The SWG and The Government House are pleased to present a unique group gallery exhibition opportunity for our local Saskatchewan poets and artists! We are looking to exhibit poetry around the theme of “Family+”. This theme coordinates with the League of Canadian Poets’ theme for National Poetry Month, celebrated in the month of April each year. However, you conceive of “Family+” is welcome.
The exhibition will be displayed in the Queen Elizabeth II Wing in the Upper Hall at Government House in Regina (4607 Dewdney Ave., Regina, SK) from March 29, 2025-June 23, 2025. This is a public gallery.
Poetry submissions may include:
- Traditional poetry (poetry on a page)
- Spoken word poetry (have audio file available for us to include with the printed copy)
- Visual poetry (need an example of what visual poetry can be, see Tea Gerbeza’s visual poem “On My Scoliotic Anatomy” here [scroll to the bottom of the page]. Visual poetry can also look like Miekal And's "mi'kmaq book of the dead” or derek beaulieu’s “untitled (for Natalee and Jeremy)”)
- A blend of visual art and poetry (aka a multimodal piece). However, please be aware that all submissions must be digital and we will be printing the selected pieces on 8.5x11 paper. Any pieces that are 3-D in nature must be scanned to be able to be printed.
Some notes to consider:
- We only accept digital submissions
- If you have a piece that is a blend of visual art and poetry, please contact SWG staff to approve its eligibility
- Ekphrastic poems submitted must include the visual piece they’re responding to so SWG staff can link viewers to the artwork
- Should your work be accepted, you will only be paid for exhibiting the work; that is, $181 will be paid per artist as per CARFAC rates for “Exhibitions in Other Public Places” for group exhibitions of 10 artists. Poets/Artists will not be paid mileage to view the exhibition, nor is the work considered a commission.
- We do accept previously published poems for the exhibition!
We will be accepting 8 artists for this exhibition whose work will be displayed alongside the Poet Laureate, Peace Akintade-Oluwagbeye and Youth Poet Laureate, Dash Reimer. Only one piece per artist will be accepted. The selection of artists will be decided by a selection committee appointed by the SWG. SWG will cover the framing and printing costs of the work selected. After the exhibition ends, artists/poets can arrange to pick up their framed artwork if they want to keep it; however, the artist is responsible for paying for postage/making pickup arrangements with SWG staff.
Please submit your entries to swgpr@skwriter.com with the subject line “Family+ Submission”. Artists/Poets must be 19 years of age or older in order to submit.
What to include in your submission:
- A cover letter that includes:
- contact information (name, mailing address, phone number),
- a statement that you are a Saskatchewan resident who is 19 years of age or older,
- an artist bio (100 words or less),
- a description of your artwork/anything you want us to know about your piece.
- Your submission
The following submission guidelines are for submissions that follow traditional forms of poetry. Please don’t worry if your work falls outside of these guidelines! The only guideline that is not flexible is that all submissions must fit on an 8.5x11 page. Contact us if you have any questions about the work you’re submitting.
Submission guidelines:
- Submissions are open to SK residents who are 19+
- We appreciate submissions in majority English, but we understand that English may be limited to your expression of what Family+ means to you. Translations are appreciated but not necessarily required
- 12-point font (if applicable)
- Use plain text fonts (Times New Roman, Calibri, Arial, etc.) (if applicable—we we appreciate poems that are in readable fonts so your idea of Family+ can be communicated easily to viewers, but we understand that this may limit your expression)
- Submit files as a PDF file OR if you’re submitting a visual poem or an image of artwork that is multimodal, please submit your piece as a high-resolution JPEG or PNG file with at least 300dpi
- Work submitted must be original work of the author. We do not accept submissions with multiple authors for this exhibit
- Poems must not exceed 45 lines or one 8.5x11 page
- A limit of up to (5) poems per submission will be accepted
- If your poem has been previously published, please indicate where and when it was published.
Deadline: December 2, 2024.
Please contact Tea Gerbeza, SWG Program Coordinator, with any questions at swgpr@skwriter.com.
