Upon graduating from the Pacific Northwest College of Art, she worked in design firms in Portland and Eugene. After the birth of her daughter in 1994, Helen worked from home.

Since 2013, Helen began using waste plastic bags generated from her own household as well as coffee bags from local coffee shops like Allan Bros. and Starbucks, most of them laminates with a thin aluminum layer, which makes recycling them nearly impossible. Over the next 8 years, Helen’s art has focused on using these non-recyclable plastic waste. The largest one of the works from this period was Plastic Waste to Art Quilt, 40ft x 12ft, funded in part by the Springfield Arts Commission and displayed at the Academy of Arts and Academics in downtown Springfield on Earth Day 2021. Helen is also involved in a Plastic to Fuel project with Prof. Skip Rochefort at Oregon State University working toward creating a small-scale, neighborhood-size plastic recycling machine that will turn #2, 4, and 5 plastics into farm-grade diesel.

Helen’s project in 2021 involves locally sourced wool from small farmers whom she personally knows, and dye plants grown in her garden. The fleece is cleaned, dyed and spun into yarn with a Navajo spindle and then woven.

With Prof. Ellen Johnston Laing, Helen co-authored Up in Flames: the Ephemeral Art of Pasted-Paper Sculpture in Taiwan, which was based on Helen’s MA thesis and published by Stanford University Press in 2004.

 

Yelena Nowak

As the head of the Oregon Trawl Commission, Yelena represents the interests of Oregon trawl fishermen, working to enhance the image of the industry and increase opportunities for its profitability. With a Masters degree in International Management from Portland State University and a background in both public and private sectors, Yelena's experience is centered around various areas of business, including trade development, marketing, global supply chain management as well as international trade and compliance. Prior to joining the commercial fishing industry, Yelena worked at the Oregon Department of Agriculture in its Market Access Program.

 

Dr. Dave Stone

Dr. Dave Stone is a Professor in Food Science and Technology at Oregon State University.  His expertise is in emerging food technologies, food safety and risk analysis. Dr. Stone Directs the OSU Food Innovation Center, an agricultural experiment station in downtown Portland with the mission to support food and beverage companies across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Dr. Stone is engaged with diverse clients across the globe to develop advance sustainable agriculture and safe foods. He has served on several regional and national expert panels to address topics on food safety, community development and toxicology. 

Amanda Triplett

Using primarily recycled textiles, Amanda Triplett creates craft-based fiber sculpture, performance, and installation about human relationships to biological and cultural narratives. Amanda studied art and art history at Sarah Lawrence College, graduating in 2004.  She shows her work all over the West Coast including The Bush Barn Art Center (Salem, OR), Museum of the Oregon Territory (Oregon City, OR), the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, COCA (Seattle, WA), Art House Gallery (Berkeley, CA), Ford Gallery (Portland, OR), Paragon Gallery (Portland, OR).

Amanda was a 2016 Glean artist-in-resident, where she was given access to the Portland dump to glean waste materials to make sculpture and installation. She was awarded the 2020 Betty Brose and Margaret Hogg Art About Agriculture Purchase Award for her piece Cell Wall. In 2021, she received a RACC MAKE|LEARN|BUILD grant to create an installation about climate change. She is the 2022 Artist in Residency at Mary Olson Farm in Auburn, WA and is a member of Shift Gallery in Seattle. She lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

 

Ana Varas

Ana Varas, PhD in Art History, specializes on tracking community-driven art practices that address pressing socio-political and ecological. Her research aims to understand the different levels in which engaged art operates in relation to aesthetic imperatives, institutional demands, socioeconomic and environmental ramifications and its political efficacy. She currently works as the Arts Project Coordinator for Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts & Agriculture (PMRCAA) where she oversees the Artist in Residency program. Operated by the Roundhouse Foundation, PMRCAA is a working ranch that strives to bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures to find creative solutions to unique challenges and foster positive change. Its residency program invites artists, scientists, and scholars to explore nature, land conservation, historic preservation, agriculture, and community building while staying at and contributing to the ranch.  The Roundhouse Foundation supports Oregon rural communities and the creativity, problem solving, and economic success that fosters positive change for sustained sense of place.

Ana Varas, PhD in Art History, specializes on tracking community-driven art practices that address pressing socio-political and ecological. Her research aims to understand the different levels in which engaged art operates in relation to aesthetic imperatives, institutional demands, socioeconomic and environmental ramifications and its political efficacy. She currently works as the Arts Project Coordinator for Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts & Agriculture (PMRCAA) where she oversees the Artist in Residency program. Operated by the Roundhouse Foundation, PMRCAA is a working ranch that strives to bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures to find creative solutions to unique challenges and foster positive change. Its residency program invites artists, scientists, and scholars to explore nature, land conservation, historic preservation, agriculture, and community building while staying at and contributing to the ranch.  The Roundhouse Foundation supports Oregon rural communities and the creativity, problem solving, and economic success that fosters positive change for sustained sense of place.