Frieze Art Fair & Frieze Commissions
What is Frieze Art Fair?
Frieze Art Fair is a commercial art fair featuring more than 150 of the most exciting contemporary art galleries in the world.
Where is Frieze Art Fair?
Frieze Art Fair takes place each October in a temporary structure in Regent’s Park, a central location within easy reach of London’s West End.
Who comes to Frieze Art Fair?
Frieze Art Fair attracts more 60,000 visitors each year from around the world. Visitors range from collectors, critics, curators and artists with a specialized interest or professional knowledge to members of the general public – with an interest in contemporary art. The event attracts a wide national and international audience.
What are Frieze Commissions?
Frieze Commissions provide a unique, high profile, commissioning opportunity for artists to realize an ambitious new work at a significant point in their careers. The artists are able to develop and present new work in an event context closer to a biennial or festival than the traditional museum or gallery format. The fair organizers have made innovative decisions regarding the fair environment – situating it in a temporary structure in a park designed by an architect, and with the artist commissions as an intrinsic feature. As a result, the atmosphere is highly energetic and the audience is very lively.
Artists are invited to treat the art fair as a site of production and involve themselves in the physical and conceptual framework of the fair. In previous years the commissions have ranged from site-specific installations to impromptu performances and print publications distributed to visitors. Many of the commissions have been event-based or involved the audience directly.
Where do Frieze Commissions take place?
Frieze Commissions are realized annually in and around Frieze Art Fair. The commissions take place in the public zones of the fair and in the specially constructed 230-seat auditorium. Some commissions also enter into the surrounding park and off-site venues.
Who produces Frieze Commissions?
Frieze Commissions run alongside Frieze Talks and Frieze Education, which are commissioned and produced under the auspices of Frieze Foundation.
What is Frieze Foundation?
Frieze Foundation is a not-for-profit company supported by Arts Council England and the Culture 2000 programme of the European Union. Frieze Commissions are presented in association with Cartier.
Frieze Foundation aims to encourage critical debate and broaden the public’s interest in contemporary visual art and offer artists the opportunity to realize an ambitious new work at a significant point in their careers.
Who runs Frieze Foundation?
Neville Wakefield is Curator of Frieze Commissions. Kitty Anderson is Associate Curator and Andrew Bonacina is Assistant Curator. Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover, Directors of Foundation, Frieze Art Fair and publishers of frieze magazine act as advisors to the programme.
What is the relationship between Frieze Foundation, Frieze Art Fair and frieze magazine?
Frieze Foundation shares the same office and many of the same administrative staff as Frieze Art Fair and frieze magazine. Each organisation is run separately as its own distinct company.
What is Cartier?
Cartier UK is the Associate Sponsor of Frieze Art Fair supporting Frieze Projects and the Cartier Award. Cartier has a long-standing relationship with contemporary art and over twenty years ago the company established the fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Paris. This private foundation is a unique example of corporate patronage for contemporary art.
For more information visit: http://www.cartier.com and http://www.fondation.cartier.fr
What is Gasworks?
Gasworks is a contemporary arts organisation in South London housing 12 artists’ studios and presenting a programme of exhibitions, residencies, international fellowships and educational projects. Nine studios are rented to London based artists and three are reserved for an International Residency Programme for non-UK based artists. Gasworks residencies encourage exchange of ideas between practitioners, instigating experimentation with new concepts and new materials. Visiting artists are asked to contribute to an education and outreach programme through talks and seminars with students, arts professionals and the local public. The non-prescriptive and process-based nature of the residencies allows visiting artists to develop projects in response to their new context, or to conduct research benefiting from London’s resources. Since 1994 Gasworks Residency Programme has worked with over 150 artists from over 60 countries worldwide.
Gasworks residencies include an education and outreach programme, with some residencies dedicated to working with local community groups. Residencies generally culminate in an Open Studio with occasional projects developed in collaboration with the exhibition programme.
