3rd Ward Open Call 2011 – NYC + Taipei

The folks over at 3rd Ward are holding an open call for artists of all disciplines to submit their work! So this applies to all those aspiring fiber artists in fashion, textiles, knitting, sewing, and crochet too! If you’d like to submit your work for the chance at 2 solo shows in NYC and Taipei, see below for more details.

Note: The early entry deadline for this open call is this Friday! So submit your entry in now, if you’d like a chance at a bonus $1000 Early Entry Award!

Details:
Early Entry Deadline: June 24, 2011, $1,000 Early Entry Award
General Entry Deadline: July 15, 2011 $5000 Grant
Enter Here: 3rd Ward

Awards:
* New York City Solo Exhibition at 3rd Ward Gallery
* A solo feature in Art Taipei
* An online feature promoting your artwork internationally
* $5,000 cash grant
* Worldwide Exposure

3rd Ward
195 Morgan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11237
(718) 715-4961

Check out 3rd Ward for more details on their creative lab based in Brooklyn. Its facilities and creative classes are open to all walks of life and community. I found these guys while on the hunt for some knitting, sewing, and crochet classes and was really inspired by not only their classes but their philosophy in fostering creativity and innovation. To best describe it, it’s a creative incubator or think tank for artists with a slant towards the digital age.

Also check out their classes! They partnered with Etsy Labs from Etsy.com to bring lots of wonderful fiber art classes. Their disciplines also span classes like Photophonia: The Secret Music of Light Waves and Computing with Arduino for those Electronica nerds to Handmade Skincare for those into the Holistic arts to Digital Design and Multimedia to even classes for HTML/CSS to all the classic Fine Art and traditional crafts. And much much more. I think I even saw a class about Creating Your Own Religion! The program coordinators rock!! It’s a veritable art wonderland for savvy New Yorkers and artists alike. I can only imagine what the community is like there! I still have yet to take a visit but hope to soon.

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

More About Taipei and Taiwan
Taiwan is where me and my family are from! It’s a beautiful island off the southeast coast of China. It’s shaped like a yam! I remember when we used to visit our family’s village back when we were little. A New York to Taipei flight would take close to 22 hours. It took almost a full day to travel from Taipei to our village in the south called Huwei or “Tiger’s Tail” in English. Still untouched by most of the world. Where modern buildings would stand alongside ramshackle huts with no electricity or running water, mountain people would carry water up to their abodes in ethereal landscapes not too far from our village, ancient monasteries and pagodas hidden deep in the misty jungles. All not too far from paved motorways. I remember our Big Uncle would take us to one of these monasteries to meditate. A weekly ritual for him. We’d have to hike up the mountain. It was an enchanting time and place that’s only a hazy memory for me now. These days there are high speed bullet trains that take you there in a matter of hours, road signs in English, and even German tourists in the heart of the Alishan Mountains.

The new Taiwan is full of life, creativity, and innovation. It would most closely resemble Tokyo but with a warmth, hospitality, and an openness that is a rarity in modern countries today. It’s known for its world class electronic devices (most of our leading mobile phone devices out there today are “Made in Taiwan”!) to its Night Markets brimming with culture, local wares, and food to one of the world’s tallest buildings, Taipei 101, and of course to its burgeoning art scene. Check out the below for some uniquely Taiwanese art and architecture.

UFO Village, San Zhi, Taiwan
From Cypheron on Flickr. Created with flickrSLiDR.

Guerilla Architecture in Treasure Hill, Taipei City.
Photo by Marco Casagrande and Ruin Academy