Artist Open Call

Women’s Library; Glasgow; On-site; GBP 20,000; Part time

Job summary

A community-focused library in Glasgow seeks artists to propose works for its We Make Museums project, emphasizing environmental justice and social engagement. Each selected artist will receive a budget of £20,000 for their commission. Proposals are welcome from women artists, particularly those with experiences of discrimination. The deadline for submissions is Midday, Tuesday 21st of October 2023.

Benefits

Budget for production costs and support networks

Access to unique collections and collaborative history

Qualifications

• Artists with socially engaged practices.
• Experience of discrimination including disability, race, or gender.
• Commitment to feminist practices.

Responsibilities

• Create up to three new artworks for exhibition.
• Engage with communities and GWL staff.
• Consider environmental sustainability in proposals.

Skills

Experience with intersectional practices

Focus on environmental justice

Collaboration with communities

Job description

Build and Connect: A Puzzle for Meaning-Making and Collaboration, made by Jenny Long for the We Make Museums Project. Photo: GWL

Glasgow Women’s Library is seeking expressions of interest from artists with intersectional and socially engaged practices, informed by environmental, class aware and anti-racist approaches, to create up to three new works as part of its We Make Museums project. Commissions (these might be as completed art works or in an advanced design stage) will be exhibited at GWL as part of Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art.

Download a PDF version of this Artist Open Call.

Listen to an audio version of this Artist Open Call: We Make Museums: Artist Open Call audio version

GWL’s We Make Museums Project

We Make Museums is a three year project developed by Glasgow Women’s Library and inspired by its unique history and collection. It involves crucial discussions about museum processes; empowers communities to think about acquisitions made by museums; and helps GWL to shape our own (and other) collections in ways that speaks to urgent community concerns.

The project has enabled a specifically formed group of seventeen participants to work closely with the GWL staff and core partners at the Hunterian Museum and Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art to help develop our organisation’s acquisition ambitions. The group and staff have been visiting museums and contributing ideas in discussions focused on environmental justice, the continued fight for equality and how museums collect. We have shared experiences of health inequality, sexism, racism, disability and other access barriers whilst asking critical questions about the ways that artworks are acquired for collections. Together we have been thinking about what forms of art we would like to see in collections and/or in the wider museums and galleries sector. That has included thinking about neuro-diverse approaches as well as practices that are trauma informed and support orientated. Discussions have explored considering artworks you can touch and find out about without reading lots of texts. We have been imagining alternative ways to ensure that acquisitions processes in public museums are transparent, equitable and informed by communities.

The approach of the project reflects GWL’s origins in the early 1990s as a grassroots space, responding to the exclusionary nature of culture in Glasgow. Since 1991, GWL has developed a vibrant and multifaceted collection, programming and resources by, for and about women that reflects its history of collaborative working. Our collection is formed largely by donation that has grown without an acquisitions budget. Grants from The Art Fund and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation will enable GWL to commission new artworks that will be exhibited and acquired for our collection. This opportunity will involve discussions between the GWL team, the We Make Museums group and project partners to both select artists to work on commissions and create an alternative approach to acquisitions, forming an intersectional feminist collections policy into the future and incorporating new works into our unique collection.

This open call marks an important stage of the project with the group working collaboratively with GWL team and partners to select up to three artists for an exhibition in June 2026. We are looking to commission works that centre themes that are core to the mission and values of GWL: addressing gender inequality, access, anti-racism and Climate Justice.

We welcome proposals from artists who would like to use this commission to help us move closer to our Net Zero aims and help us develop our thinking around the environmental (un) sustainability of keeping art works in storage. This may include:

• Practical interventions and adaptations to our building/surrounding environment.
• Working in collaboration with partner organisations to think imaginatively about the life of the work beyond exhibition.

To select artists we intend to draw upon processes developed in early Women in Profile (the organisation set up in 1987 which grew into GWL) and Glasgow Women’s Library creative projects that have used open call approaches and community engagement in the selection process. Submissions will be explored by the group collectively and narrowed down to between 6 to 8 selections. These will then be shared in the GWL event space (this stage does not require artist participation) with our wider community of staff and volunteers to consider and vote on. Our community includes neurodiverse members and those with a range of literacy levels, including people who have English as an additional language, so please be mindful to describe your practices and interests in an appropriately accessible form. Selected artworks will be acquired for the collection or where relevant remain as a permanent contribution to the fabric of our building or environment.

