💚 ALL TERRAIN IS NATIVE 💚

Calling all poets, writers, speakers, and storytellers!

Terrain Exhibitions is seeking Native and Indigenous individuals to share their unique perspectives, stories, and voices in a reading event that honors and uplifts the heritage of Native terrain. The reading will happen this fall in the Chicago area as part of Terrain Biennial 2023 programing.

All readers will be paid an honorarium, and travel stipends are available for non-local artists, thanks to generous support from the Poetry Foundation.

We strongly encourage diverse voices and perspectives. Native and Indigenous artists from all tribes and nations are welcome to submit their work. 

About Terrain Biennial 2023

Terrain Biennial is a grassroots public art festival that brings artists and neighbors together to put public art on the front lawns (and porches, windows, and rooftops, too!) of neighborhoods across the world. Terrain Biennial 2023 will take place October 1 – November 15.

This year, we chose the theme Mycelium Connection to honor and expand our mission of making unexpected, yet vital human and environmental connections. Mycelium is a thriving underground network of fungal threads, vital to many natural ecosystems. Despite its enormous geographical span, it remains invisible to most, subversively springing up from the most unexpected cracks and shadows. We ask ourselves who and what have we overlooked, and why?

Terrain Biennial launched in 2013 Oak Park, IL and has spread across redlining from Chicago to India and everywhere in between. Much like a mycelium bloom, we continue to creatively decentralize. We are here to joyfully uplift, build connections, and cultivate solidarity across differences. Terrain is for everyone!

How to apply

Send the following to Stevie Cisneros Hanley, Terrain Biennial 2023 Co-Director, at stevie@terrainexhibitions.org by August 15, 2023:

• A sample of your work (poem, short story, excerpt, or spoken word piece)

• A brief bio or artist statement

• Your contact information

Call for new Board Members

For immediate release: 9/16/2023

Terrain Exhibitions is seeking enthusiastic and committed people to join our Board of Directors. The Board is composed of individuals working to drive and support the vision, strategy, and financial oversight of Terrain Exhibitions. 

Mission and History:

Terrain Exhibitions brings contemporary art where it is most needed and least expected: yards, front steps, windows, porches, and roofs in residential neighborhoods across the U.S. (and beyond).   We create greater access for new and underserved audiences for contemporary art, empowering neighbors to make private spaces public in a spirit of generosity and collaboration.

Board Responsibilities:

Board members drive operational and strategic oversight, exhibitions and events, marketing and promotion, fundraising, and all other facets of operations. Board members spend an average of five to eight hours per month on committee and program activities, with an increased time commitment as necessary in advance of, and during our signature programming, the Terrain Biennial. 

Terrain Exhibitions believes that its Board of Directors should reflect the diversity of cultural producers and community members it serves. Terrain Exhibitions strongly encourages and welcomes BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and/or persons with disabilities to apply to join our board. 

Candidates should possess some or all of the following qualities:

• A knowledge and passion for accessible visual arts and public programming in Chicago and beyond

• A commitment to serving and supporting marginalized artists and individuals

• A commitment to serving and supporting under-served and underrepresented communities

• An ability to foster and sustain relationships

• A willingness to commit time, energy, and resources to drive the organizational and strategic needs of Terrain Exhibitions

General expectations include:

• Generally 5-7 hours per month of service to the organization, this includes board meetings, committee meetings and some “homework”

  • In preparation for and during the Biennial, Fundraisers, and other events, Board members may be asked to contribute more time and resources than the aforementioned 5 - 7 hours per month. 

• Serve a minimum of one two-year term and up to two terms for a total of four years of service

• Participate in Board meetings as they are scheduled, 6 to 10 times a year (remotely and/or in person)

• Serve on at least one committee

• Work to present future iterations of the Terrain Biennial

 We seek individuals that are working in, or are familiar with, contemporary art, arts administration, and public art. As part of our continued effort to give shape and grow as a relatively new non-profit, we also seek nominees who are knowledgeable in one or more of the following areas:

• Finance and Accounting

• Fundraising and Development 

• Law and Legal Services

• Administration and Operations

• Marketing, Communications and Design

• Community Partnerships

• Event Management & Planning

To nominate:

Self-nominations or the nomination of peers are welcome. To nominate, submit a statement of interest and a resume/CV/LinkedIn/Professional website to info@terrainexhibitions.org by October 30th, 2022. In your statement  of interest, please tell us about your interest in Terrain Exhibitions and note any skills, experience, or perspective that you would bring to the Board.

If you have questions and want to know more, please reach out to info@terrainexhibitions.org. 

About Terrain

Terrain Exhibitions was founded in 2011 by the late artist, curator, and educator Sabina Ott. Over the course of seven years, Ott invited over a hundred artists to exhibit site specific works in her front yard and on the porch at her home in Oak Park, Illinois. In 2013, the Terrain Biennial – an international art festival that takes place on lawns, in front yards, on porches, beneath awnings, and in windows -- was launched. In 2019, Terrain Exhibitions became a 501c3 Not for Profit organization established in the State of Illinois and has been led by a working Board of Directors. Terrain Exhibitions continues to produce the Terrain Biennial, generates ancillary programming in support of our mission, and hosts the Terrain Residency in Springfield, Illinois with our partners, the Springfield Art Association, and the Enos Park Residency Program.

