GLOW Call for Submissions
The deadline for this opportunity has passed.
Application Deadline: December 18, 2020
What do we hear and see differently when illuminated by light? How do we experience the characteristics of night and explore the limits of light’s edges?
What perceptions of our city do we hold in light and in darkness; do we navigate or gather together differently?
How does light shape our movements and experiences?
GLOW Downtown Winter Light Festival invites Calgarians to consider how light interrupts, enters and shapes our understanding of urban contexts. How can we reimagine spaces, movement through them, and interactions within them, by experiencing light? Through artists’ ideas and provocations, memories and interpretations of our downtown can be reformulated and made anew, through light.
GLOW will take place February 11 to 14, 2021 in downtown Calgary. Hub spaces will anchor the installations, along with fun and safe programming, and information stations. Additional programming will take place with community partners throughout the downtown over the course of GLOW and in collaboration with The City of Calgary’s Chinook Blast event running throughout January and February.
GLOW Downtown Winter Light Festival 2021 will be the fourth year of bringing over a dozen installations to the downtown core with thousands of Calgarians enjoying and exploring their city at night. As one of the only events of its kind in Calgary, GLOW seeks to bring about new interactions and perspectives within the city’s downtown public spaces by bringing art and design to our everyday experiences.
For more information, visit calgarydowntown.com/glow.
Artwork Considerations
GLOW Downtown Winter Light Festival invites submissions for temporary work that uses light in some capacity. All mediums are welcome, including performance and durational works. In consideration of the times we are in with the pandemic, the festival is accepting reimagined or previously showcased works for the 2021 festival. At this stage, concepts and technical and material considerations are being asked for. Selected artists will be notified to submit detailed fabrication (where applicable) and installation plans. Proposals should consider the public context and the varied audience that will be experiencing the work, as well as public safety and longevity of the work given the four-day duration of GLOW.
Artwork will be displayed outdoors in unprotected areas that may be inclemently affected with snow, rain, chinooks, variable and sub-zero temperatures. Please plan for an outdoor location. Site locations are not finalized at this time, but works will be centred along Stephen Avenue and surrounding areas.
Timeline & Schedule:
- December 18, 2020 – Deadline to apply
- January 2, 2021 – Final artists selected and notified
- January 18, 2021 – Artists submit detailed plans
- January 25, 2021 – Artist contracts finalized
- January 25 to February 8, 2021 – Artists work with technical team for installation planning and site logistical
coordination - February 8 – 15, 2021 – Installation, event & strike
Submission Requirements
Proposals will be peer-reviewed and selected for artistic excellence, feasibility, and consideration of project intent. Artists will be expected to sign a contract with the Calgary Downtown Association.
Inquiries should be sent to glow@downtowncalgary.com.
Submissions must be sent via email to glow@downtowncalgary.com.
PDF or Word documents should be submitted as one full document rather than as separate pieces. The email subject line should read – GLOW 2021.
