Age of the Bimbo

Woman Made Gallery is seeking submissions for our July - September, 2022 group exhibition juried by melissa mursch-rodriguez (she/her) (artist, curator, and founder of Moody Zine). This exhibition will be held at Woman Made Gallery located at 2150 S. Canalport Ave., Chicago, IL 60608 in the Pilsen neighborhood. 

EXHIBITION DESCRIPTION

Woman Made Gallery seeks artworks in any medium that celebrates the bimbo -- exploring hyper-femininity as a tool for empowerment and putting self-pleasure first.

Girlbosses are out, bimbos are in! But the new bimbo isn’t dumb; she’s empowered, utilizing beauty to get ahead by being underestimated and putting her pleasure first. She’s a she, a they, any body type or ethnicity, is pro-sex work, pro-BLM, pro-choice, and is radically confident and hot while doing so.

There is careful thought behind bimbology, taking the male gaze that's been unavoidable since birth and using it to create a caricature through the performance of vanity and cluelessness. The bimbo uses our culture’s idea of intelligence - rooted in patriarchal, racist, and ableist norms - and uses it to gain whatever she wants. A self-aware bimbo is everything men want visually whilst also being everything they hate: self-aware, sexually empowered, politically conscious, and beyond.

Bimbos have unlocked these facts: both intelligence and attractiveness are flimsy constructs that are regularly wielded against femmes, people of color, and neurodivergent people. Reverse the fetishization of femininity and embrace your bimboism!

Keywords : Bimbology, hyper-femininity, beauty, sex positivity, sex work, side hustle, onlyfans, unlearning "inner male gaze", anti-capitalism/anti-productivity

The juror is interested in work that investigates:

• How do you feel empowered through appearance? Through make-up? Through sex?
• How do you use male gaze-informed beauty standards to gain power?
• What does day-to-day life look like in the eyes of a hyper feminine presenting person?
• How can bimboism be used to uplift marginalized voices?
• Can embracing bimboism lead to greater happiness?
• Can bimboism be used to outsmart capitalistic productivity standards?
• What does a bimbo look like to you?

Woman Made Gallery seeks artwork in all mediums. We encourage intersectional feminist approaches and lived experiences considering gender and sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, and/or disability, among other social locations.

ABOUT THE JUROR

melissa mursch-rodriguez (she/her) is a milwaukee-based creative whose practice exists between the realms of fiber arts, zinemaking, poetry, and curatorial programming. she finds herself at the intersections of race, sexuality, and gender as a mixed chicana queer woman. In her work, she hopes to address these intersections that give her simultaneously shared and disparate experiences mirroring and speaking to those with overlapping and different identities than her own. regardless of the vehicle used, she hopes to share her identities and vulnerabilities, as well as platform those of others in hopes of creating community and connection.

in 2020, mursch-rodriguez founded the bi-monthly zine publication Moody. Moody is made up of paid artist contributions emphasizing queer and BIPOC creatives. featured artists share not only images of work, but stories, poems, notes on their creative process, qr codes to online content, and anything else that can be put on a page. she also continues writing and performing poetry, curating and facilitating artist sales and events, and works as a senior admissions counselor at the milwaukee institute of art & design.

IMPORTANT DATES

EXHIBITION DATES: July 30 - September 10, 2022

OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, July 30 at 4-7 PM CST

ARTISTS WALKTHROUGH: September 10, 2022 at 3:30 PM CST

FIRST DEADLINE : May 15 2022 12 AM CST

EXTENDED DEADLINE (submission fee increase to $35):*  May 22 12 AM CST

SUBMISSION FEE
*The submission fee is $30 until the first deadline. The submission fee will then increase to $35 per submission for an extended deadline . Only one submission may be entered per artist. Each submission requires one artwork, though up to three artworks may be considered per submission. Paid submission does not guarantee an exhibition opportunity. No refunds offered.

Members at the Enhanced Artist Level and above receive one free entry annually. Please email general@womanmade.org to receive your one-time code for free entry redemption.

WMG offers fee waivers to those that request the need and upon approved application. WMG offers 25 fee waivers in total. To acknowledge the historic inequities of wealth distribution, 15 of the 25 are exclusively reserved for ALAANA/BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+. Factors that result in an approved application include financial instability or low income status, student or recent graduate status, identification as ALAANA/BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+, or a demonstrated need otherwise. WMG accepts Fee Waiver Request forms on a rolling basis until all fee waivers have been distributed. A note declaring all fee waivers have been distributed will be added to the Submission form at that time. (That is, if you are reading this, the form is active, and there are still fee waivers available!) The team at WMG will approve and send a Submittal fee waived link within 4 days of application receipt.  To request a fee waiver -- complete this form.

ELIGIBILITY

Woman Made Gallery is a space for women and nonbinary artists, including trans women and femme/feminine-identifying genderqueer artists. We welcome art from women and non-binary artists from our local community, regionally based, and around the world.

Due to limited staff and wall size restrictions, artworks must fall within 6’ horizontally and under 75 pounds in weight, unless delivered to and picked up from our 4th floor gallery by the artist. Artists may be additionally responsible for the installation of oversized works.

New media artworks are eligible. To be considered, artists must  submit a sample .mp4 or url under 10mins for purposes of consideration. For exhibition, WMG requires a digital transfer (Google Drive, Vimeo downloads, WeTransfer) as well as a USB formatted in .mp4 file format delivered to the gallery. WMG can provide a limited number of media players, Epson projectors and TV monitors with basic speakers. All other new media needs are the responsibility of the artist.

ART SALES
Accepted work may be listed for sale, though is not required. WMG will retain a 40% commission on sold works. Work remains the property of the artist until sold. Sold artworks shall remain in the exhibition until the end of the exhibition. Artists will be paid no later than 30 days after the close of the exhibit.

TERMS OF EXHIBITION
An artist contract with full terms of the exhibition will be administered at the time of acceptance notification.

If work is not picked up from exhibition by the date noted in the artist contract, the work will become the property of Woman Made Gallery and subject to donation to WMG's fundraising efforts, or otherwise discarded. WMG is happy to talk through preparations, offer advice, and recommend resources as requested.