DATES FOR TERRAIN BIENNIAL 2023 >> 10/1 - 11/15 2023

¡¡¡ SAVE THE DATES !!!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATES FOR TERRAIN BIENNIAL 2023

OCTOBER 1ST - NOVEMBER 15TH, 2023

WORLDWIDE

APPLICATION DETAILS TO FOLLOW SOON….

EMAIL: INFO@TERRAINEXHIBITIONS.ORG with questions, complaints, jokes, poetry etc

Terrain at MDW Assembly 2022

Terrain Exhibitions is excited to announce the second installment of “Keep In Touch” at MDW Assembly this weekend, Sept 9 - 11. Last fall we debuted a curated collection of small editioned works to support Terrain Exhibitions at our fundraising event in Oak Park with Compound Yellow. We titled this project “Keep In Touch” as a nod to our collective need for connection and community during the pandemic. 

At MDW we will exhibit eleven artists who participated in the edition, showing a new original work in our space. These artists are Kioto Aoki, Sarah and Joseph Belknap, Judith Brotman, Erin Hayden, Paul Hertz, Ahmed Ozsever, Lorenza Perelli,  Jan Victor Simmonds, Anne Hayden Stevens, Sonja Thomsen and Kushala Vora. In addition to these eleven KIT artists we will also include work by our hard working Communications Director, Chicago based artist, Skelly.

Keep In Touch packages will be available for sale and proceeds of the KIT sales will help support Terrain Exhibitions operating costs and our residency and biennial programming. If you can’t make it to MDW consider supporting Terrain with a monthly donation of $5 or buy tickets for our upcoming fundraiser on October 13th in sunny Oak Park. (info in bio etc). 

Hope to see you at MDW. We’re really excited to see everyone again and to reconnect after the long absence brought about by the pandemic. 

P.S. dates for the 2023 Biennial will be announced at MDW stay tuned!

Save the Date: Terrain Fundraiser October 13th, 2022

We are excited to announce Terrain Exhibitions' 2022 Fundraiser at One Lake Brewing in Oak Park! We invite you to join us for an evening of art, beer, and festivities on Thursday, October 13th, 2022 from 6-9pm. 

¡¡¡ Support Terrain!!! We're gearing up for a new Biennial in 2023, working on Art in Place 2022 with CNL Projects and we just hosted two successful artist residencies in Springfield IL.

Show your love for Terrain. There will be drinks, dancing, KIT packages to buy and amazing art to bid on. Bring your t-shirt and leave with a custom printed "Terrain or Shine" T-shirt made especially for this event. Early bird tickets are now available. If you can't make it in person, consider our "Supporting, Not Attending" option. THANK YOU!

Early bird tickets are on sale now: https://terrain.ticketleap.com/terrain2022/details

Selected works from Terrain artists will be up for auction, plus our curated KITs will be available for sale. All proceeds will benefit the 2023 Terrain Biennial Exhibition. 

Terrain Exhibitions is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that improves access to contemporary art through neighbor-artist partnerships. Come support local artists and help us make art more accessible to all! 

Art in Place 2022

Art In Place 2022 

As a response to the violence epidemic in the United States, CNL Projects and Terrain Exhibitions have relaunched ART-IN-PLACE for late summer 2022. Over two years after the first iteration, ART-IN-PLACE continues its efforts to bring people together to call us to action through the experience of public art. We invite artists of any medium and experience level to respond to the current state of our country by exhibiting an original work of art or performance in public. This artwork/performance can be displayed outside a home, on a lawn, from a window visible to the public, or through an artist-formed partnership with a local business between August 15-October 15, 2022. This collective action provides artists and community members in neighborhoods throughout the country with a sense of hope and connectivity and offers opportunities to impact change fundamental to our human rights.

To participate in 2022 please click this link: https://www.artinplace.net/participate

To view the 400 participating installations from ART-IN-PLACE 2020, visit https://www.cnlprojects.org/artinplace.

CNL Projects (CNL) was founded in 2016 by Cortney Lederer to provide artists and organizations with a platform to creatively produce impactful art experiences. CNL’s work is deeply centered on their unique, collaborative approach to working with artists, businesses and organizations to advocate for the value of art and culture in our daily lives. We partner with our clients to create dynamic art programs that serve an organization's mission and aesthetic vision. We deliver curatorial expertise to individual clients, organizations and businesses on both an ongoing or by-project basis. We offer consulting to organizations with a specialization in program design, marketing, team-building and strategic development in the arts. We facilitate workshops and provide individual consultation to artists to help them to realize their vision and build a sustainable career. CNL Projects is committed to working closely with their clients to create dynamic art programs that reflect an organization's vision, while capturing the imagination and innovation of contemporary artists. https://www.cnlprojects.org/ 

What We Kept: call for participants

This week we are introducing one of our 2022 residents Millicent Kennedy (she/they). Check out their call for participants below and thru the link in our bio.

