An open call to artists for Free Manifesta

[oskar]

From: Sal Randolph <stfr at earthlink.net>

AN OPEN CALL TO ARTISTS FOR FREE MANIFESTA

http://www.freemanifesta.org
contact: info at freemanifesta.org

FREE MANIFESTA is an open exhibition of nonmonetary artworks to be held
in
Frankfurt am Main, Germany from May 24 - August 25, 2002.

Any artist who wishes may participate with such works as ephemeral
installations, guerilla performances, interactions, dirives, situations,

giveaways, ambulatory declamations, parties, neo-happenings, apartment
shows, guided experiences, screenings, projections, mail art,
downloadable
music, web-based work. Artworks will be produced independently and take
place in public spaces throughout the Frankfurt area, including
communications media like the internet, broadcast airwaves, telephone,
and
mail.

FREE MANIFESTA is a project of artist Sal Randolph and will be an
official
participant in the European biennial Manifesta 4,
http://www.manifesta.de.
It is intended as an experiment in creating a social network of artists,
a
gift economy which that can act as an alternative to traditional forms
of
exhibition in commercial and institutional contexts.

Entries will be accepted until June 30. Guidelines for artists and a
required entry form are available on http://www.freemanifesta.org.



NEW YORK ARTIST SAL RANDOLPH BUYS PLACE IN MANIFESTA 4

Contact:
Sal Randolph 212-219-9328
info at freemanifesta.org
http:./www.freemanifesta.org

Tuesday, April 23, New York. Sal Randolph, a New York artist, has bought

participation rights in the European Biennial, Manifesta 4, which will
be
held in Frankfurt, Germany this summer. She purchased the invitation and

participation rights of invited artist Christoph B|chel, who auctioned
off
his place on ebay.

Randolph won the ebay auction on March 29 with a high bid of $15,099
(ebay
item #852808885). The auction was B|chel9s conceptual artwork entitled
3Invite Yourself,2 and was his official entry in Manifesta 4. As the
high
bidder, Randolph will receive the full rights accorded any invited
artist,
including project budget, preview visit to Frankfurt, exhibition of her
artwork, and representation in the Manifesta 4 catalog and short guide.

3I enjoyed the reversals of power that B|chel9s piece created,2 says
Randolph. 3My own work involves questioning the structures of money and
power, and it seemed like a perfect match.2

Randolph will create a project for Manifesta 4 called 3Free Manifesta.2
3The
idea,2 she says, 3is to create a context where any artist who wishes can

participate. It will be an open show that takes place in public spaces
and
through communications media like the Internet, mail, and telephone.2
The
exhibition spaces of Manifesta 4 will house an information and social
center
for Free Manifesta. Randolph is currently organizing a similar project
in
New York, the Free Biennial (http://www.freebiennial.org), which
continues
throughout the month of April. 3Over 250 artists are participating in
the
Free Biennial,2 says Randolph. 3I expect to have even more in Free
Manifesta.2

3As an artwork,2 Randolph adds, 39Free Manifesta9 is an idea-structure,
a
kind of social architecture. What interests me is how these social
architectures are given life by the consensus, the gift, of their
participants. An alternative economy is created, based around this
gift,which joins both the artists and those who experience the artwork
in a
new relationship.2

Sal Randolph produces independent artistic projects involving social
networks, situations, and interactions, including 3Free Words2
(http://www.freewords.org) and 3The Free Biennial2
(http://www.freebiennial.org). She is a graduate of Harvard and a
resident
of New York.

Manifesta 4 will take place this summer, from May 24 through August 25
in
Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The Manifesta 4 website is
http://www.manifesta.de

FREE MANIFESTA
http://www.freemanifesta.org
info at freemanifesta.org