International House, in collaboration with PhotoNOLA, invites photographers and mixed-media artists whose work incorporates photography, to submit images which imagine or reimagine Mary Magdalene. Entries are due November 10, 2013. All photographic processes are welcome, ie: print, image transfer, emulsion transfer, encaustic, black and white, color, etc., and but for the few rules stated in this invitation, the lone limit is imagination.
Update Nov 13th: The Magdalena website is down. We apologize for the inconvenience. The organizers are working with the web host to rectify this situation, and expect it to be back online today. The deadline will be extended to Friday, Nov 15. If anyone wishes to enter via email they may send their jpegs, CV, artist statement and image list to Britney Penouilh: britneyp@ekisticsinc.net
IDEA
No one in the Christian pantheon except Jesus, Mary his mother or perhaps “John the Baptist” has inspired artists more than Mary Magdalene. Her themes remain remarkably vivid today in a global conversation about women, female power, participation and sexuality. She is currently at the epicenter of a cultural movement, and as always, art finds itself at the leading edge, the prism through which one sees what popular culture believes about a person at particular moments in time.
We know her as Mapia. Maria. Miriam. Mandala. Migdal. Magdala. Magdalena, Mary of Magdala and Mary Magdalene. But who was she? Why was she? On one hand portrayed as Jesus’ closest confident, Apostle to the apostles, friend, lover and soul mate. By others, the bad girl of the Bible, a repentant prostitute and demon-possessed crazy woman. And to some, she did it all, and she did it all well. Kindly visit this site for a fuller narrative, and please read these two remarkable pieces, the first by Princeton’s gifted Dr. Elaine Pagels, a second by distinguished former priest | author |professor James Carroll, as well as various others among Karen King’s significant contributions to this discourse, each intended to spark ideas and artful inspiration.
We are ever-mindful of Teilhard’s quote which graces a large window at International House’s Entrepreneurs’ Row Conference Center and which reads, “We are not Human Beings on a spiritual journey. We are Spiritual Beings on a human journey.” To wit, the spirit of this call is of the highest order, an authentic meditation on femininity and beauty now, not merely the “did she or didn’t she” cul-de-sac. In heavily Catholic New Orleans, we are casting for a muse of sorts, an artful handmaiden to higher deities, and Mary Magdalene might well be the absolute perfect patroness of our city, for reasons one need not elaborate.
EXHIBITION
From the submissions, twelve (12) artists will be invited to participate in this MAGDALENA exhibition. Their works will be displayed prominently in the International House lobby from December 6, 2013 – January 5, 2014 and offered for sale at prices established by each artist.
A limited edition exhibition catalog will be available through the hotel.
A reception and awards ceremony – including the complimentary Bellucci, a signature cocktail by nationally recognized Spirit Handler Alan Walter, and a tasty menu of street food by NOLA Food Trucks – will be held Friday, December 13, 2013 | 8:00 – 11:00P. Awards will be announced at 9:30 P.
The full complement of submissions will be projected in the hotel’s lobby via continuous digital loop during the reception and shall be displayed in the online-gallery of our MAGDALENA site.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
International House has contributed $4500 for Purchase Awards. Jurors will, thus, bestow at least three purchase awards, with First, Second and Third place recognition. While scoring is subjective, we seek not merely the literal but art capable of informing the conversation about this important woman and sustaining a broader conversation about women.
Purchased art will be placed on permanent display in International House’s newly created m a g d a l e n a g a l l e r y, a public space which pays tribute to extraordinary women and honors the divine feminine.
PANEL DISCUSSION
Location, time and panelists TBA.
ELIGIBILITY
This Call for Entries is open worldwide to both amateur and professional photographers as well as mixed-media artists, whose work incorporates photography, working in all medium and styles. Experimental and mixed techniques are welcome. However, 3-D work is not eligible, and 2-D work must be no larger than 42” x 42” and no smaller than 20” x 30”.
ENTRY FEE
The entry fee is $20 for up to three images. Additional images may be submitted for $10 per image.
JURORS
• Joshua Mann Pailet, Owner of A Gallery for Fine Photography
• Michelle Magdalena Maddox, Visual Artist
• Rita Benson LeBlanc, NFL Executive and Private Collector
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Submissions are due November 10, 2013 via the MAGDALENA site and must include one’s CV, artist statement and image list (title, size, medium and price for each piece). Images should be in jpg format, not to exceed 1MB per image.
On November 17, 2013 twelve (12) artists will be chosen from the full roster of submissions and invited via email to participate. Art must be received in New Orleans by December 6, 2013 for the exhibition, framed professionally, wired and ready for hanging.
All entrants, by virtue of their submissions, are attesting that the images submitted are their own work, with no copyright infringement. Entrants agree to indemnify International House and PhotoNOLA from any liability associated with any such infringement of rights that might surface during the jurying or displaying of any image. By submitting, one grant International House and PhotoNOLA the right to use his | her image(s) in promoting MAGDALENA.
Should one’s award notification, prize or artwork be returned as undeliverable, we will not resend the notice, whether by the same or another method, research one’s address or make further attempts at delivery, and that or those submission (s) will then be deemed ineligible. Please carefully enter contact information.
International House will remit purchase awards at the ceremony. All sales will be made through Square. International House will retain a 30% commission, which total the hotel will match and donate to FITE. The remaining 70% will be transferred to the artist through PAYPAL. If one does not have a PAYPAL account, please contact us to establish an alternative payment method.
About International House:
Housed in what was the world’s first World Trade Center and harnessing the power of beautiful design to uplift the human spirit, International House celebrates New Orleans today – an ensemble of unique architecture, colorful characters, joyful culture, signature food and music unlike any other city in America. Animated with ritual, romance and passion, infused with intriguing European, Caribbean and African influences and fueled by the city’s mosaic of humanity and creative culture, the hotel is recognized as one of the premier boutique hotels in the world by Conde Nast Traveller, Southern Living, Esquire, Entrepreneur and Wallpaper, among other respected press.
In addition to its design, the hotel offers an exceptional bar, restaurant and conference center. Set to a mesmerizing backdrop of flickering candlelight, sophisticated in style, named for divine spirits in Vodou and serving imaginative cocktails, spirits from small batch distilleries and artisan wines, loa is a destination bar. It has become a nightly gathering place for creative local artists and entrepreneurs flocking to the city in unprecedented numbers. Still America’s most exotic city and the Northern-Most Caribbean City but updated and expressed for a new time. Each guest room at the hotel contains original black and white photographs, many of them by one of this city’s favorite adopted sons, the peerless Herman Leonard.
About PhotoNOLA:
PhotoNOLA is an annual festival of photography in New Orleans, coordinated by the New Orleans Photo Alliance in partnership with galleries, museums and other venues citywide. The eighth annual festival takes place Dec 12 – Dec 15, 2013. Events include lectures, workshops, openings and a gala, with a broad range of photography exhibitions on display throughout the month, showcasing work by photographers near and far. PhotoNOLA draws hundreds of photography professionals to the city to partake in a variety of educational programming, and reaches broadly into the local community with exhibitions and events that are largely free and open to the public.