Hi collectors of all kinds! Millicent Kennedy @Millicentkennedystudios is looking for participants to be part of her project "What We Kept". Participants are asked to donate an item they have kept for some time, be it because it holds memories, or you can imagine a time when you might need it, or another reason entirely. To participate it is just required that you are ready to let go of it, and tell me why you kept it. These donated materials and their stories will be used by the artist to create a series of new quilted artworks to be continued during an upcoming residency with @terrainexhibitions. The stories collected from this process will also eventually become a book by the same name. To submit your donated item and story see the “What We Kept” google form linked in bio and below

Visit bit.ly/whatwekept

Terrain Residency 2022 Artists in Residence

Terrain Exhibitions is happy to announce our Terrain Residency 2022 Artists in Residence.  After reviewing the applicants  we received our Residency Committee selected Millicent Kennedy for one of the two opportunities and collaborative duo Evelyn Davis-Walker / Kristy Woudstra for the other.. Thank you to everyone who applied this year for their time and energy putting together their applications. Also a big thank you to our volunteers from the Terrain Exhibitions Residency committee for their hard work reviewing the applications and making their selections. Finally Terrain Exhibitions thanks Terrain Residency Committee chair Allison Lacher who is stepping down from this role for their work establishing and developing our residency program. Without Allison’s work none of this would have been possible.  

Evelyn Davis-Walker and Kristy Woudstra

Evelyn Davis-Walker and Kristy Woudstra’s collaboration stems from their work as makers, activists and artists.

During the Terrain residency, Evelyn Davis-Walker and Kristy Woudstra will work together to develop a collaborative stop motion workshop series designed especially for children and young adults. 

Storytelling is a powerful communication tool and moving images help reach an even wider audience. As a form of play therapy, their  workshop, Social Storytelling through Stop Motion will be geared to help young participants (a.k.a. youth directors) learn the art of storytelling through stop-motion animation. They will use Grumpy Faces, a series of unique, handmade woodland and Arctic creatures. They are created by Kristy Woudstra. As a professor of art and storytelling, Evelyn Davis-Walker has extensive experience teaching people of all ages how to communicate visually. The goal of our workshop is for young adults to connect with doll characters provided at the residency and use the creatures as actors in a story with a theme that is of interest to them, whether it is environmental issues, inclusivity, bullying, acceptance, overcoming anxiety, etc... There will be three touch-points with the young directors. The first being an information session; the second being a one-on-one appointment  to create their stop motion animation; the last interaction is the “movie premiere” event.

Evelyn Davis-Walker, Morton Salt, Digital collage and yarn on canvas, 44” x 66”, July 2020

Evelyn Davis-Walker holds a B.A. in Visual Communication and Computer Art from Otterbein University and an M.F.A. in Advertising Design from Marywood. Evelyn is a graphic designer; a maker; an educator; and a socially engaged art activist. She has a strong affinity for all things paper – from mixed media collage, to creating typographical prints on her letterpress machine. She has received numerous awards and has exhibited in solo, group and juried exhibitions nationally and internationally. In 2010, Evelyn was awarded 25 for 25 AOL International Art Grant where 25 winners (9,000 applicants) were funded $25,000. Evelyn designed individual memory games for 200 Alzheimer’s patients. In 2015, Evelyn received the Otterbein University Young Alumni Recipient for Community Engagement as a result of her game design’s activism. 

She has taught graphic design at the university-level for over 14 years and has run her design business with her husband for the last 20 years. Evelyn teaches socially conscious forms of storytelling such as children’s books, board game design and stop motion animations, to help students develop a sense of ownership, identity and agency to address topics of diversity and inclusion. 

Kristy Woudstra, Perspective (46" x 46") Quilt

Kristy Woudstra is based in the beautiful downtown east-side of Hamilton, Ontario, in Canada, where she wears several creative hats. As features editor of Broadview, Canada's oldest magazine, she explores stories of justice, ethics and spirituality. As a writer, she has authored many magazine stories and the book Highrise: The Towers in the World and the World in the Towers. As a textile artist, she expresses her thoughts and emotions through the centuries-old practice of quilting with her minimalist, modern designs. And as a maker, Kristy designs and hand sews a sustainable and inclusive line of Arctic and woodland creatures called Grumpy Faces. As the kid of very practical Dutch immigrants, she is heavily influenced by her culture and experiences, and she is grateful for every moment she has to write, doodle and create.

WEB  www.evelyndaviswalker.com / KristyWoudstra.com

INSTAGRAM  @profdaviswalker

Millicent Kennedy

Millicent Kennedy’s art practice collaborates with  materials and time through performance, fiber, and print. The themes explored in her work often pivot on the tension between labor, and impermanence.

