do 5. 5. 2020 / Open Call Galerie Arsenal (Białystok, Polsko)

1. The Arsenal Gallery in Białystok shall be recognised as the Organiser of the Competition THE END OF THIS STORY HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN YET. OPEN CALL: SOLIDARITY AND AGENCY (hereinafter referred to as “the Competition”).

2. The Competition is open to artists no younger than 18 years of age with full legal capacity; artistic university background shall not be required.

3. The Competition shall be organised with intent to identify works to be shown at the exhibition THE END OF THIS STORY HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN YET. OPEN CALL: SOLIDARITY AND AGENCY (hereinafter referred to as “the Exhibition”), the opening date and duration of which to be announced by the Organiser on the website www.galeria-arsenal.pl. The final date of Exhibition opening shall be announced within a term of 10 (ten) days as of the date of Competition result announcement duly specified under clause 7 hereto; notwithstanding the above, said date may be amended pursuant to the Organiser’s unilateral decision. The Organiser shall hereby reserve the right to organise the Exhibition online or in exhibition space of the Arsenal Gallery in Białystok, depending on domestic developments regarding pandemic circumstances.

4. The subject of the Exhibition has been described in detail in Attachment No. 1 hereto.

5. Competition entrants shall be obliged to send in works by electronic means only. The Organiser shall pay particular attention to artists developing all projects in conformity to rules and measures of caution and safety, as well as legal regulations applicable throughout the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

6. The Competition formula is open; each entrant shall be entitled to submit up to three Competition entries, in formats allowing online publication and meeting the following technical requirement: submitted files shall be under 5 MB in size.

7. Competition entries shall be accepted until May 5th 2020. The list of selected works to be shown at the Exhibition THE END OF THIS STORY HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN YET. OPEN CALL: SOLIDARITY AND AGENCY shall be announced no later than by May 15th 2020. The Organiser shall hereby reserve the right to extend the specified term; updates regarding all dates pending shall be posted online to the website galeria-arsenal.pl.

8. In order to become eligible for participating in the Competition, entrants shall send the following materials to the e-mail address opencall@galeria-arsenal.pl.

• The proposed work(s) in formats specified under clause 6 hereto; should the work be developed in film format, also a link to the film upload website, including a potential access code allowing the Organiser to view the material;
• Auteur work(s) description;
• The artist’s portfolio, including his/her first and last names and contact data (documentation/ film submissions shall not be returned);
• The Competition participant’s statement confirming him/her as the author of the work(s). Should the work(s) be developed by several persons, such statement shall be made by all authors.

9. The Organiser shall notify the participant by e-mail of his/her entry having been accepted. Incomplete and/or incorrect entries shall not be accepted. The Organiser shall not be obliged to summon entrants to add to or correct their entries. The Organiser may agree to an entry submitted on time being added to or corrected at a later date.

10. The Organiser shall hereby reserve the right to contact selected Competition participants for purposes of securing additional information regarding the Competition entries, and to determine individual rules of presenting Competition works.

11. All formally correct entries submitted by the deadline stipulated under clause 7 hereto shall be recognised as participating in the Competition; an Organiser-appointed jury shall select works to be presented at the Exhibition THE END OF THIS STORY HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN YET. OPEN CALL: SOLIDARITY AND AGENCY. The jury’s decision shall be considered final and not subject to appeal.

12. All pieces entered for the Competition shall be works to which Competition participants hold full property and non- property copyrights, without limitation; the works shall not breach the rights of any third parties or applicable legal regulations. All participants submitting Competition entries shall be held fully accountable for breaching the rights of third parties, required to cover all and any related claims filed against the Organiser, and relieve the Organiser of all related accountability.

13. Submitting a Competition entry shall be tantamount to accepting these Rules. Anyone found in breach of these Rules may be excluded from participating in the Competition pursuant to the Organiser’s decision.

14. Submitting a Competition entry shall be tantamount to the participant agreeing to recording, replicating and/or saving his/her work(s) to the sole purpose of selecting Competition winners.

15. All Competition participants whose work(s) shall be selected for Exhibition purposes shall provide the Organiser with a non-exclusive and unlimited (in terms of terms or territory) licence to said works. All such licensing shall carry a fee duly specified under clause 16 hereto, and include all areas of use known as of the date of entering into the respective agreement, including, but not limited to the following in particular: public display of works; reproducing and recording works with the use of any applicable technology, including digitisation; uploading works to computer memory and the public world-wide web domain; reproducing copies of works saved as part of information brochures, Exhibition catalogues, and other promotional materials. The Organiser shall hereby reserve the right to expand the areas of use pursuant to a licensing agreement stipulated in clause 16 hereto.

