Well if you ever wanted a good reason to visit Australia (and I could give you a long list!), here’s one:

Call for Papers
Closes: 31 October 2008
Conference to be held in Sydney 2009

The 1st Australian Ceramics Triennale (formerly the National Ceramics Conference), Facing the Future, will focus on the relationship between contemporary ceramic practice and the emergence of diverse social, cultural and technological global forces. The panel invites individual papers or suggestions for panels on any aspect of triennale’s three broad themes – Facing Asia, Future Practice and Activate/Cultivate.

Email: [email protected]
Check out their website for further information and expanded themes.

Indigenous Ceramic Art Award
Closes: 3 October 2008

Email: [email protected]

The award was developed by Shepparton Art Gallery to support Indigenous ceramic artists and acknowledge the special industry of ceramic art practice. This biennial award exhibition will survey Indigenous ceramic art practice, demonstrating current developments in the field.

Check out Shepparton’s website for more information.

August 30, 2008 entry deadline

Held in odd-numbered years, the NCECA Clay National Biennial Exhibition is the premier juried exhibition. Entered works must have been completed within the last 2 years. The exhibition is juried from digital images by three prominent professionals in the field. Entry fee is $15 for Members, $30 Non-Members. Please note: Artists must be at least 18 years of age and all artists from outside the U.S. (including Canada) must be current NCECA members to enter. Merit and purchase awards totaling approximately $5,000 are determined by the jurors. NCECA produces a color catalog featuring work by all participating artists. Extension with late fees deadline is September 6, 2008. For more information visit the NCECA website.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramists
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: August 15, 2008 by 5pm

SENT TO: Winifred Shantz Award
c/o Robert Achtemichuk, Director
Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery
25 Caroline Street North
Waterloo, ON N2L 2Y5

AWARD GALA: September 25, 2008

The Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramists is a national award for ceramic artists and potters. Thanks to the ongoing partnerships with Mrs. Winifred Shantz and the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery, the award is presented every year to a practicing artist working between 5 to 10 years consecutively from the date of the annual application date. The winner of the Winifred Shantz Award receives $10,000 and is intended to allow for a period of independent research at a key moment in the artistic practice of the applicant.

The selection panel is comprised of experienced contemporary ceramic artists, potters and curators. This jury will choose one winner and the results will be announced at a gala event on September 25, 2008. Projects must demonstrate the capacity to advance the artistic practice of the artist.

All of the Winifred Shantz Award winners to date have represented the remarkable practices that make up contemporary ceramic art. Previous winners include:
Rory MacDonald (2007)
Ying-Yueh Chuang (2006)
Kate Hyde (2005)
Joan Bruneau (2004)
Marc Vincent Egan (2003)
Laurent Craste (2002)
Susan Collett (2001)

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
To apply to the Winifred Shantz Award, you must be a Canadian citizen or have Permanent Resident status, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. You must also meet the definition of a professional artist, which is an artist who:
-has specialized training in the field (not necessarily in academic institutions)
-is recognized as such by his or her peers
-maintained an independent professional practice for at least five to a maximum of ten years from the date of application
-Students are not eligible

The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery is accessible to Aboriginal artists and artists of diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.

ELIGIBLE PROJECTS
(Activities may be combined, and are to take place within the year period. Project duration is dependent on applicant needs and proposal.)
-travelling for career development
-connecting with mentors
-visiting other studios
-studying museum collections
-investigating kiln sites
-liaising with industry to perform research that will further in-studio production
-participating in national/international residencies or symposia

Not Eligible:
-tuition fees

SUPPORT MATERIAL (to include with your application)

1. PROJECT PROPOSAL (maximum 1 page)
A single page outlining how the award will be used: a proposal of the research program and its intended relevance to the applicant’s future work.

2. CURRICULUM VITAE (maximum 2 pages, include copy of all texts in print and digital format in CD-Rom)

Please include the following information:
-professional training (educational background, mentors, workshops, etc.)
-exhibition or public presentation history (including the dates, titles, names and locations of galleries or place of presentation, whether solo or group shows)
-collections: public, corporate and private
-bibliography of critical reviews of your work
-prizes, awards and other grants
-other activities related to your practice.

3. IMAGE LIST
-List must follow titles of each image as identified in the CD-ROM

4. IMAGES
-Fifteen (15) digital still images on one CD-ROM (slides are no longer accepted)
-present your works chronologically, from the oldest to the most recent work
-one digital image can provide an installation or exhibition view, giving an idea of the dimensions of the work relative to the space (if applicable)
-title each file (image) with a number, your initials, the year and title of your work
-Ensure that the numbers for the first nine images begin with a zero (for example: 01initialsyeartitle.jpg, 02initialsyeartitle.jpg).

SPECIFICATIONS
Submit jpg files only
Submit files at a resolution of 72 dpi only
Submit files of a maximum of 1024 x 768 pixels (height must not exceed 768 pixels)
Submit files of 1 MB maximum
Don’t submit any type of presentation (such as PowerPoint)
Don’t submit compressed files (WinZip, Stuffit, etc.)
Don’t include hyperlinks to Internet sites with your images
Don’t submit material that requires software, plug-ins, extensions or other executables that need to be downloaded or installed
Don’t submit any files by email

Test your material before submission to ensure that it is formatted correctly. It is your responsibility to ensure that all material reaches the Gallery in a readable format.

ADDITIONAL REQUIRED SUPPORT MATERIAL
You will need to submit a letter of confirmation and profile of host institution, documents outlining itinerary, as well as confirmation from mentors or industrial partners and disclosure of the terms of agreement between partners and the recipient.

FINAL REPORT
A final report is to be submitted summarizing the benefits received from the award no later than two years after the award is granted.

You must send all required support material in one package. An application that does not include all required support material will be considered incomplete, and will be withdrawn from the competition. All submissions will be kept on file at the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery’s Artists’ Registry for archival purposes and cannot be returned.