Gasworks is part of the Triangle Arts Trust’s international network of artists and organisations.
For more information visit: http://www.gasworks.org.uk
Application
All applicants must complete the online application form and include a proposal for the work they wish to produce at Frieze Art Fair 2008. All applicants must also submit a brief statement on their work and the relevant supporting visual material.
Should the proposed work be tailored to a gallery stand or a public space?
Although the proposed work may utilize the format of a gallery stand, the aim of the Cartier Award is to encourage artists to consider the specific context of Frieze Art Fair and its public zones: the public thoroughfares, the auditorium, the cinema as well as the surrounding park and off site venues. Bespoke space can be made available for the project within the fair but this should not follow the format of a gallery stand.
What information should the proposal include?
The proposal should describe the work, the thought behind it and the production process, but should not exceed 100 words.
Proposals should indicate that the applicant understands that the art fair is an environment distinct from a traditional gallery based exhibition format. It is not advisable to propose a work that could be presented at a gallery stand.
Proposed projects should respond to the art fair context and the particular dynamic of the event itself. The project’s conception should pay close attention to the unique temporal, spatial and conceptual particularities of this event and its audience. Site-specific installations or sculptures should be able to be realized in the limited physical production time available. Film and video proposals should distinguish whether they are to be presented in a cinema screening format or as an installation.
The chosen project should be realisable within the £10,000 production budget, and applicants should ensure that everything from research and construction to presentation and staffing have been considered, and are feasible within this budget.
Please note that we are looking specifically for proposals of new work and will not accept proposals for exhibiting existing artwork.
What information should the artist’s statement include?
The statement should describe the artist’s work to date but should not exceed 100 words.
Will work in all media be considered?
Proposals for work in all media will be considered, however, all proposals must respond to the specific nature of Frieze Art Fair. This means that some media, such as site-specific installation, performance, film and video and print publications, may be more suitable than others.
Will online work be considered?
Proposals for online works will be considered but the applicant must demonstrate how the work is relevant to the particular context of the fair and how it would be presented. Proposals for online works may be supported by web links to examples of previous online works (but not documentation).
Will off-site works and events be considered?
Proposals for off-site work and events will be considered.
Is there an application fee?
There is no fee to apply to the Cartier Award.
What is the deadline for applications?
The deadline for applications is 7 January 2008 and all applications should be submitted by this date at the latest.
Is the application deadline negotiable?
The application deadline must be adhered to and extensions will not be granted.
How should applications be submitted?
Applications may only be submitted online.
Can an applicant submit more than one proposal?
Each applicant can submit a maximum of one proposal. If more than one proposal is submitted, the most complete will be considered eligible and the other(s) will be discarded.
Will applicants be sent confirmation that their application has been received?
All applicants will receive confirmation that their proposal has been received by 4 February 2008.
Supporting Visual Material:
Applicants should include documentation of up to five previous works, plus one additional illustration or diagram of the proposed work, in either of the following formats, or a combination of both.
How should supporting material be submitted?
Digital images should be uploaded to the online application form. Please make sure that images are saved as JPGs no larger than 960 pixels wide and 720 pixels high, at a resolution of 72 dpi. Each file size should not exceed 100Kb.
DVDs should be formatted for region 2 as PAL and sent to the address below. DVDs should clearly labelled with the name of the applicant and the number of works on each disk. Works more than 5 minutes long should be shortened for viewing. As DVDs cannot be returned please submit duplicate copies rather than original work.
Please note, digital images must be uploaded to the online application form, only digital video work on DVD should be sent by post.
Where should DVDs be sent?
DVDs submitted as supporting visual material should be sent to:
The Cartier Award
Frieze Projects
3-4 Hardwick Street
London
EC1R 4RB
United Kingdom
Can additional material be included in the application?
Due to the large number of applications expected, only images and video excerpts may be included as supporting material. Additional material such as catalogues and press cuttings will not be viewed and should not be sent.
