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SPARK Submission deadline is January 21!

Call for student artwork for SPARK IV: A New World? 

UMBC and Towson undergraduate and graduate students with visual art major concentrations are invited to submit artwork for consideration for the fourth installment of the collaborative SPARK exhibition and related programming, SPARK IV: A New World? April 29 through June 26, 2021. 


With A New World? as our theme, we seek artworks that are inspired by the events and conditions of 2020 and the associated implications for the future. If 2020 is a hinge moment, what might the future hold? 


Conceptual, representational, experimental, or abstract work responding to this theme in any media will be considered for the exhibition and related video screening(s).


A limited number of student contributions will hang in the MAP gallery alongside work from Towson and UMBC faculty, while a more expansive presentation of student work will be presented in an online extension of the exhibition (or expansion, as a virtual version of the gallery exhibition is likely due to Covid restrictions) accessed via the Maryland Art Place website. 


Students who apply will also be considered for a SPARK Student Award with a stipend of $50 to $250. There is no cost to submit work for consideration.


MAP gallery space images and floorplan can be viewed here.


How to apply

To be considered for the exhibition please submit an image or link to a video of up to two existing works for consideration via email on or before January 21, 2021, along with supporting information: 

the title, year completed, dimensions, materials – and if you think it necessary you can also submit a short description. 


DO NOT send images larger than 3 MB, please. Submission of image(s) grants permission to MAP/UMBC/TU to include images in an online exhibition of student work (images will appear with a caption noting the artist’s name, the title of work, etc.)  Links to video works hosted online may be submitted in lieu of file submission.


Please also note your major concentration and expected graduation year in your email.


Send your submission to sparkIV.submissions@gmail.com


If you have any questions, send them to exhibition curator Catherine Borg (cborg@umbc.edu)


Online drop-in Q&A sessions for TU and UMBC student artists via WebEx

Thursday, Dec. 17, 4 - 5 pm

Friday, Dec. 18, 11 am - 12 pm

Password: sparkspring2021


[This is an image of SPARK's 2019 exhibition. The photo depicts a dark pavilion with artwork of nature hanging on windows and walls.]

Posted: January 13, 2021, 1:43 PM