2017-18 Franchise Exhibition Program

Now in its 10th year, apexart’s Franchise Exhibition Program is an open call for exhibitions that take place anywhere in the world except New York City. No prior curatorial experience is necessary and anyone can apply. Following a month-long voting period in which 205 jurors evaluated 384 proposals from 61 countries via a crowdsourcing process, apexart is pleased to announce the four exhibitions selected for its Franchise Exhibition Program.

RadioEE (Fordlandia, Brazil): Fordlandia Transmission/Transmissão Fordlandia considers the history of the failed plantation city of Fordlandia through a sound art exhibition in partnership with a local radio station. Deriving inspiration from the Amazon’s auditory ecosystem, Northern Brazil’s vibrant musical heritage, and Fordlandia’s fallen machines, the project features site-specific sound works. October 7–November 4, 2017

Mary Lou Pavlovic (Bali, Indonesia): Dipping in the Kool Aid celebrates the artistic works of prisoners and artists in Indonesia, and highlights the humanitarian values of prisoners’ being able to move with their minds, when space is confined and time seems placed on hold.  Evolving from a prison arts program, the exhibition features collaborative works made by artists and current and ex-prisoners. March 3–March 31, 2018

Giorgos Nikas and Alexandra Streshna (Athens, Greece): Slower, Smaller, Weaker addresses social, economic, and political transitions of contemporary Greek society, as epitomized in the mutated 2004 Athens Olympic Village. In collaboration with the Olympic Village Residents Association, the project includes an exhibition, film screenings, and workshops. May 12-June 9, 2018

Jasa McKenzie (Nagoya, Japan): You’re Not Sick, You’re Weak responds to the stigmatization of mental illness in Eastern culture, specifically in Japan. Providing a platform for expanded depictions and discussions of mental health, the exhibition features both Eastern and Western artists aiming to break toxic taboos surrounding mental illness. June 30–July 28, 2018

Visit us online to read the original proposals in full, and read about apexart’s other open call, the Unsolicited Exhibition Program, which accepts proposals for group exhibitions mounted in apexart’s New York City space.