It’s a Date

A Readymade Calendar Art Event
#ItsADate

Call for Submissions: (now closed)

Happy New Year! In the pre-digital era, this was the time to take down your old paper calendar and put up a brand new one. A new book of twelve pages of potential was revealed to fill in with the events of the next stage of your life. If you wanted to, you could flip through last year’s pages one last time before consigning it to the trash (or, better yet, a recycling program), and reminisce about what was good and bad about the last 365 days.

These days, many of us have moved on to digital calendars that allow us to plan repeating events into the infinite future and look back through out entire history, which is certainly convenient. Still, a number of organizations, commercial and otherwise, persist in handing or sending out paper calendars and some of us just like to see a new picture from our favourite fandom every time the month changes. If you have a calendar that you no longer need, this event will help you get a couple of months more enjoyment out of it before it hits the recycling bin. Please join us in making art out of calendars in the weeks leading up to our salon/show event on February 26th.

[covid-19]: This event is 100% online! We’ll all be creating throughout the month of January, hosting streaming workshops to keep you on track, and lurking on discord to chat daily about your progress (or blocks). Our final salon (live event and chat) will be hosted on discord. Stay connected – stay home – stay safe.

Turning an already useful existing item, like a calendar, into a piece of your own art is an interesting experience. In a sense, you are collaborating with the creator of the readymade item, whom it is likely that you have never met. We are going to host some online presentations to help inspire you to work with calendar readymades: one on January 8th about the history of calendars and another on January 15th about the use of readymades in art. We don’t mean to limit you to calendar readymades, though! Go wherever inspiration takes you. If you think of a cool game you could play with a digital calendar, do that; if a photo of an ancient Mayan calendar turns you on to clay sculpture, do that! We require that you submit your projects (even in progress) by February 5th so we can review them for our audiences, and help you build your artist statements and any content warnings prior to our sharing them on February 26th. During the weeks leading up, we invite you to use the hashtag #ItsADate as you document your process!

Documenting your process is very important to these events. Take photos, share what you’re doing on our discord server, tag us in your WIP posts.

---

How to participate:

Just start making something! As you work, stay connected with us by sharing your process and tagging us or using the hashtag #cyow4 or/and #ItsADate. Take pictures and make notes as you work! Join us at a workshop, on Discord or join our Facebook creators group! Once you’re ready to submit your project, reach out to us at submissions@thepapercutarcade.ca. Be sure to send us something by February 5th so we know you’re wanting to participate in our salon event!

Our application process is very informal. As long as you adhere to basic rules of respect and anti-oppression, are willing to label any content that may be unsuitable for public/all-ages consumption, and are willing to challenge yourself to produce work on theme with the event – we want you to participate. The jam days/workshops (which happen in the weeks leading up to the salon event) are optional. The final salon event (February 26th) will showcase work that was produced! Our collective members reserve the right to review and approve all materials prior to their being presented at our public events for safety and consideration of our audiences. Please consider our society’s mandate prior to submitting work that is harmful, oppressive, or illegal.

Not interested in showing your work, but do want to participate in the lead-up workshops and the creative challenge? You are very welcome to join us making in February and then not submit your final project; we primarily work connected via Discord and Facebook messenger to bounce ideas and help each other. Also, we do not require a FINISHED idea to show at our salon events. Work-in-progress is welcome.

Notes:
The Papercut Arcade defines *artist as a person who practices any of the various creative arts, such as a sculptor, photographer, painter, novelist, poet, or filmmaker. The keyword is practice; therefore, if you make art or produce work with the intent of participating in a The Papercut Arcade challenge or exhibition, you ARE an artist.