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<h3 style="font-variant-ligatures:normal;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;font-size:1.25em;font-weight:500;line-height:1.4;font-family:"Gotham SSm A","Gotham SSm B",Montserrat,Helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(68,68,68);background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8px">I hope you can be a part of this conversation and please can pass along to any and all you know ...</span></h3><h3 style="font-variant-ligatures:normal;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;font-size:1.25em;font-weight:500;line-height:1.4;font-family:"Gotham SSm A","Gotham SSm B",Montserrat,Helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(68,68,68);background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-variant-ligatures:normal;line-height:16.8667px;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">eRacism ~ International Call for Artists <br>Exhibition Opening Friday July 6 <br>Exhibition Closing Sunday September 16<sup>th</sup><br>Location: Penticton Art Gallery, 199 Marina Way, Penticton, B.C., V2A 1H5 Canada <br>Phone: (250) 493-2928<br>Web: <a href="http://www.pentictonartgallery.com/" target="_blank" style="color:blue">www.pentictonartgallery.c<wbr>om</a><br>E-mail: <a href="mailto:info@pentictonartgallery.com" target="_blank" style="color:blue">info@pentictonartgalle<wbr>ry.com</a> (subject line: eRacism)</p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-size:11pt;line-height:16.8667px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Penticton Art Gallery is inviting artists from across the globe to submit artworks in all media for our upcoming exhibition “eRacism” which opens here at the Penticton Art Gallery on Friday July 6<sup>th</sup> and will continue through Sunday September 16<sup>th</sup>, 2018.<br><br>This exhibition invites artists to explore the resurgence of racism and xenophobia as a political tool around the globe and in particular here in North America since the turn of the century. Listening to the rhetoric coming out of the United States today it’s not hard to draw parallels to the rise of fascism in Europe in the 1930’s. For many here in North America we have lived under the illusion that racism was defeated with the end of the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 60’s. But one need not look beyond the evening news to see that racism is not only alive and well, but thriving in North America today and some may suggest it has been given a free licence to come out into the open.<br><br>It’s incredible how successfuly the current US Administration and our former administration here in Canada have used race as a political tool to not only divide our nation and unite their parties. In doing so it’s incredible how little push back there seems to be from the general populace and a general reluctance to challenge the rhetoric being fed to us on a daily basis.<br><br>It’s a sad statement that after a gunman opened fire on a crowd of concertgoers on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada on October 1, 2017 which left 58 people dead and 851 injured; the first thought that came to mind was, I hope the shooter was white. It’s also crazy to consider how fast that story disappeared from the nightly news when compared to that of the Boston bombing of April 15, 2013 when two homemade bombs detonated near the finish line of the annual Boston Marathon, killing three people and injured an estimated 264 others. The Boston Bombing story<b> </b>occupied the front pages and lead stories on the evening news for several months after the fact all because one was deemed terrorism and the two protagonists were alleged to have been motivated by extremist Islamist beliefs.<br><br>Since the election of Donald Trump attacks against Muslim, South Asian, Sikh, Hindu, Arab, and Middle Eastern communities in the US were up a staggering 45 percent in 2017. It all seems like a bad case of déjà vu yet our society quietly marches forward, oblivious, distracted and complacent. This exhibition hopes to serve as a wakeup call and a platform for the arts community to come together and explore the realities and challenges of living in a pluralistic society. Is this a phenomenon of our western culture or is this alarming rise of racism and xenophobia something that is ubiquitous across the globe, and is there any hope that we will ever be able to live in harmony? <br><br>This exhibition is open to all artists working in any media and submissions will be juried based on the work but more importantly on the artist’s statement which will add further depth to the work and the community conversation. In addition to the physical exhibition the Penticton Art Gallery create a virtual exhibition through our website that will remain as a permanent reminder of this exhibition. <br><br>Please send your submissions and proposals (including a photo or media file of the work, your artist statement and current Biography and C.V.) by Friday June 15<sup>th</sup> to the following e-mail: <br><br><a href="mailto:curator@pentictonartgallery.com" target="_blank" style="color:blue">curator@pentictonartgallery.co<wbr>m</a> (Subject line: eRacisim) <br><br>Once selected works are to be shipped to the Penticton Art Gallery by Friday June 29<sup>th</sup>. For ease of shipping the Penticton Art Gallery can frame works on paper, stretch canvases and can print off digital files for framing. We request that artworks that require framing and stretching arrive at the Penticton Art Gallery by Friday June 22<sup>nd</sup> to give enough time to stretch canvas’s and frame works on paper . Based on the scale and scope of the exhibition the Penticton Art Gallery will also cover the cost of return shipping on all works accepted into this exhibition. While we are a public art museum, works can be made available for sale and a price list will be kept at the front desk. For works that sell during the exhibition the gallery will take a 25% commission. <br><br>Thank you for your time, consideration and courage to let your voice be heard and we will ensure that your voice is not only heard but also honoured and respected. I welcome your thoughts and questions and we ask that you please help us spread this call for artist to any and all you know. <br><br> For more information please contact:</span><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8px;font-variant-ligatures:normal"></span><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8px;font-variant-ligatures:normal"><div class="gmail-m_-7474614033057637070m_-4682272480765573369m_7992308649456634761gmail-m_3078494891082506537gmail-m_-8057712331400995215gmail-m_8686220907281415869gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:500;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><br><div style="font-size:small;font-variant-ligatures:normal"><div><div><div><div><div><br class="gmail-m_-7474614033057637070m_-4682272480765573369m_7992308649456634761gmail-m_3078494891082506537gmail-m_-8057712331400995215gmail-m_8686220907281415869gmail-Apple-interchange-newline">Paul Crawford<br></div>Director/Curator<br></div>Penticton Art Gallery<br></div>199 Marina Way<br></div>Penticton, B.C. <br></div>V2A 1H5 Canada <br><br></div><div style="font-size:small;font-variant-ligatures:normal">Phone: (250) 493-2928<br></div><span style="font-size:small;font-variant-ligatures:normal">Web: </span><a href="http://www.pentictonartgallery.com/" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);font-size:small;font-variant-ligatures:normal">www.pentictonartgallery.c<wbr>om</a></div><br class="gmail-Apple-interchange-newline">
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