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Women Eco Artists Dialog invites current members to submit artworks to an international group exhibition titled: Emotional Numbness: The impact of war on the human psyche and ecosystems.  

 

The exhibition focus is the impact of war on environments, and war’s effects on inhabitants of war zones. Recent escalating tensions between Iran and the United States is creating an increase in anxiety about potential war between these countries.  Thus, the goal of the exhibition is to create a platform to share, meet, discuss, and cross borders, by exhibiting art which considers the impacts of war and the varying relationships between Iran and the United States. We believe art has the ability to affect perceptions, develop meaningful dialogue, and bring awareness about critical issues to the public.

 

The exhibition has two venues. The primary physical venue is Platform 3, an independent art space run by Iranian artists, located in the center of Tehran, Iran. The secondary venue is an online showing on the WEAD website. 

 

Artwork Parameters: 

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There are three ways to participate.

1. Submission of digital image files which will be printed and exhibited in Iran.

2. Submission of images of artwork (in any media) which can be shipped to Iran for exhibition. Note: Artists are responsible for shipping their selected artworks to Iran AND the artwork will NOT be returned.

3. Submission of time-based artworks in video format.

 

Exhibition Curators:

Atefeh Khas and Minoosh Zomorodinia

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Atefeh Khas is an environmental artist, curator and art director lives in Tehran, Iran. She employs video, photography, sculpture, and performance in her site specific installations to address environmental and social issues.  She received her MA in Art Research from Alzahra University, 2014, and BFA in Painting from Shahed University in Tehran, in 2010. She has received several residencies and awards such as the Environmental Art Residency Program in South Korea, Global Nomadic Art Project in Iran, Germany, France and Turkey in 2016 and 2017, Kooshk Residency and La Friche la Belle de Mai in 2019. Her artwork and articles have been featured in publications that include Contemporary Art Magazine Honaragah, “The Middle East in London” Magazine, poster of (SOAS) Centenary Conference University of London. She has exhibited her works in Canada, United States, Belgium, Romania, South Korea, France, Germany, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungry, Tunisia, Poland, Sri-Lanka, Turkey, Nepal and India.  www.atefehkhas.com

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Minoosh Zomorodinia is an Iranian-born interdisciplinary artist, curator, and educator who makes visible the emotional and psychological reflections of her mind's eye inspired by nature and her environments. Zomorodinia earned her MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute, and holds a MA in Graphic Design and a BA in Photography from Azad University in Tehran. She received several awards, residences, and grants such as the Kala Media Fellowship Award, Headlands Center for the Arts, Djerassi Residency, the Alternative Exposure Award and California Art Council Grants. She has exhibited locally and internationally at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco Arts Commission, ProARTS, Pori Art Museum, and Nevada Museum of Art. Her artwork featured in SF Chronicle, Hyperallergic, and KQED. Currently she is a member of Curatorial Council Committee at Southern Exposure Gallery.  www.rahelehzomorodinia.com

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Eligibility:
Current WEAD members. All work must be original.

Female identified artists who cannot currently afford WEAD membership are encouraged to contact us at: emotional.numbness@gmail.com. There are a few International Membership Awards available. 

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Timeline:

July 30, 2020 Deadline to submit artwork

August 4, 2020 Notification of selected work
August 28, 2020 Deadline to receive accepted digital files

August 31, 2020 Receipt of physical works shipped to Iran

September 18 - October 16, 2020 Exhibition Dates

September 18, 2020 Opening reception in Tehran
 

Application Process

Each artist may submit up to two works from the following categories:

• Digital images: including photos of art originally created in a different media.  2100 pixels longest dimension, jpg file
  Accepted digital image files will need to be 20” x 27” at 300 ppi. 

• 3D work or physical objects
  Must be less than 2’ x 2’ x 2’
  Submit digital images: 2100 pixels longest dimension, jpg file.
  3D work must be shipped to arrive in Tehran by August 31, 2020 and will not be returned

• Videos up tp 5 minutes, format MP4 or MOV, Full HD.
  Share videos via wetransfer or google drive. Indicate this with submission.

 

SUBMISSION

Submit up to two artworks in a single email to: emotional.numbness@gmail.com
Subject line: Emotional Numbness

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APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

 

Contact:
Name
Postal Address
Email
Phone

 

Artwork information: name of artist(s), title, year, material or technique, and dimensions; and Artwork Statement: up to 300 words, in English. Indicate category for each submission (Digital image, 3D work, Video).

Personal website or link to online portfolio.

 

Brief Artist Statement up to 300 words, in English.

 

Name each image file with your last name, artwork name: lastname_artworkname.jpg

Current CV up to five pages, in English, PDF format. Name file: lastnameCV.pdf

 

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Direct your questions to: emotional.numbness@gmail.com

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Venue Information
Platform 3: Instagram: 3platform, http://3-platform.com/

WEAD https://www.weadartists.org/ 

 

Expanded Exhibition Statement

The use of weapons, the destruction of structures and refineries, fires, military transport and the spread of chemicals are all examples of the devastating effects of war on the environment. Air, water, sea, and soil are contaminated; humans and animals are killed and the health of those who are still alive is at risk. In general, the effects of the war on the environment are broadly divided into the following: habitat destruction, human displacement and asylum, destruction of plant and animal species, destruction of urban infrastructure, sudden increase in food production and damage to natural resources, destructive environmental strategies (e.g burning buildings, farmland, forests), illegal hunting , contamination by biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.

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According to experts and officials, when the movement is in one corner of the world, the whole world environment is affected by it because the environment is not limited to any geographical boundaries. According to statistics, during the last part  of the 20th century, there have been 118 armed conflicts around the world that have displaced 6 million people and had disastrous consequences for people and the environment. Chemical, microbial and nuclear weapons technology is one of the main threats to human societies. These weapons have driven the environment out of the sustainable development cycle due to changes in the ecosystem. In addition to the horizontal effects in one generation, the occurrence of various diseases in humans and animals through the use of weapons causes vertical effects and transitions from generation to generation.

 

Types of unexploded mines, bridges and dams on main rivers and fisheries, building bases around sensitive ecosystems, pollution of wetlands and aquatic ecosystems and oil contaminations are examples of destructive environmental factors caused by war. Moreover, noise pollution of these war machines, irreversible impacts on the environment and on animals and marine life in addition to humans. Also, usually during times of war in terms of political and social crises and the provision of temporary accommodation, governments had to destroy much of the environment to meet these emergencies. 

 

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