Proposal Submission Guidelines

Proposal Deadline
Submissions close at midnight PST on Monday, November 2nd, 2015. There will be no extensions granted.

Proposals
Please note that each proposal is limited to one category.
You will have the option to submit that single proposal to various session types within each category. For example, you might submit a presentation proposal that you would like considered for either a 30-minute session or a 60-minute session.

Using the Proposal Submission Forms
– Please note that the proposal form does not save in progress applications. We highly recommend that you prepare your responses using a separate word processing application and copy and paste your responses into the submission form fields.
– Please watch your character count.
– Please write in the third person. Descriptions and bios are being collected for the selection process as well as, if selected, for publication.
– Please note that each proposal will be limited to one category.
– Each proposal will have the option to be open to various session types within that category – for example submitting a workshop proposal that you would like considered for either a 45-minute session or a 90-minute session.
– Collective proposals are welcomed. Each proposal will be submitted under the name of one contact person and this will be main point of contact for all further communication.
– Submission of three pieces of support material for each proposal is optional. These three pieces of support material can come in the form of images (0.5–1.0MB max) and/or 60-second video or sound clips sent as links to vimeo or soundcloud.

Proposal Categories
OE 2016 will be accepting proposals under three main categories: POWER, Open Platform, and Continuing OE. Please note that each proposal will be limited to one category.

POWER
Power is the ability to make desired results happen. OE invites participants to explore this concept broadly and expansively. What is power in the present age? How do we effectively demand it and how we create it for ourselves? What are the innovative strategies for empowerment before us? What are the mechanisms by which we insure fair and equitable distribution of power for all? How do we conceive of ourselves and how do we share power with others?

– René de Guzman, OE 2016 Curator

To read more, please see the FULL CURATORIAL STATEMENT.

As OE 2016’s main theme, we are seeking proposals for programming that address issues around the notion of POWER. In past years, thematic programming has included a myriad of discussions, workshops, interventions, projects, panels, installations, and activities that have addressed the theme in practice and/or in theory. Artists, activists, academics, educators, designers, administrators, and creative practitioners of all kinds are encouraged to propose ways to engage with this year’s POWER theme. We welcome proposals that address the context of the Bay Area and how it relates to the theme of POWER.

The available physical space for Projects is limited to a small number of specific spaces onsite at OMCA. The OE Team wants to ensure that we are able to properly support and highlight projects, so we encourage on-site and site-specific projects. We also encourage projects which support and engage directly the OE and OMCA communities, such as projects that strengthen the infrastructure of the conference and address the needs of the attendees. OE also believes that sometimes it is more meaningful to encounter a project itself, than to hear about it in theory, so ongoing projects that can be enacted within the OE space are encouraged.

Presentation based POWER proposals will be held within specific spaces at OMCA which will feature basic audio-visual technology. OE encourages various alternatives on the standard presentation format and will try its best to support these forms. However, any special technologies or room setups will be the responsibility of the presenter.

Proposals may be submitted for the following types of sessions:
Panel — a small group of people brought together to discuss, investigate, or debate a particular subject; 90-minutes
Discussion — an informative talk about a particular subject or project; 30, 60, or 90-minutes
Project — original project created for Open Engagement; can include performances, tours, exhibitions, installations, or others; can be proposed for a specific timeslot, part or full day, or for the full length of the conference
Workshop — hands-on activity or discussion; 90-minutes

Proposals may be submitted with any of the following spaces in mind. The Selection Committee reserves the right to program your proposal into the space in which it feels best suits.
Outdoor spaces
Indoor/Outdoor spaces
Micro-discussion spaces
Micro-presentation spaces
Multi-use workshop spaces
Standard presentation spaces

Open Platform
Supplementary to OE 2016’s main thematic programming, Open Platform is an ongoing series of short presentations addressing the theme of POWER and/or current issues being addressed within the field of socially engaged art.

Open Platform presentations are to follow the specific format of 10-minutes for presentation and 5-minutes for Q&A. This line of programming will be located in an open central space in order for conference goers and non-conference goers alike to drop in and out of this space at their leisure throughout the weekend to accomplish the goal of open dialogue and the sharing of many ideas, strategies, projects, actions, and efforts within the field. Standard audio-visual technology will in place to easily accommodate a/v presentations.

Artists, activists, academics, educators, designers, administrators, and creative practitioners of all kinds are encouraged to propose ways to engage this strict format. We welcome proposals that address the context of the Bay Area and how it relates to the theme of POWER.

Proposals may be submitted for the following types of sessions:
– Presentation — 10 minutes only
– Performance — 10 minutes only

Continuing OE
This line of programming broadly explores socially engaged art and: Education, Institutions, and Funding and support, and need not address a specific theme. Continuing OE creates a space at the conference to further the dialogue around teaching, supporting, and disseminating socially engaged art.

In past years at the conference this has taken the form of summits on education for socially engaged art, workshops and panels on community art, curating, and funding, as well as public conversations bringing together museum professionals working in public engagement and social practice.

This section is to help various stakeholders, including educators, practitioners, administrators, museums, funding bodies, schools, and various other arts organizations, develop their practices, share skills and knowledge, and to further dialogue.

Submissions may be submitted for the following types of sessions:
Panel — a small group of people brought together to discuss, investigate, or debate a particular subject; 90-minutes
Discussion — an informative short talk about a particular subject or past work; 30, 60, or 90-minutes
Workshop — a workshop around a particular subject; 60 or 90-minutes
Skill Building — a session around a specific skill; 60 or 90-minutes

Selection Process
Representatives from the OE national consortium, local partner institutions, and conference staff work with invested artists, educators, students, and other community members to chose conference programming through a committee process. Applicants will be notified of inclusion in January 2016.

Every year proposals are read and programmed by a series of Selection Committees composed of a substantial and diverse group of people representing various stakeholders in the conversations around socially engaged art. They are dedicated to this collective decision making process to maintain Open Engagement as an open space that is committed to growing a continued conversation from year to year and to supporting artistic practices that reflect the yearly thematic.

The selections made by the committees made up of over 25 people are then carried forward by the small group of people that makes up the core OE team. This team facilitates the collective selection process, and organizes and executes the programming. It is our goal to ensure that we are able to properly support each program selected and create an engaging conference experience.