Open Call to select the best italian artists for the Guest Country at the 2024 Philadelphia Museum of Art Contemporary Craft Show

The event
The Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show is one of the most renowned events for the exhibition of "Art by Hand" and hosts 195 American artists plus a guest country at the center of the show that changes from year to year. Italy was chosen for November 2024 and the curator Waldemar Kerschbaumer was tasked with finding the best Italian artists for the Show. Since the space is generous (max 24 artists) the curator decided to include 16 new artists in addition to the current collective to pay homage to Italian art in its entirety. He is the only one who communicates between artists and the museum.

Participants
The competition is open to all artists who were born in Italy or are resident in Italy for at least 5 years. High-level manual skill and perfect mastery of the technique are required. Only artists and not companies are admitted. However, an artist may have a partner or 1-2 employees/assistants. They must be personally present throughout the Show including at least 1 day of Setup. For the museum the personal presence of the exhibiting artist is very important, in exceptional cases the artist can be represented. The creation of works of art must be the artist's main work. Having a VAT number is strictly advisable for complete and professional management. The artist stands cannot be divided between multiple artists, in each space there will only be the artist assigned to that space. Members who are part of the collective in 2023 are automatically admitted to the Show.

Works and materials
The creations must be unique pieces or very limited editions and made or finished by hand by the artist himself with an execution without technical defects. The artistic works exhibited must have a minimum price of €150 to the public.
Entries must be in one of the following categories: jewelry, ceramics, fabric (wearable or art), wood, glass, metal, handmade paper, basketry, furniture. Not permitted: calligraphy, painting, photography, lithography, etc., except when incorporated into an appropriate craft category; buttons, candles, objects made with commercial kits.

2024 event dates
Wednesday, Nov 13, Setup.
Thursday, Nov 14, Setup.
Thursday, Nov 14, Preview Party.
Friday, Nov 15, Public Day.
Saturday, Nov 16, Public Day.
Sunday, Nov 17, Public Day.

Jury
– Arcangelo Ambrosi, wood artist, Bitonto
– Giorgio Chiarcos, goldsmith artist, Trento
– Waldemar Kerschbaumer, curator “Italiano Plural“, Bolzano
– Stefania Lucchetta, goldsmith artist, Bassano del Grappa
– Christine Mahlknecht, expert in contemporary ceramics, owner of TonHaus, Bolzano
– Stenia Scarselli, goldsmith artist, Pisa
The jury's decision is final and unappealable. Jurors are not excluded from participating in the PMA Craft Show.

Competition progress
Starting from 18 September 2023, candidates can send their application online on the website www.italiano-plurale.com.

The last date is January 12, 2024. After that date, no further applications will be accepted and those that are incomplete and/or unpaid will be excluded. The participation fee is used to cover the management of the competition and is not refunded.

The jury will agree on a list of artists by category, giving priority to those agreed with the museum: 40% jewellery, 30% ceramic, 10% wood, 10% textile, 10% glass, metal, leather, furniture, and mixed materials. In case of impossibility to respect these percentages or of strong penalization of artists with high scores in other categories, the jury has the right to modify these percentages to obtain a fair and harmonious result. In case of identical scores, priority will be given in order of receipt of the complete application (submission date, not payment date). The jury will also choose 10 reserve/standby artists who will be able to take over in the event of cancellation of the chosen artists.

Collective
Only for this Show, the curator makes participation possible without being part of the “Italian Plural” collective, it is advisable to study the documents provided to understand the difference in promotion and costs. Members who have paid the 2023 dues are automatically admitted.

Event details
Further details as well as photos and a list of artists from previous years can be seen on the website: www.pmacraftshow.org

General Conditions and Rules
The jury's decisions on the selection of artists are irrevocable and unappealable. The Jury reserves the right to revise these terms and conditions without notice. Once selected, artists agree that the agreement entered into between both parties is valid. The selected artists consent to the use, dissemination and publication of the images and texts sent by the curator and any collaborators/partners. By participating in the competition, the artists approve the data protection by the data controller and accept the privacy conditions as listed in the handed-over PDF. In the event of any misunderstanding of the text, the original Italian version applies.