EXTENDED DEADLINE: 31 August 2018
The internationally renowned Passion for Freedom art festival opens once again in London on Monday 1st October at its new home in the Royal Opera Arcade Gallery & La Galleria Pall Mall. The exhibition will showcase uncensored art from the UK, Europe and around the world, promoting human rights, highlighting injustice and celebrating artistic freedom of expression.
The festival asks artists to consider three questions, the Passion for Freedom:
The organizers focus on controversial and socially sensitive topics, providing a voice for the voiceless. PFF aims to provide a space free from the suffocating nature of political correctness, harassment, public ostracization and tyranny.
Founder Camilla Forest:
“This is the festival’s tenth year and it is going from strength to strength. We exhibit more and more exciting works every time and I anticipate 2018 to be our greatest year yet. The festival works now as an indicator for the level of freedom on a given continent, nation or even city. At our exhibition you witnessed events in Venezuela, China, Pakistan, England and Poland from the eye of the artist. Our artists have helped lift the veil on tyranny, with anyone infringing freedom inevitably facing an artist’s brush or singers verse. As Picasso said, “No painting is made to decorate apartments, it is an offensive and defensive weapon against the enemy.”
For 10 years the festival has shown works from over 600 artists representing 55 countries. This year there will be a collection of films and books, as well as an event about journalism.
ELIGIBILITY
Artists Worldwide. Passion for Freedom invites submissions from visual artists working in the following mediums: painting, sculpture, drawing, print making, photography, mixed media, installation and video.
EXHIBITION DATES and VENUE
1 October – 13 October 2018
Royal Opera Arcade Gallery & La Galleria Pall Mall
PRIVATE VIEW: 6 October 2018 (Evening)
SELECTION PANEL
Mychael Barratt PRE – Canadian-born London-based narrative artist whose work is steeped in imagery relating to art history, literature, theatre and everything else that inhabits his overflowing bookshelves.
Gary Hill – American artist, based in Seattle, often viewed as one of the foundational artists in video art. Passionate about women and their beauty.
Mehdi-Georges Lahlou – raised both Islamic and Catholic, Lahlou uses performance and installation work to investigate the tensions and taboos within his two religions. Particularly interested in sensitive issues like sexual identity, the modification of one’s body, and the improper use of religious texts and objects.
Francisco Laranjo – award-winning contemporary Portuguese painter and educator. Professor at the School of Arts at Porto University. Lectured in many universities & exhibited extensively worldwide.
Andrew Stahl – artist and Professor of Fine Art at the UCL, Slade School of Fine Art. Exhibited frequently in London, the UK, and widely across Europe, Asia and America.
Lee Weinberg (Ph.D.) – independent curator, researcher, and lecturer, specializing in contemporary and digital cultures. Senior lecturer and researcher at Shenkar College of Engineering Design and Art and head of the Curatorial Studies MA programme at the University of Haifa.
Miriam Elia is a visual artist and broadcaster. Her diverse work includes illustrated books, prints, drawings, short films, animations, and surreal radio writing. She is best known for her art book ‘We go to the gallery,’ in which she illustrated the classic Peter and Jane ladybird book characters grappling with conceptual art. The book has been published in three countries and sold over 80,000 copies in the UK. Miriam graduated with a Master’s degree from Royal College of Art. In 2008 she was nominated for a prestigious Sony Award for her debut BBC Radio 4 sketch show ‘A Series Of Psychotic Episodes’, a surreal comedy series.
Please find detailed information, Submission Form, Terms and Conditions on our website.
www.passionforfreedom.art
Testimonials
“The festival has a simple mission – which is to display the work of artists who are thinking seriously about freedom, what it means and how you preserve it. Passion for Freedom celebrates the people who not only do it, but who mean it. Go if you can – London’s stunning ‘Passion for Freedom’ exhibition is worth an hour of anyone’s time”
Douglas Murray
Journalist, broadcaster and best-selling author