For the Terrain Residency Kennedy will host local participants as part of their community workshop “What We Kept.” Participants will volunteer to share stories and be interviewed about items that they have held onto and decide to donate for the making  of a larger artwork. This is a community extension of an ongoing series in the artist’s practice taking abandoned or broken items, and quilting them into fabric, creating a shroud that preserves, buries, and gives them new life.

Fractured Fan, Broken Fan quilted into fabric, 60 x 65 inches, 2021

The goals of this residency will be to complete a large public textile artwork with donated items from this workshop, as well as create an edition of artist books archiving photographs of the items donated with their stories. This large collaborative artwork will be displayed on the porch of the Enos Park duplex, alongside the draft of the artist book for visitors and participants to look through. This common meeting place of the porch will serve as exhibition space and public studio for the artist, hosting “office hours” when visitors are welcome to observe, ask questions, or just talk and have tea.

Upon the completion of the residency, Kennedy will complete the artist book, with the same name as the workshop, and provide one for each of the participants, as well as some available for sale.

Kennedy serves as the Curator of Exhibitions at the Fine Arts Center Gallery in Northeastern Illinois University and has previously served as the Gallery Director at Rockford University, She currently teaches classes and workshops in and around Chicago, where her studio is located.

She received her Bachelor's Degree from Northeastern Illinois University and her MFA from Northern Illinois University where she was awarded the Helen Merritt Fellowship. She's received solo exhibitions from Belong Gallery, SXU Art Gallery, Roman Susan and Parlour and Ramp, as well as site specific installations with Terrain Exhibitions Biennial, and Purple Window Gallery. She has received artist residencies in Chicago, Mississippi, and Michigan. 

Website: https://www.millicentkennedy.com/

Instagram: @Millicentkennedystudios

Terrain Exhibitions: 2022 Residency Call for applications

Terrain Exhibitions: 2022 Residency

Call for applications

Terrain Exhibitions is currently accepting applications for the 2022 Terrain Exhibitions residency program. The residency, hosted by the Springfield Art Association (SAA)/Enos Park Residency for Visual Artists, is located in Springfield, Illinois, for a period of four to six weeks between May 15 through August 31, 2022. Artists are invited to live and work at the residency duplex to pursue the development of public projects: art installations, architectural interventions, performances, social practice, and community programs. Public art exhibition opportunities are available, and we encourage the presentation of work developed in residence. Two residencies will be awarded.

The residency duplex, located in a historic neighborhood within walking distance to Downtown Springfield, will serve as a central site/laboratory where projects can be developed, and offers unique architecture and surrounding grounds that are also rich with potential. The duplex is a high-visibility site and straddles the experience of suburban and downtown living. The Springfield Art Association follows COVID-19 safety protocols, among them: required masks, facility cleaning, and social distancing.

Terrain Exhibitions encourages applications from artists from all backgrounds, including underrepresented groups that include (but are not limited to) artists of color, LGBTQ artists, women artists, non-binary, transgender and gender nonconforming artists, and artists with disabilities. Please email us with questions about accessibility; the residency duplex is a second-floor unit and is not accessible.

We work to support the needs of artists with families and encourage applications from parent artists. The residency can accommodate  partners, children, and pets; requests are considered on a case-by-case basis, and we pursue solutions for the work/life needs of our residents.  

Residents will reside in the spacious residency duplex. Due to COVID-19, the two-bedroom apartment, which has previously hosted two residents at once, currently hosts one resident/couple/pod/family at a time. The apartment offers a two-bedroom unit with a kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom, and large covered porch. Artists will be provided with a stipend of $600 to help offset material and travel expenses. The $50/week residency fee required by the Enos Park Residency program will be paid for by Terrain Exhibitions. Meals are not provided. 

Important considerations for applicants:

There are no dedicated studio spaces for Terrain residents. We make efforts to see that studio needs are met on a case-by-case basis, but we cannot guarantee a dedicated workspace. Oftentimes residents are happy to work within the large duplex to develop their work, and occasional use of the SAA studios may be possible. Applicants should keep this consideration in mind when planning and proposing projects to be completed in residence.

The SAA is a multi-facility community arts campus with a robust community presence. There are active community classes throughout the summer as well as a summer arts camp for children. Additionally, projects on campus are often underway, which may include construction,  restoration efforts or large maintenance projects. These activities, in addition to the proximity to downtown, can result in periods of excessive sound. This is not a residency in which residents experience an isolated, bucolic escape. Residents live and work within the active community culture of the SAA, which is a community that welcomes and supports Terrain residents. 

The review of applicants will be conducted by a panel composed of Terrain-affiliated volunteers and guest panelist Tizziana Baldenebro.

