Open Call: Asian Diasporic Culinary Artist Book Project

This arist’s book project delves into food as a secret language of diaspora, a symbol of sisterhood, a source of community enrichment, and a counterforce to the undervaluation of culinary traditions, challenging food’s role in shaping racial and cultural hierarchies. We have invited an eclectic group of diasporic Asian writers, poets, culture workers, and scholars to contribute family recipes and accompanying narratives. It is part of a long-term multimedia project called When They Have Their Own Historians, granted by Brooklyn Arts Fund and fiscally sponsored by NYFA.

Selected visual artists will be tasked with drawing a story or family recipe shared by our contributing writers. Each artist will be matched with a writer to develop evocative images that visually narrate these culinary tales, contributing to the creation of our unique artist’s book. Artists selected for our project will receive an honorarium of $100 and will be featured in our artist’s book as well as potential future exhibitions. (Additional prizes may be available, subject to availability.)

In addition, we’re seeking dancers and composers for a performance event set to take place in October (with an honorarium). These artists will encapsulate the spirit of our project through movement and sound, bringing our collective narrative to life in a multi-sensory way.

All selected artists will be featured on our Accented Project and project websites. The book launch and reading have been scheduled for September, presenting a significant opportunity for community engagement and recognition. You will become part of the Accented Projects community, a vibrant network of diverse artists and creators.

The selected artists will be notified by July 1.

About Accented Projects:

Accented Projects is a collective of artists bridging visual arts, words, movement, and performance to create public rituals and interactive storytelling. We aim to support women and non-binary artists, primarily immigrants from the global south, through the open exchange of ideas and innovative projects. Accented Projects would provide an alternative platform for exhibitions, public performances, and other artist-driven work.

Representing women’s multifaceted existences, our artworks are extended, polyphonous metaphors. Encompassing cross-disciplinary art forms that comprise everything from artist’s book, installation, body movement, video, and audience interaction to real-time food sharing and singing, we consider ourselves small pieces of a large female collective that reimagines women’s past to rewrite the future—a women’s history of the world, created by women.

Requirements

Open to all people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent, regardless of age or nationality. We will prioritize individuals who identify as women and individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+.

Submissions are free of charge.
All entries must be received by 11:59PM ET on June 6, 2023.

Application Instructions

Apply through the application link here.

Please provide:

3-5 Images of artwork JPEG format max 1MB with First name_Last name_number (e.g. Lana_Lee_1)
Or up to 3 links to video or audio samples
Artist CV
Artist Contact Information (name, email, website, IG) (Optional)
Artist Statement (Optional)