Eligibility
The Cartier Award is open to artists of any age, living outside the UK, up to 5 years from graduating from undergraduate or postgraduate degree or under 30 years of age. Students in full or part time education at the time of application are not eligible for the award.
Are British artists living outside the UK eligible for the award?
The award is open to British artists who are officially resident outside the UK.
Are foreign artists living in the UK eligible for the award?
No, the award is only open to artists living outside the UK.
Are students who graduated from an undergraduate or postgraduate degree less than 5 years ago but are currently in part time education eligible to apply?
Students in full- or part-time education, including PhD students, are not eligible for the award. All qualifications must have been completed at the time of application.
Do applicants have to have completed a degree in art?
Applicants do not have to have completed a degree in an art-based subject.
Are artists working collaboratively eligible to apply?
Artists working as a pair or a group on a regular basis are eligible for the award. The exhibition history, bibliography and supporting visual material included in the application should be based on collaborative work alone as opposed to the work of the individuals involved. The lead contact should list their full name and details within Contact Details and further information on the group and its members should be listed within the Statement.
Collaborative groups are only eligible if at least half of the individuals involved are within 5 years of graduating from an undergraduate or postgraduate degree or are under 30 years of age, and are based outside the UK.
Selection Procedure
The selection will be based on the extent to which the proposed project is:
• Innovative in nature
• Realizable at Frieze Art Fair
• In step with the applicant’s ongoing practice.
Proposals should take into account the unique temporal, spatial and conceptual dynamics of Frieze Art Fair as a context to realize a piece of work.
Is there a schedule for the application and selection procedure?
7 January 2008 Application closing date
4 February 2008 Receipt of applications
April 2008 Successful candidate announced
1 August 2008 Residency begins
6 October 2008 Installation of project at Frieze Art Fair begins
15 October 2008 Frieze Art Fair opens
19 October 2008 Frieze Art Fair closes
31 December 2008 Residency ends
Who are the selection committee?
The selection committee includes a representative from Frieze Commissions, fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Gasworks, and an artist who has previously participated in Frieze Commissions.
Is the selection panel’s final decision negotiable?
All decisions are final. We are unable to enter into correspondence with individuals regarding the outcome of their application.
Will receipt of applications be acknowledged?
All applications will be acknowledged by email by 4 February 2008.
The Award
The Cartier Award for emerging artists is a major initiative by Frieze Commissions in collaboration with Gasworks and sponsored by Cartier.
When was the Cartier Award established?
The Cartier Award was established in 2005.
Who has received The Cartier Award?
Mika Rottenberg was the first recipient of the award in 2006 and Mario Garcia Torres received the second in 2008
Are travel costs for the successful applicant included in the award?
Travel costs to and from the residency are included in the production costs for the award.
Is there a per diem or subsistence allowance for the successful applicant?
A per diem of approximately £20 per day for daily expenses plus £25 per week for local travel during the 3-month residency is included in the award.
When will the residency take place?
The residency will start on the 1 August 2008 and end on the 31 October 2008 and will lead to the production of the proposed project at Frieze Art Fair which takes place from the 15-19 October 2008.
Is the timing of the residency negotiable?
The timing and duration of the residency is fixed.
What will happen to site specific work after Frieze Art Fair?
Due to the temporary nature of the event, all site-specific installation work is dismantled after the fair.
Who will take ownership of the work produced?
All work produced at the fair and during the residency at Gasworks will remain the property of the artist. If the work realised at Frieze Art Fair is sold, all production costs must be reimbursed. This agreement will be clarified in the artist’s contract.
How will the successful project be publicised?
The project commissioned for Frieze Art Fair will be publicized along with the other Frieze Commissions in all relevant print, press and publicity material. The successful applicant’s involvement in publicity is expected but not obligatory.
Further Enquiries
Who should be contacted if there are queries regarding the application?
Read through the list of frequently asked questions. If the query is not answered email enquiries may be sent to: . Due to the large number of applications expected, telephone enquiries will not be accepted.
Award