Tizziana Baldenebro is the executive director at SPACES in Cleveland, OH. An arts administrator, curator, writer, and critic, her practice focuses on emerging artists and designers. She is an organizer and activist in the effort to produce equitable cultural centers. In 2019-2020 she served as the Ford Curatorial Fellow at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD). Her resignation from MOCAD prompted the formation of MOCAD Resistance, an organization of former employees and community members working to restructure cultural spaces in Detroit. Previously, Tizziana held a curatorial research internship at the Art Institute of Chicago within the Architecture & Design department. She serves on the board of FRONT International Triennial and the Contemporary Art Society at the Cleveland Museum of Art and is a 2022-2023 Avery Review Editor at Large. She received a Masters of Architecture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of Chicago.

To apply:

Please compile the following materials into a single PDF file:

• A one-page statement that details your interest in the program and explains why the residency aligns well with your practice/research interests

  • If you have a specific project or line of research that you plan to pursue in residence, please share that information here

• Specific dates within the residency period (May 15 – August 31) that you can be available for a four-to-six week residency (multiple options encouraged)

• Current CV

• 10 to 20 work samples with captions

  • For video or sound works samples, please provide a link to your submission

• A list of three references

Application materials must be received by March 25, 2021. Please submit your materials or direct questions by email to allison@terrainexhibitions.org.

If you are an artist parent or hope to bring your partner or pet to the residency, please include details about your needs in your application.

About Terrain Exhibitions:

Terrain Exhibitions brings contemporary art where it is most needed and least expected: yards, front steps, windows, porches, and roofs in residential neighborhoods across the U.S. (and beyond). This is an act of radical decentralization, taking art from privileged urban centers and bringing it into everyday spaces. By forging partnerships between artists and ordinary citizens, we create greater access for new and underserved audiences for contemporary art, empowering neighbors to make private spaces public in a spirit of generosity and collaboration.

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the Montage Foundation.

Terrain Exhibitions is currently accepting applications for the 2022 Terrain Exhibitions residency program. The residency, hosted by the Springfield Art Association (SAA)/Enos Park Residency for Visual Artists, is located in Springfield, Illinois, for a period of four to six weeks between May 15 through August 31, 2022. Artists are invited to live and work at the residency duplex to pursue the development of public projects: art installations, architectural interventions, performances, social practice, and community programs. Public art exhibition opportunities are available, and we encourage the presentation of work developed in residence. Two residencies will be awarded.

Terrain Exhibitions encourages applications from artists from all backgrounds, including underrepresented groups that include (but are not limited to) artists of color, LGBTQ artists, women artists, non-binary, transgender and gender nonconforming artists, and artists with disabilities. Please email us with questions about accessibility; the residency duplex is a second-floor unit and is not accessible.

To apply:

Please compile the following materials into a single PDF file:

A one-page statement that details your interest in the program and explains why the residency aligns well with your practice/research interests

If you have a specific project or line of research that you plan to pursue in residence, please share that information here

Specific dates within the residency period (May 15 – August 31) that you can be available for a four-to-six week residency (multiple options encouraged)

Current CV

10 to 20 work samples with captions

For video or sound works samples, please provide a link to your submission

A list of three references

Application materials must be received by March 25, 2022. Please submit your materials or direct questions by email to allison@terrainexhibitions.org

Keeping in Touch: Garden Party Fundraiser!

What: Keeping in Touch: Garden Party Fundraiser!

Live Auction of 60 + artists' made Garden ornaments and K.I.T.S!

DJ Curt(is) Spins

Specialty cocktails and refreshments!

Where: Compound Yellow side yard garden

#244 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL 20304

When: September 10th, 5pm to 9pm

Why: To help support two organizations that promote community engagement through public art interventions in and out of the usual places!

How much:

$25 per ticket (one drink and refreshments)

Adam Farcus: Psychoterratic Photographs

Psychoterratic emotions are emotions that are related to the positively and negatively perceived and felt states of the Earth. For this series of photographs Adam Farcus asked people to name the color that they would assign to the emotions caused by climate change, to pick that color from a book of lighting gels, and then to locate a place in the region (Springfield / central Illinois) where they would most feel these emotions. 

Each Polaroid photograph is an image of each person’s psychoterratic location with their selected color gel held over the camera lens. 

Made at the Terrain Residency / Enos Park Residency in Springfield, IL.

#terrainexhibitions #terrainresidency #adamfarcus #polaroid #psychoterratic #enosparkresidency

All images by Adam Farcus (polaroid photographs, scanned digitally) 2021

www.adamfarcus.com

Collective Mending Sessions - Terrain Exhibition Resident: Catherine Reinhart

Join current Terrain Exhibition Resident Catherine Reinhart Sunday, August 8 from 1-4pm for #thecollectivemendingsessions. The Collective Mending Sessions is a socially engaged workshop centered around collaboratively mending abandoned quilts. 

Since 2017, Reinhart has been facilitating these workshops which cultivate care for cloth and community through the meditative practice of mending. Workshop duration is 2-3 hours, includes basic instruction in mending and textile care, along with discussion centered around the question, “How do we MEND our communities?”. 

Registration encouraged. 

All materials and light refreshments provided.

