2023 Regional Open Call for Artists-in-Residence

This call has closed.

The Mattress Factory is pleased to continue our Regional Open Call, now in its third edition.

The Program
Eligibility and Submissions
Timeline
About the Visiting Curator
FAQ
Apply

The Program

Each year, a visiting curator from outside the region will be invited to review submissions from an open call and select artists for in-person studio visits. From these studio visits, the curator will make selections for artists-in-residence at the Mattress Factory. The curator will also separately select a national or international artist to join the cohort and work with the Mattress Factory to mount concurrent solo exhibitions at our Monterey Annex in May 2025.

During their residency, artists are free to explore wherever their process leads them. The exhibitions are not intended to be a curated exhibition. The Mattress Factory will support each artist’s process from development through production and installation to exhibition. The visiting curator will also write short essays on the work of the selected artists-in-residence.

Eligibility and Submissions 

The Regional Open Call is open to artists living and working within 75 miles of Pittsburgh (including parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia). Eligible artists are invited to submit a portfolio of work and CV, which will be reviewed by the visiting curator. 

Artists must submit a single, multi-page PDF file including (max. file size: 20mb):
– A 2-page (max) CV.
– Up to 10 images. Images must be accompanied by the artwork’s Title, Year, Medium, and Dimensions. Please include any notes regarding installation if relevant. For video or audio works, please include a static image in the PDF and a link to the media. Please ensure media is publicly accessible.
– Please do not include project proposals in your submission. 

Timeline

Submissions open: Tuesday July 11, 2023
Close of submissions: Friday August 18, 2023 5PM EST
Notification of artists selected for studio visits: Friday September 1, 2023
Studio visits: October 16-19, 2023
Notification of artists selected for residency: November 2023
Artists in Residence (Development/Remote): January 2024 – January 2025
Artists in Residence (Installation/On Site): March – April 2025
Exhibition Opening: May 2025
Exhibition Closing: April 2026  

About the Visiting Curator

For the past twelve years, Irene Campolmi has worked as a freelance curator and researcher at international and Danish art institutions. In 2021, she won the Bikuben Foundation’s Vision Exhibition Award together with Copenhagen Contemporary (CC) for the project ‘Yet, it Moves!’, which can be experienced in the spring and summer of 2023 at CC and in Copenhagen’s urban area. 

In September 2023, she will join KØS Museum of Art in Public Spaces as the Senior Curator for International Projects. Since 2019, Campolmi has been Head of the Art Program and Curator at Enter Art Fair. Between 2021 and 2022, she was a guest curator at international art museums and festivals across the world, including TANK Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai; Musée d’art de Joliette, The Power Plant in Toronto and Musée d’art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul; Museum of Art Architecture and Technology in Lisbon, Walk&Talk in San Miguel, Azores Islands. In Copenhagen, Campolmi collaborated with Kunsthal Charlottenborg for three major group and solo exhibitions in 2018, 2019 and 2023, and in 2019 she collaborated with Copenhagen Contemporary. In 2021 she worked as Senior Curator for the art agency Creator Projects, and in this connection, co-curated the performance festival ‘Art In A Day’. Campolmi holds an MA in Art History and Museology from the University of Florence and has worked as a researcher in the Max Planck Institute.

FAQ:
Q: What do you consider regional?
A: For the purposes of this call, we define it as artists living and working within 75 miles of Pittsburgh.

Q: Can we apply as a duo?
A: Yes, as long as both artists are living and working in the region, you’re welcome to apply as a duo. It is helpful to include your collaborative projects in the submitted materials. If selected for a residency, artist duos will share the same resources (stipend, materials budget, etc.) that individual artists receive.

Q: What type of artwork can I submit?
A: We welcome artists from all mediums to apply.

Q: Does the Mattress Factory have studios available for the residency? 
A: No, the Museum does not have traditional studio spaces, artists typically work in the spaces that they exhibit in.

Q: I applied to the 2021/22 open call and was selected for a studio visit, but wasn’t selected for a residency, can/should I apply again?
A: Yes! Because the selections are made by different curators each time, they will bring very different perspectives and interest to their decision process.

Q: I still have questions, can I contact you directly?
A: Yes, please email exhibitions@mattress.org

This call has closed.