16. All Competition participants whose work(s) shall be selected for purposes of showing at a virtual exhibition or in exhibition space of the Arsenal Gallery in Białystok shall be entitled to a fee of PLN 750.00 gross (before taxes). The fee shall be payable against a licensing agreement entered into and invoice duly issued by the Competition participant.

17. In justified cases, the Organiser shall be authorised to amend these Rules, all dates specified therein included; the above shall include circumstances of holding the Competition becoming impossible or seriously hindered, especially in case of an unforeseen occurrence non-attributable to the Organiser, in which case the Organiser shall be authorised to annul the Competition. The Organiser shall be authorised to annul the Competition and/or Exhibition; the Organiser shall notify all participants of such decision without undue delay in an announcement posted to the www.galeria-arsenal.pl website.

18. All and any comments or complaints regarding the course or format of the Competition shall be sent by electronic mail to the address opencall@galeria-arsenal.pl, or by regular mail to the Organiser’s mailing address (Galeria Arsenał, A. Mickiewicza 2, 15-222 Białystok, Poland). All complaints shall be examined no later than within a term of 14 (fourteen) days as of the date of their receiving (the date of the Organiser responding to confirm complaint reception shall prevail). Responses to complaints shall be sent to e-mail addresses the respective complaints had been filed from; in case of complaints filed by regular mail – to the address of the sender, or another mailing address described as such in the complaint.

19. Personal data shall be processed for purposes of holding the Competition, using licences granted, and organising the Exhibition. The Organiser shall act as Personal Data Controller for Competition participants. Personal data of participants shall be processed until such time as the statute of limitation for Competition-related claims, or licences granted and the statute of limitation for related claims shall expire.

20. While providing personal data is voluntary, it shall be necessary for purposes of notifying Competition participation. The Organiser has appointed a Personal Data Protection Supervisor who may be contacted with regard to all personal data protection-related matters by electronic mail at the address iodo@galeria.pl, and by regular mail in writing at the Organiser’s mailing address, as stipulated above.

21. The full content of the information clause concerning the rules of participants’ personal data processing by the Organiser is available at the Organiser’s Bulletin of Public. All participants shall be obliged to familiarise themselves with the clause, and duly confirm the above in the entry form.

22. These Rules may be amended in a form identical to their announcement.

Dear Artists,

As everyone else, we are trying to adapt to the current crisis. Our governments declare states of emergency in response to the pandemic. Once again we enclose ourselves within the borders of our nation states, which introduce unprecedented measures of surveillance and control. We want to believe, however, that the period of quarantine can also be a time of increased agency and that it can inspire the creation of communities based on action and cooperation.

We ask ourselves about the role of a temporarily closed arts institution. We believe that it should consist not only in virtual contact with the public but also in showing solidarity with you and in providing space for dialogue. We do not want to say, "see you when it's over." We want to know if you can all afford to stay home, or if you need support. What does quarantine mean for you? Please send us messages and projects about your day-to-day life, your struggles and your hopes. We want to talk about work, loneliness and human relationships in times of pandemic.

Most importantly though, we encourage you to reflect on the possible models of solidarity among the arts and activist communities, local communities, workers' unions, solidarity with people who are socially marginalised or who are at high risk of developing severe illness from coronavirus. With non-human beings, with those who are most seriously threatened by the virus and the economic consequences of the pandemic. We are looking forward to your accounts of mutual aid and your thoughts on the capacity and limitation of the Internet as a tool for building communities. We are looking forward to hearing your ideas on how to persist in the struggle for a better future when we can no longer organize demonstrations and protests. We are looking forward to your suggestions of how to use art tools in times of emergency.

This crisis amplifies the problems generated by global capitalism, neoliberal policies and uncontrolled consumerism. However, as Naomi Klein reminds us today, “the end of this story hasn’t been written yet.” She states that the decisions about coming out of the crisis are not only the responsibility of elites and policymakers. They will be based on the "ideas that are lying around.” That includes those which have so far been rejected as utopian, and which now become part of the everyday struggle. Opportunities like that occur only in moments of deep crisis.

Rebecca Solnit wrote that ”in disaster, we are often at our best, however briefly, [...] in those hours and days many have their best taste of community, purposefulness, and power”. If we accept her idea that crisis can bring about positive change, we should start asking ourselves how we can use it to start building a better world. Is there a chance that in the long run it might contribute to lowering consumption? Or, as Kornelia Sobczak suggests, will it become a microlab of post-growth? How can we inspire each other to adopt new practices and how not to forget them in the safer times?