Location: Springfield Art Association, Condell Studio

Registration: Contact or DM Allison Lacher, Terrain Exhibition Coordinator at allison@terrainexhibitions.org. 

Registration Information Required: Full Name & Email Address

#terrainexhibitions #terrainresidency #collectivemendingsessions #takecare #careeconomies #catherinereinhart #sociallyengagedart #socialpractice #craft #socialrepair #mending #tending #mend #howdowemendourcommunities 

• 1. CatherineReinhart, The Collective Mending Sessions workshop images - Design on Main Gallery, March 2020, Image Credit: Zachary Reinhart

• 2. Catherine Reinhart, Detail Image of Mended I, 2018 - 2020.

Catherine Reinhart, Detail Image of Mended I, 2018 - 2020

Adam Farcus / after the winter there’s always new life

This post is the first in a series of posts this summer highlighting the work of Terrain Residency artists. In this post we highlight the work of resident artist Adam Farcus.

The video posted above is an excerpt from some of the research and media Adam Farcus has collected over week one of the residency. For their stay at the residency, Farcus is exploring the emotional ramifications of climate change in the Springfield area.

Video description: A 20 second video of a forested area at night. The scene is predominantly black, some small amount of dark blue night sky is seen through the leaves, and fireflies are flashing bright yellow throughout the frame. A train can be faintly heard in the distance and a woman, Vicki Armstrong, speaks over the video: “Life continues to go on. Um… the, the energy of the life… is still there - it’s still going to come back. After the winter there’s always new life.”

#terrainexhibitions #terrainresidency #climatechange #adamfarcus

Connect with Adam here:
Instagram: @toubab_adama
Facebook: Adam Farcus
Twitter: @adamfarcus

https://adamfarcus.com/

Keep In Touch (K.I.T.): Terrain Biennial 2021

K.I.T. (keep in touch)...

Terrain Biennial, initiative of Terrain Exhibitions, was founded in 2013 by artist Sabina Ott. The biennial was created on a volunteer basis in the spirit of community building through free and accessible public art installations and events staged in residential neighborhoods across the U.S. and worldwide.

This act of radical decentralization takes art from privileged urban centers and brings it into everyday spaces where it is most needed and least expected: yards, front steps, windows, porches, and roofs. The 2021 Terrain Biennial aims to find spaces of joy and community essential for collective healing in these times of isolation, public reckonings, and mourning. Sharing much of the same sentiment as yearbook signatures and pen pal letters, we bring you K.I.T. (keep in touch)...

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Each biennial, artists/curators are paired with a host to produce residential public art installations. We ask that artists/curators do not host themselves at their own home or place of residence, but rather work with fellow community members within the Terrain network to host your installation.

Artists/curators and hosts are welcome to submit proposals to work with partners they have existing relationships with. Artists/curators and hosts who would like to participate but do not have existing relationships will be matched to partners within the Terrain network. All participating artists/curators and hosts are required to fill out an open call form for proposed projects. Applicants are able to propose up to two projects and will need to submit an individual form for each project and/or host space.

Link to form: https://forms.gle/pwnZzswvU7TkBc119

Participation in the Terrain Biennial is on a voluntary basis and may vary from place to place due to COVID-19 restrictions in each area. We ask all participants to respect the public health guidance in their areas and plan accordingly. Terrain Exhibitions reserves the right to modify and adjust the Biennial as public health guidance requires. Terrain Exhibitions requires all participants to sign and submit exhibition or host agreements. This year all agreements will be processed electronically without the need to scan anything in.

Terrain Biennial opens on Saturday, October 2 and concludes on Monday, November 15, Sabina Ott day, to honor her life and legacy.

Apply for Terrain Biennial

IMPORTANT DATES

• Open Call Applications: May 1- June 30, 2021

• Notifications: August 1, 2021

• Public Announcement: September 1, 2021

• Installation Dates: September 26-October 1, 2021

• Biennial Dates: October 2-November 15, 2021

• Opening Reception + Block Party: October 2, 2021

• Closing Date + Sabina Ott Day: November 15, 2021

• Deinstallation: November 16-20, 2021

Terrain Biennial: The 4th Terrain Biennial, "Taking Stock of the Terrain we occupy"

In 2019, biennial participants were asked to take stock of the landscape that people are living in and the terrain that we occupy today. What is the topology of our moment? Artists and hosts have been asked to reflect upon the ways in which our environment changes us and how we are changing it. 

Jaclyn Jacunski, We Are Not Really Strangers, Host The Franklin

Over 500 participants presented 250 art projects in over 30 cities the United States, United Kingdom, Cuba and Bangladesh , over 500 participants presented 250 art projects

Liz Weinstein, Oscar Meyer Wiener Flag, Curated by Roman Susan

APPLY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TERRAIN BIENNIAL 2021

Tomorrow, we will open applications for the 5th Terrain Biennial 2021, https://terrainbiennial.org

Matthew Girson and Sarah Shirk, Flax Farm, Host Melissa Potter

Terrain Biennial: The 3rd Terrain Biennial

In 2017, the 3rd Terrain Biennial grew to 5 cities in the United States and France with over 120 sites hosting artists from around the globe. 

