Call for Artists: HOME 25 – Invisible Cities
Submissions are now open and close 14 December 2024
We invite artists to submit works for HOME 25 – Invisible Cities, an upcoming exhibition that will explore how the concept of 'home' shapes identity, belonging, and dislocation. Inspired by Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, this exhibition will examine the symbolic power of language, gesture, and visual markers like maps and borders. It will ask how these symbols shape our reality and how their complexities invite deeper interpretation. The exhibition will take place across various iconic locations in central Dandenong, including the Walker Street Gallery and Arts Centre. We will be seeking artists to respond to these themes and join the invited artists in showcasing the intersections of memory, desire, and identity.
Artist Information
Please read the Artist information provided below prior to making your submission.
Download a PDF version here - 110kb
Project Overview
Rich in history and culture, the City of Greater Dandenong has the most culturally diverse community in Australia. Its 186,000 residents come from over 156 different birth places and speak over 69 different languages. Greater Dandenong is also Refugee Welcome Zone since 2002, being home to many individuals and families who have relocated to Australia for humanitarian reasons.
Greater Dandenong City Council is seeking to support the development of a set of new artwork commissions for inclusion in the 2025 iteration of the HOME exhibition.
Background Information
Running annually since 2016, HOME is Greater Dandenong City Council’s flagship program of exhibitions historically featuring artists with refugee and asylum seeker background.
The 2025 iteration of the program is expanding its remit and scope to address stories of displacement and celebrate belonging, connection to Country and the richness of cross-cultural exchange through the work of artists with refugee, asylum seeker, migrant and First Nations background.
HOME 25, entitled Invisible Cities, will be a multi-site, group exhibition presenting a selection of both invited artists and artists responding to this call. The exhibition will take place across various locations in central Dandenong, including, but not limited to, the arts precinct (Walker Street Gallery and Arts Centre, the Drum Theatre, Heritage Hill Museum and Historic Gardens), the Little India and Afghan Precincts, and the Dandenong Market.
Exhibition concept
The exhibition explores how the idea of "home" influences our perceptions and sense of belonging. It examines language, gesture and sign as markers of identity and potential sources of displacement. Named after Italo Calvino's acclaimed 1972 book, Invisible Cities, the exhibition blurs the lines between reality and fiction, memory and desire, and past and present. It also explores how symbolic communication, both verbal (language) and visual (such as maps), simplifies reality – while the complexity inherent in symbols and arbitrary boundaries, like borders, often demands deeper interpretation.
Who we are looking for
The EOI call is directed to Australia-based artists (individuals and or/collectives) with refugee, asylum seeker, First Nations or migrant background.
Applications from Dandenong and Melbourne’s southeast-based artists are highly encouraged. The EOI call is directed to Australia-based artists (individuals and or/collectives) with refugee, asylum seeker, First Nations or migrant background.
Applications from Dandenong and Melbourne’s southeast-based artists are highly encouraged.
What we offer
• A commissioning fee of $1,010.29 (based on NAVA guidelines)
• Production costs (up to $4,000.00), based on budget approval
• Curatorial guidance and technical support
• Installation / deinstallation
• Promotion as part of the exhibition
• Opportunities for public program and engagement events
How to apply
Please use our online form to submit a proposal.
