Fleisher Art Memorial

Fleisher Art Memorial (FAM) is excited to announce the call for entries for the 46th exhibition season of the Wind Challenge. Established in 1978 as The Challenge and now known as the Wind Challenge, Fleisher's annual juried competition is committed to enriching people’s lives through art by featuring the work of exceptional artists living in the region. Artists living within a 450-mile radius of Philadelphia are welcome to apply. 

For this series, nine selected artists will be featured in a trio of Wind Challenge Exhibitions—each featuring three artists—to be hosted at Fleisher in 2024. The jurors for this year’s competition are James Britt and Kathleen Eastwood-Riaño. The selected cohort of artists will work closely with the Director of Exhibitions in curating their work and exhibition-related programming.

The Wind Challenge Exhibition Series is made possible thanks to generous support from the Wind Foundation.

SELECTION PROCESS

Applicants are reviewed in a two-stage selection process:

Round 1: Jurors review submitted artwork online. From this initial review, finalists selected to advance to the second round will be notified via e-mail in early May. 

Round 2: Finalists deliver one original artwork to Fleisher, reviewed along with their original image submissions by the jurors. (Installation artists being considered as finalists will be encouraged to come to Fleisher for a site visit if interested in submitting a specific proposal for the Fleisher galleries. The resulting round 2 submission could include a plan for the space and/or physical work related to the proposed installation.)

2024 JURORS

James Britt is a visual artist and the Curator for Exhibitions & Programs at TILT Institute for the Contemporary Image. 

Britt moved to Philadelphia in 2018 to become Director of Public Engagement at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, where he oversaw the institution's public-facing initiatives, such as developing and implementing curatorial and interpretative programs, cultivating community partnerships, and strengthening student outreach. Britt has an extensive background in academia, serving in senior administrative roles at various institutions during his tenure in Chicago, Illinois. 

He received a BA in Sociology and African American/African Studies from the University of Virginia, a MEd in Counseling Education from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a MFA in Art Theory and Practice from Northwestern University. His artwork has been exhibited at Space 1026, Vox Populi, the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, the Block Museum at Northwestern University, Hyde Park Art Center, Washington Park Arts Incubator at the University of Chicago, Arc Gallery, South Side Community Art Center, Hyde Park Free Theater, and Blanc Gallery. Britt currently resides in West Philadelphia and is a member of the Vox Populi artist collective.

Kathleen Eastwood-Riaño is a Philadelphia-based artist whose paintings, drawings and installations investigate intergenerational memory and relationships.

Eastwood-Riaño is the recipient of a 2022 Soaring Gardens Artist Residency and a 2021 grant from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation; she was also selected as a Wind Challenge artist in 2020, exhibiting at Fleisher in 2022. Her work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions nationally, and is part of private collections in the United States and abroad. In December 2022, Eastwood-Riaño was commissioned by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Mural Arts to create a mural in response to their recent exhibition, Matisse in the 1930’s.

The artist received her MFA from The San Francisco Art Institute and a BFA from The University of the Arts. Eastwood-Riaño has taught as an adjunct professor at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University, The University of the Arts, and Moore College of Art & Design. She is currently an Assistant Professor at The Pennsylvania College of Art & Design.

ELIGIBILITY

• Applicants must live within a 450-mile radius of Philadelphia.
• Selected artists must not be showing the same major body of work in a local gallery or alternative space in the same year as the Wind Challenge exhibition.
• Selected artists must be available to install their work, participate in the Wind Challenge Artist Exchange public program (a panel conversation led by the selected artists in which they ask each other questions and share insights into their creative process), and be present at the opening reception.

Please note that students enrolled in a full-time degree/certificate granting program during the year of the exhibition and previous Wind Challenge artists are ineligible.

EXHIBITION SCHEDULE

The Wind Challenge Exhibition Series will be held in the Dene M. Louchheim Galleries at Fleisher Art Memorial. The trio of 2024 exhibitions is tentatively set for the following dates: 

February 13–March 9, 2024

April 2–April 27, 2024

May 21–June 15, 2024

SELECTED ARTISTS RECEIVE:

• The opportunity to display recent work in a three-person exhibition.
• The opportunity to work with Fleisher’s Director of Exhibitions in one of the country’s first community art centers, helping to curate their work in the selected gallery space.
• $750 honorarium.
• Opportunity to gain exposure and promote your practice through participation in the Wind Challenge Artist Exchange and public reception.
• Promotion in Fleisher publications, online materials, and related marketing.
• Optional: Opportunity to engage with Fleisher's audience by creating a one-hour workshop. Please keep in mind that clearances are needed to engage with youth.

DEADLINE: 11:59 pm on Monday, May 1, 2023

For more information about the Wind Challenge Exhibition Series, visit fleisher.org.

Please direct inquiries to:
Gerard Silva, Director of Exhibitions and Community Outreach
gsilva@fleisher.org / 215-630-0501

ABOUT FLEISHER ART MEMORIAL

Founded by industrialist Samuel S. Fleisher in 1898 as one of the nation’s first community-based art centers, Fleisher Art Memorial is renowned for its long-standing mission of making art accessible regardless of economic means, background, or artistic experience. In 2023, Fleisher is celebrating its 125th anniversary as the center continues to provide free and low-cost studio art classes along with opportunities for emerging and seasoned artists to exhibit their work. Extensive arts education and community-based programming also reflects the organization’s commitment to serving and strengthening communities in Philadelphia by developing, sharing, and promoting creative resources.