Allen Moore, A Sol Elegy, 2017 Graphite PLA, sound, wood

This week’s featured project Space | Place was a site-specific outdoor display of decorative gardens, a motion sensored sonic installation and street art. In true Terrain fashion, this work aimed to democratize art by making it publicly accessible and free for viewers through placement in communal and unconventional spaces. This installation transformed sites in Detroit’s Island View and West Village neighborhoods, exploring placemaking through public art. 

Asia Hamilton, Change Starts With You, 2017 Wheatpaste

Featured: Jamie Hall, Asia Hamilton, and Allen Moore. Co-Curated and organized by Janice Bond, Eli Gold, and Sadie Woods.

Jamie Hall Constance, 2017, Aster flower, coral bells, little bluestem, mums, ornamental kale

Image descriptions

1. Allen Moore, A Sol Elegy, 2017 Graphite PLA, sound, wood

2. Asia Hamilton, Change Starts With You, 2017 Wheatpaste

3. Jamie Hall Constance, 2017, Aster flower, coral bells, little bluestem, mums, ornamental kale

4. Terrain Biennial Detroit- Space | Place curators Janice Bond and Sadie Woods. Photo credit Eli Gold

Terrain Biennial Detroit- Space | Place curators Janice Bond and Sadie Woods. Photo credit Eli Gold

Applications for Terrain Biennial 2021 open May 1st. Check back here in a weeks time or sign up for our email list for more info when it drops! —->>> SIGN UP HERE

Terrain Biennial: The 2nd Terrain Biennial - expanding the scope

The 2nd Terrain Biennial expanded to an international site specific public art exhibition featuring 75 artists and 3 collectives at 60 locations in the United States and abroad in Denmark, Canada and Cambodia. The 2nd Terrain Biennial is supported by the Propeller Fund Grant, Guggenheim Foundation and Hatchfund Campaign.

Featured: Casey Whittier, My Promise/My Prison

Terrain Biennial  2015, Iowa City, IA

https://littlevillagemag.com/iowa-city-porches-public-art-terrain-biennial/ 

Excerpt from VIllage Mag

Revisiting familiar assigned qualities, “My Promise”/“My Prison” responds to the back and forth between the public and private spaces of porch and gallery. Considered as potential or as a kind of prison of expectation, handcrafted textiles were often added to a dowry. A craft that was passed on as “woman’s work” fashioned into chivalrous chain mail usurps both narratives in a kind of contemporary ceramic mash up.

On display throughout Iowa City, porches offer a public experience hinging upon private realms, not unlike the porch swings at Black Hawk Mini Park on Iowa City’s Pedestrian Mall. Synchronistically, the October issue of the Economist Groups’ 1843 publication of ideas, lifestyle and culture featured the porch as America’s pleasures and paradoxes on display, spanning epochs. The Terrain Biennial is happening in a local and global capacity, inviting neighbors to re-engage in the porch.

Terrain Biennial: The Inuagural Biennial

Terrain Exhibitions kicked off the inaugural Terrain Biennial in 2013. The biennial featured nine public art interventions at Sabina Ott’s and neighboring homes on the 700 block of Highland Avenue in Oak Park, Illinois. 

Sabina Ott began Terrain Exhibitions / Biennial as a project space utilizing the front yard and porch of her house in 2011. Terrain Exhibitions continued as a project space till early 2018 exhibiting many many artists from Chicagoland and beyond. Check out the archives Terrain Exhibitions archive Tumblr and Wix sites (link in our bio). 

Energized by the community response to exhibitions projects at Terrain, Sabina asked her neighbors to join her in hosting artists themselves and expand the scope of Terrain beyond her front yard into other spaces, locations and geographies. 

The inaugural Terrain Biennial opened on September 15th, 2013 with a Block Party that ran from lunchtime late into the evening. The Block Party was a place for the community on Highland Avenue and the local Chicagoland arts community to convene, share experiences and connect with each other. Claire Ashley produced an event featuring her inflatable sculptures. Ellen Butler, neighbor, exhibited her paintings and Elizabeth Rexford’s The Harmonia Quartet played on the Longfellow Elementary school steps. There were a plethora of activities and constructive projects for the whole family, such as bookbinding, fluxkit exchanges, Exquisite Corpse drawing games, and a chance for all to participate in creating a surrealist poem imagined by Stephanie Barber.

