PULSE Contemporary Art Fair is thrilled to announce an open call for submissions for PLAY at Miami Beach 2017. PLAY is PULSE’s dedicated showcase for video and new media, serving as a platform at the fair to encourage discovery within the digital realm. Jasmine Wahi and Rebecca Pauline Jampol, Co-Founders and Directors of Project For Empty Space, will return as this year's curators. In October, Wahi and Jampol will host a month-long collaborative exhibition at Project for Empty Space showcasing the 2017 PLAY selections. This exhibition underscores PULSE’s longstanding commitment to exploration both inside and beyond the fair setting, and creates an additional platform from which the selected works can be viewed.

As selected by the curators, the theme for PLAY 2017 is “POWER," wherein artists are invited to explore the multiple iterations of the word, and the myriad of ways to interpret and contextualize power. The curators have determined to use the following definition of power as a jumping point of inquiry into this complex topic;

POWER

pow·er \ˈpau̇(-ə)r\

noun

1. the ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as a faculty or quality.

2. the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events.

3. physical strength and force exerted by something or someone.

4. energy that is produced by mechanical, electrical, or other means and used to operate a device

5. (mathematics) the number of times a certain number is to be multiplied by itself

verb

1. (a device) with mechanical or electrical energy.

2. move or travel with great speed or force.

Submissions for PLAY are now being accepted through Submittable. All submissions must include one video or new media piece running no longer than 15 minutes. Submissions should also include the artist’s bio and/or CV, an artwork statement, a supporting still of the submitted work, and the $50 application fee. All entries are due by August 2, 2017 and final selections will be announced in September. Selections will be shown onsite for the duration of PULSE Miami Beach 2017, in an exhibition in October at Project For Empty Space, and will enjoy additional promotion through PULSE's website and social media.

This week in our continuing series of guest lecturers, my class got a personal lecture from Jasmine Wahi, an artist and organizer who has dedicated her talents to fighting injustice and oppression. Among other things, her art has dealt with many political & social themes such as feminism, identity, poverty, empowerment, and perhaps most importantly- intersectionality.

I’ve written a bit about intersectionality on this blog already, but I’ll write some more and add in some of Wahi’s own insightful thoughts on the concept. To begin with, Wahi introduced us to the Oxford Dictionary definition of intersectionality- essentially, intersectionality is the interconnected nature of social categories such as race or gender, regarded as creating overlapping systems of discrimination, and intersectional thought is a theoretical approach on such a premise. While this is true, she said, there is much more to intersectionality than that definition. There are so many categories that privilege and oppression can apply to; intersectionality affects everyone on a spectrum.  Lastly, it is not a theoretical approach, intersectionality is a well-documented concept that occurs everywhere in society.

In response, Jasmine has spent much of her life fighting and bringing light to intersectional injustice. She has created art, organized demonstrations- including one against a corporate mural painted by a man who was caught talking about raping women- and even headed a rotating gallery- the Project for Empty Space- showcasing all kinds of intersectional discourse.

PLAY is a dedicated showcase for video and new media, serving as a platform to encourage discovery within the digital realm.

PULSE Miami Beach 2016 PLAY Curators and Open Call 

PLAY Miami Beach 2016 will be curated by Jasmine Wahi and Rebecca Jampol, Co-Founders and Directors of Gateway Project Spaces.

For the first time in its history, PLAY is issuing an open call for submissions of video and digital art. The open call allows more artists the opportunity to submit works for consideration, providing our curators with a diverse and dynamic range of video and digital art to review and creating a more thorough overview of the latest works that are being created within the medium.  

Works selected for PLAY will debut in a pre-fair collaborative exhibition at Gateway Project Spaces this fall and in a dedicated exhibition at PULSE Miami Beach this December.

To be considered for PLAY, we ask that artists and galleries refer one or two pieces of video work to [email protected] and include “PULSE PLAY – ARTIST NAME” in the subject line. Entries are due by August 31, 2016 and final selections will be announced in late October.

Jasmine Wahi and Rebecca Jampol, image courtesy of Ventiko

About Jasmine Wahi

Jasmine Wahi is a Co-Owner/Director of Gateway Project Spaces and the Founder and Director of Project For Empty Space. In addition to these organizations, she also curates exhibitions globally that predominantly deal with issues of cultural identity, intersectionality, and female empowerment.

Ms. Wahi began her art world endeavors in the South Asian art department at Christie’s Auction House, which was followed by positions in several Contemporary Asian art galleries around New York City. In 2008 Ms. Wahi opened up her own consultancy, which produced exhibitions and cultivated emerging artists from around the globe.

Since she first started, Jasmine Wahi has expanded her curatorial ventures to include a multitude of non-profit endeavors and socially engaging exhibitions. In 2010, Ms. Wahi Co-Founded Project For Empty Space (www.projectforemptyspace.org), an organization that creates socially engaging, multidisciplinary art exhibitions and programming that encourage social dialogue, education, and systemic change for cultural tolerance. In 2013, Ms. Wahi and PES began a long-term partnership with Rebecca Jampol of Solo(s) Project House, to create a series of pop-up exhibitions under the moniker ‘Gateway Project Spaces’ which then became Gateway Projects.

About Rebecca Jampol 

Rebecca Jampol is an arts educator, gallery director and independent curator based in Newark, New Jersey. Graduating from Rutgers University-Newark in 2008, she took a leading role in furthering the development of the city’s burgeoning arts scene. Ms. Jampol moved forward to become the driving force in a myriad of cultural and educational initiatives including: Jajo Art Gallery (08-09); Glocally Newark (2010); The 239 Collective (2010); Rutgers Future Scholars "I am" Program; The NeWWalls Newark Public Art Conference (2014), The Gateway Project Public Art Initiative (2014/present), Portals, Newark, (2016/Present) and most recently, The Newark Downtown District's Entryway Program "Gateways to Newark" (2016).

Her work revolves around positive activation of private and public spaces, creating happenings, exhibitions, and programming that provide a platform for social discourse and engagement. Ms. Jampol is the founder and director of the alternative gallery space & studio residence, Solo(s) Project House (SPH). Artists are invited annually from all over the world to work in Newark. She is the founder and co-director of Gateway Project Spaces, a hub for multidisciplinary creative engagement located in 2 Gateway Center, Newark. She is also the co-director of Project For Empty Space, a not-for-profit organization that creates socially engaging, multidisciplinary art exhibitions and programming that encourage social dialogue, education, and systemic change for cultural tolerance.

Project for Empty Space, Newark, New Jersey

About Gateway Project Spaces

Gateway Project Spaces is a hub for multidisciplinary creative engagement in Newark, New Jersey. The three-level facility is split between a highly competitive and curated residency program, a project-based gallery in collaboration with Project For Empty Space, and rentable artist studio/ work spaces.

GPS originally opened its doors in 2012 as a pop-up exhibition space as a collaboration between New York based non-profit Project For Empty Space and Newark based Solo(s) Project House. These temporary shows transformed an otherwise inactive office space into an immersive contemporary art arena for the public to enjoy. In 2015, Gateway Project Spaces formalized its presence by renovating and expanding its footprint and scope of work to include creative workspaces and a new gallery space.

Gateway Project Spaces is home to nearly 60 artist studios and shared spaces for creative professionals. The gallery space functions to provide socially engaging exhibitions and community programs to cultivate critical social dialogues.