Open Call for Flying Circus. A Jewelry Exhibition and Movie Project

The Flying Circus's preparatory workshops coach participants to deepen their communication skills, in order to present their work in an exciting and outstanding manner. Over the last nine months, we have watched many Zoom meetings and online exhibitions that did not boost the artist’s image or work. Why did this happen? Because communication must be planned, moderated, directed, and aesthetically exciting. Artists need to be directors, moderators, and stage designers at the same time to have successful online exhibitions.

The Flying Circus project includes

• A 20-hour coaching workshop on jewellery, narrative, performance and video.
• A gallery exhibition in Munich during Schmuck 2021 + documentation.
• Two online presentations during Schmuck 2021 + documentation.
• A website including participants’ selected work.
• A full page presentation in the digital and print issue #3 (Munich Special) of SM*CK Magazine coming out in February 2021.
• Online promotion and sale of participants’ work on Klimt02 and in SM*CK Magazine.
• Press kits in German and English.

Application fee
Free
Participation fee
420 € / payable in two installments.

Requirements
No presence in Munich and no previous experience in performance or scriptwriting or video art is required. The participants are expected to participate in the workshop program and to be open to new techniques and approaches.

Workshop Program (20 hours):
Part I - Saturday, 30 Jan and Sunday, 31 Jan.
Part II - Saturday, 6 Feb and Sunday, 7 Feb.
Part III - Individual coaching: Saturday, 20 Feb or Sunday, 21 Feb.

Online presentation
Preview Sunday, 7 Mar.
Finissage Sunday, 14 Mar.

Gallery exhibition (videos)
Wednesday to Sunday, 10 - 14 Mar 2021.

Magazine presentation
SM*CK Magazine #3, late Feb.



About the project
Acrobats, bear tamers, horse dancers, gladiators - the joyful illusions of the circus and its characters have been a source of inspiration for artists since Roman times. The circus (= circle) also evokes the image of the persisting artist, the showman or woman who keeps performing despite existential hardships. Flying Circus is a project that offers 15 artists an arena to develop work inspired by the circus - literally or metaphorically.

Artists' videos are screened at Weltraum Gallery, while two Live online presentations take place during Schmuck 2021 in Munich, from 7 to 14, March 2021, supported by a jewelry sales program. Flying Circus challenges jewelry artists to dance on the rope and fly with the trapeze instead of staying locked down at home unable to show their works - and supports them individually to enrich their art practice and reach their goals.

Combining various media - narrative, performance, jewelry, and video - participating artists will present a video featuring their work as part of a plot they will develop. During two weekend workshops in January and February 2021, participants will be coached in scriptwriting, performance, presentation, and video techniques. They will also receive individual consulting to address their special questions and needs. Each participant will be coached to present their works online in a precise, interesting, aesthetically pleasing, and professional manner.

Participants’ work will be shown online through moderated presentations including the background information. A digital and print Exhibition Catalogue including a full-page portrait of each participant and her/his work will be published in SM*CK Magazine March 2021 issue.


About the Organizers
Galerie Weltraum is located in Munich’s down down, close to Viktualienmarkt, and has a distinctive and loyal local clientele. The gallery operates since 1992 and was awarded the City of Munich Prize for Top 3 important venues for contemporary art in 2019.

ZLR Betriebsimperium has made a name for its interdisciplinary approach to jewelry art since the early 2010s. Its mailing list includes artists, academics, journalists, curators, institutional directors, collectors worldwide. A long experience in media and journalism, exhibition design, art teaching, communication coaching guarantees that the online presentations will enchant art professionals. ZLR Betriebsimperium - alias Loukia Richards and Christoph Ziegler - has curated and organized six Schmuck shows - three of them have been supported and funded by the City of Munich. It has also designed and curated the international exhibition WERT/voll in the Federal Agency of Environment Dessau and Grassi Museum Leipzig. 

Loukia Richards has been nominated twice for the Herbert Hofmann Prize, and shows new work at Galerie Handwerk during Schmuck 2021. Christoph Ziegler has realized art installations for institutions including Skulpturen Park Berlin, Kunsthalle Hamburg, Kulturreferat Munich. His jewellery collectors include Marjan Unger, Grassi Museum Leipzig, Jeroen Redel and Sara Visbeek.