Open Call for WHAT IS REAL? group exhibition in Brooklyn, NY

We are calling for artists that work in all mediums (i.e. writers, photographers, painters, musicians, performance artists, video artists, sound artists, poets, philosophers, makers) who work with or interpret the seemingly unanswerable question: WHAT IS REAL?

You scroll, you like, you add, you wave, you chat, you share, you post, you repost, you wish, you hope, you predict, you try but fail to discern what is real. Even though we know so much about the biological aspects of life, the way it unfolds for each of us is a mystery. That mystery is what makes life so complex and beautiful. It has led to philosophy, science, psychology, myth, and metaphysics. How do we perceive color and time? What are feelings and are they real? What is god and is god real? What are UFOs or the Boogie Man? 

The paranoia and anxiety that is triggered by other unknowns can be debilitating. Is free will real if we are controlled by larger political and economic entities? Where are these food products coming from? Is this company trying to control me? Is this news article stating facts? Am I being monitored through my online presence? Can I trust the justice system? Can I trust my memory? Do we live in a simulation? What do we define as normality? Is the apocalypse real and is it just around the corner? 

We are now more than ever forced to rethink what we know about our sociopolitical, economic, and environmental climate, and yet we realize that humans have always tried to understand reality, who we are and why we are here. We are influenced by the media and ads which makes it even harder to be critical and formulate our own beliefs. Oversaturated by information that is not easy to process, it takes extreme effort to sift through what is real and what is fake, or are they one and the same? Reality in the 21st century is subjective, a perception, a perspective. Can we say that reality is a spectrum? 

WHERE: A Victorian, 4-story house (est. 1910) located in Prospect Park South, Brooklyn 

WHEN: Saturday, May 1, 2021 (please note that this date is subject to change)

WHO: Artists that can hand deliver their work, or local enough to New York City that we can coordinate simple pick up arrangements (meaning no shipping). Artists that are not local: we will accept video, sound or other work that can be transferred online.

WHAT: Please submit a brief artist statement and images of works that relate to the theme. We will also accept a website and/or Instagram account if you believe that your general practice deals with this question. 

THE SHOP: Please submit images of artist books, zines, prints, T-shirts, clothing, little objects, souvenirs, etc. that you would be interested in selling at our shop. ONLY ORIGINAL WORK. Can submit to both exhibition and shop OR either or. 

SEND ALL SUBMISSIONS TO -- therealhouse0@gmail.com

DEADLINE: Friday, January 15, 2021, 11:59PM EST

Thank you for your interest and we look forward to reviewing your submissions!-

--Tunie Betesh, Nicole Economides, and Natalia Almonte