The Fee

We have a budget of £20,000 each, for up to three proposals, to include artists fee and acquisition costs, and an additional budget of £5,000 for production costs. All fees are set in line with Scottish Artist Union rates and will be negotiated along with the acquisition amount depending on the nature of the proposal. We particularly welcome proposals from artists with a social practice, interested in working collaboratively with communities at GWL and/or with our collections. The proposal does not have to be designed specifically around working with the We Make Museum group but willingness to discuss and adapt proposals with group feedback in the initial stages of commissioning is welcomed.

Support networks/in kind benefits

Through this project you will benefit from working with a team and organisation that bring a history of collaborative working, exploring these themes through intersectional feminist practice. Our small team of collections staff can support access to a completely unique collection, donated over 35 years, that celebrates women’s history and creativity. In addition the project lead Dr. Caroline Gausden has over 6 years’ experience working with artists in GWL and a background in socially engaged curatorial practice. The commission is also supported by our peer networks in the wider arts ecology including close partnership working with key staff members at the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery and Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art.

Eligibility

This call is targeted at women artists who have experience of discrimination including on the grounds of:

• Visible and invisible forms of disability (this includes, but is not limited to, those who define as being disabled, d/Deaf, neuro-divergent, experiencing chronic illness, health-related access requirements and more).
• Belonging to the Global majority / being a Women of colour

We are keen to receive applications from women artists who:

• Have a focus on environmental justice and are interested in developing work that will contribute to our Net Zero ambitions.
• Are based in Scotland.
• Have a demonstrable commitment to working with women and/or a feminist practice.

Access Support

Funding is available to support the access needs of collaborators (this may include, but is not limited to, BSL interpreters, captioners, support towards the cost of carers, support workers, childcare). We would welcome access rider documents from collaborating artists – for more information about access documents and guides for writing your own see

https://www.accessdocsforartists.com/.

Please get in touch if you need any access support in completing or submitting your application.

How to send an Expression of Interest

Please send a short statement detailing why you would like to be considered for a commission consisting of 1 A4 page (up to 500 words) or an audio/video statement of the same length (approximately 3 to 5 mins) and 1 page with up to 4 relevant images that illustrate past work and/or a summary proposal idea.

Submissions can be loose proposals or descriptions of practice, with potential for final commissions to be developed in dialogue with the We Make Museums group and/or the GWL archive or other relevant communities we work with. Beyond these two pages we welcome you to share up to 4 links to websites or relevant projects as these will help project participants explore your work further. However, please be aware that in the early stages of selection we cannot guarantee all links will be explored so make sure that the fundamental things you would like us to know about your practice are contained in the two pages.

Submissions should be emailed to [e-mail].

If you would prefer to apply using a different format, e.g. a video or audio recording, please email the format with a headline indicating use of an alternative format.

Initial expressions of interest will be reviewed by the We Make Museums group, GWL staff and partners over a period of two months. We may require up to 2 references in the final stages of the selection process.

If you have any further questions on applying or would like this information in an alternative format, please email [e-mail].

Further Information

The We Make Museums project is funded by Paul Hamlyn with support from The Art Fund in the first year of the project. To find out more about the work or to be involved seehere.

Timeline

Deadline for proposals: Midday, Tuesday 21st of October

Selection process for sharing event: 22nd of October – 8 th of December

Sharing event (for GWL staff and volunteers): 12 th and 13 th of December

Final selection: Friday 19th of December

Research & Development phase for the artist: January to February 2026

Exhibition Production Phase: March – 18 th of May 2026

Two week install period: 18 th May – 4 th of June 2026

• Other interests in the group include sound design, systems thinking, alternative DIY education projects, decolonial practice, South Asian art and migration histories. In short there is a rich tapestry of interests and expertise amongst group members with a diverse range of lived experience. ↩︎