Here are a few images of our favorites from Terrain Biennial 2013:

1. Alberto Aguilar “Un Summary End”

2. Claire Ashley “StreetSigns”

3. Roberto Gero “Expansion Trespass”

#fbf #terrainbiennial #sabinaott

Terrain Biennial: A History of Sabina Ott’s Public Art Festival

As we gear up for another Terrain Biennial, we will be sharing weekly throwbacks on the history on the Terrain Exhibitions initiative and some of our favorite works. This week, we kick off the series with a PBS broadcast feature on the Terrain Biennial and the beloved Sabina Ott. (link to video below)

Terrain Exhibitions was founded in October of 2011 by artist Sabina Ott, Terrain is a public exhibition space at her home in Oak Park, IL. Terrain exhibition space existed as monthly installations in her front yard, from which grew the biennial. The inaugural Terrain Biennial took place in 2013, featuring site-specific art interventions in residential neighborhoods to cultivate public engagement through accessible art. In the summer of 2018 Sabina Ott passed away leaving behind a legacy of community building through public art programming. Terrain Exhibitions continues to produce the Terrain Biennial, staged locally in the Chicagoland area and worldwide.

https://www.pbs.org/video/front-lawn-art-installations-honor-late-chicago-artist-hs9sx/

#fbf #terrainbiennial #sabinaott

Image 1 description [ Photographic image of Terrain Biennial founder Sabina Ott sitting on her front porch in Oak Park, IL]

Image 2 description [ Photographic image of an art installation in Oak Park, IL artist Elizabeth Burke Dain, Terrain Biennial 2019. Dain’s installation was featured in the PBS segment and Elizabeth talks about the Biennial, Sabina’s legacy and here work. Dain’s work is a light installation using neon green LEDs and neon green thread to activate the front porch of a large residential house. ]

Image 3 description [ Photographic image of an art installation in Oak Park IL by artist Claire Ashley featured in the PBS segment. Ashley’s work is a brightly painted inflatable form reminiscent of a torso. In the image the sculpture is flanked by WTTW presenter Angel Idowu who interviewed Terrain Exhibitions board member Monica Chadha about Ashely’s work and the Biennial in general  ]

Image 4 description [ Photographic image of an art installation in Oak Park IL by artist Rosalynn Gingerich from Terrain Biennial 2019. In the image a large pink inflatable in an hourglass shape is wedged between two residential houses, and sits slightly above the ground giving the sense that it is both floating in the air and in connection with the architecture. Reflections of the sculpture are present in the windows of the houses and a general pink glow emanates from the piece and illuminates the space.   ]

Terrain Exhibitions: 2021 Residency Call for applications

Terrain Exhibitions: 2021 Residency

Call for applications

About:

Terrain Exhibitions brings contemporary art where it is most needed and least expected: yards, front steps, windows, porches, and roofs in residential neighborhoods across the U.S. (and beyond). This is an act of radical decentralization, taking art from privileged urban centers and bringing it into everyday spaces. By forging partnerships between artists and ordinary citizens, we create greater access for new and underserved audiences for contemporary art, empowering neighbors to make private spaces public in a spirit of generosity and collaboration.

Enos Park residency duplex

Terrain Exhibitions is currently accepting applications for the 2021 Terrain Exhibitions residency program. The residency, hosted by the Springfield Art Association/Enos Park Residency for Visual Artists, is located in Springfield, Illinois, for a period of four to eight weeks between May 1 and September 4, 2020. Artists are invited to live and work at the residency duplex to pursue the development of public projects: public art installations, architectural interventions, performances, social practice, and community programs. We welcome contemporary artists from any background that are interested in working in/on the terrain, and in ways that align with the mission of Terrain Exhibitions. As many as four residencies will be awarded.

Morgan Rose Free, 2019 Terrain Exhibitions artist in residence, developing work for the 2019 Terrain Biennial

The residency duplex, located in a historic neighborhood within walking distance to Downtown Springfield, will serve as a central site/laboratory where projects can be developed, and offers unique architecture and surrounding grounds that are also rich with potential. The duplex is a high-visibility site and straddles the experience of suburban and downtown living. Residents will have access to the Springfield Art Association studios, which include a painting and drawing studio, metals lab, ceramics studio, a digital media studio, and a newly minted glass-blowing studio. The Springfield Art Association follows Covid-19 safety protocols, among them: required masks, facility cleaning, and social distancing. There are no dedicated private studio spaces for Terrain residents, but studio needs are met on a case-by-case basis. 

2019 Terrain Biennial work installed by resident Morgan Rose Free

Residents will reside in the spacious residency duplex. Due to COVID-19, the two-bedroom apartment, which could have previously hosted two residents at once, can now only host one resident/couple/pod/family at a time. The apartment offers a two-bedroom unit with a kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom, and large covered porch. Artists are provided with a stipend of $500 to help offset material and travel expenses, and the $50/week residency fee required by the Enos Park Residency program will be paid for by Terrain Exhibitions. Meals are not provided. 

To apply:

Please compile the following materials into a single PDF file:

• A statement that details your interest in the program and explains why the residency aligns well with you practice/research interests

• Specific dates within the residency period (May 1 – September 4) that you can be available for a six-to-eight week residency (multiple options encouraged)

• Current CV

• 10 to 20 work samples with captions

• A list of three references

Application materials must be received by March 31, 2021. Please submit your materials or direct questions by email to allison@terrainexhibitions.org