Exhibition Proposal for WCA Board - Sample
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For any project that has a financial component, uses the WCA name to request funding, and/or uses the WCA name in a sponsorship or any legal/contract component, a proposal must be presented to the national WCA board to be considered. The national WCA board looks at whether a project's budget shows a realistic ability to succeed with a neutral or surplus outcome (there are no funds to cover losses), whether the project has the potential to bring bring negative attention to WCA, whether there is enough commitment from volunteers to make the project succeed, etc. It is an oversight process and aims to be objective. The proposal must receive approval votes from at least a quorum of the national WCA board membership before the project can move forward. If approved, the project may move forward. If the project is altered in significant ways (the budget, contracts), the revised proposal will need to be reviewed again by the national WCA board.
Before being presented to the national WCA board, the proposal needs to be considered by the International Caucus as a whole to gather feedback, determine how the project fits into the International Caucus timeline of other projects, garner support for the expenditures and scope of the project and develop committed volunteers.
If supported by the caucus, the Chair of the International Caucus will present the proposal to the national WCA board. The Chair of the International Caucus is also responsible for submitting bi-annual reports (both progress and final reports) to the national WCA board about caucus projects.
Here is a sample of what could be included in a proposal for an exhibition. It is also a useful tool within which to structure the initial idea development for a project.
Exhibition Title
Proposal for WCA National Board
Presented by ___________ of the International Caucus
Date
Background:
In this section, describe the genesis of the project and provide any supporting information to assist the board members in understanding the context of the project, such as names of key players, demonstrated support from caucus members, websites. For example, for the Chinese exhibition Half the Sky:
International Caucus member Jing Deng, a native of China, has arranged for us to be invited by the president of the LuXun Academy of Fine Arts Wei Er Shen - a renowned oil painter in China – to create a combination art culture exchange/exhibition at the academy. (about Wei Er Shen). The academy is interested in providing an opportunity for Chinese women artists to interact with artists from our organization, to learn more about feminist art history in the west and share their art with our artists. LuXun (website) is one of the premier art academies in China and is located in Shenyang - the major metropolitan area of northeast China. Shenyang is about 5 hours from Beijing and major US airlines fly there. The father of Jing’s friend Yin Ou Zhao taught many of the currently famous Chinese artists, including Wei Er Shen. Yin Ou graduated from LuXun, still lives in China and has personally talked with the LuXun president. Many members of the International Caucus have stepped up to form committees and have already begun research in support of this project (see below).
Location:
Gallery/venue name, city, state/province, country
Dates of Exhibition/Events:
Overview of Project
In this section, describe the components of the project:
Exhibition: What kind of art will be sought? Will this be a traditional gallery installation? Will there be performance art, new media, online components?
Events: What kind of events will occur in conjunction with the exhibition? Panels? Demonstrations? Dialogue?
Call for Art: To whom will the Call for Art go? Will this be just for International Caucus members? For the WCA membership as a whole? An Open Call to all self-identified women?
Juror: Description of kind of juror the project will need, i.e., experience with new media? culture specific background?
International Works: If there will be international artists/works included, how will these be curated/juried? Who will curate/jury them? Any unique ideas as to how these works will be shown in conjunction with WCA works.
Catalog: Will the catalog by bi-lingual? Will it have an ISBN number? Will it be print - on -demand? Will it be printed internationally? Will it include essays?
Call for Essays: Will there be a call for essays so that WCA members who are art historians/writers can participate? Will there be a separate juror for this? Who will edit the essays?
Theme: Exhibition Title
Include here the theme as it will be used for the Call for Art.
Timeline Draft
As of this date, proposals to the national WCA board are still supposed to be presented at the July meeting each year for any project that might require contracts, money or other significant commitment within the following year. In this section, include the major deadline dates as in this example. See the Exhibition Timeline and Tasks page of this website for more details.
Beginning date – write draft proposal, begin researching shipping options, gather International Caucus input
Date #2 – present proposal to WCA board
Date #3– WCA board decision deadline, grants and fundraising begins if approved
Date #4 – Finish gathering details needed to present to potential jurors
Date #5 – Juror chosen for US works
Date #6- Call for Art posted, Call for Papers posted
Date #7– Submissions deadline for art and essays
Date #8– works to juror, essays to juror
Date #9 – Juror decision for artwork
Date #10 – notification to artists, juror decision for essays
Date #11 – notification to essayists,
Date #12 – contracts from artists, essayists, begin editing essays
Date #13- catalog started
Date #14–exhibition opening, events
Allocation of Tasks/Expenses
The national WCA board will want to see that there is support for this project so that there is a greater chance for success. Here is the section to include 1) The name of the gallery/venue and what the gallery/venue will provide, what costs it will cover, 2) The major expenses for which the International Caucus will be responsible, 3) Key players and their responsibilities (i.e.. the director of the exhibition for the International Caucus, the director of the exhibition in the international venue, the curator if used), 4) the exhibition committees, their responsibilities and the names of any caucus members who have already volunteered for these committees.
Budget
This is a very important part of the proposal. All WCA projects must finish with a neutral or positive (income producing) budget. There are no funds to cover shortfalls. Please see the Budget Considerations and Expense/Income Items to assist in developing a budget. The budget should be presented in an Excel document attached to the proposal. The budget should be preceded with some text as to describe any unique budget items, how fundraising will proceed, what items would be struck if adequate funding is not found, etc. A budget template can be downloaded below.
Before being presented to the national WCA board, the proposal needs to be considered by the International Caucus as a whole to gather feedback, determine how the project fits into the International Caucus timeline of other projects, garner support for the expenditures and scope of the project and develop committed volunteers.
If supported by the caucus, the Chair of the International Caucus will present the proposal to the national WCA board. The Chair of the International Caucus is also responsible for submitting bi-annual reports (both progress and final reports) to the national WCA board about caucus projects.
Here is a sample of what could be included in a proposal for an exhibition. It is also a useful tool within which to structure the initial idea development for a project.
Exhibition Title
Proposal for WCA National Board
Presented by ___________ of the International Caucus
Date
Background:
In this section, describe the genesis of the project and provide any supporting information to assist the board members in understanding the context of the project, such as names of key players, demonstrated support from caucus members, websites. For example, for the Chinese exhibition Half the Sky:
International Caucus member Jing Deng, a native of China, has arranged for us to be invited by the president of the LuXun Academy of Fine Arts Wei Er Shen - a renowned oil painter in China – to create a combination art culture exchange/exhibition at the academy. (about Wei Er Shen). The academy is interested in providing an opportunity for Chinese women artists to interact with artists from our organization, to learn more about feminist art history in the west and share their art with our artists. LuXun (website) is one of the premier art academies in China and is located in Shenyang - the major metropolitan area of northeast China. Shenyang is about 5 hours from Beijing and major US airlines fly there. The father of Jing’s friend Yin Ou Zhao taught many of the currently famous Chinese artists, including Wei Er Shen. Yin Ou graduated from LuXun, still lives in China and has personally talked with the LuXun president. Many members of the International Caucus have stepped up to form committees and have already begun research in support of this project (see below).
Location:
Gallery/venue name, city, state/province, country
Dates of Exhibition/Events:
Overview of Project
In this section, describe the components of the project:
Exhibition: What kind of art will be sought? Will this be a traditional gallery installation? Will there be performance art, new media, online components?
Events: What kind of events will occur in conjunction with the exhibition? Panels? Demonstrations? Dialogue?
Call for Art: To whom will the Call for Art go? Will this be just for International Caucus members? For the WCA membership as a whole? An Open Call to all self-identified women?
Juror: Description of kind of juror the project will need, i.e., experience with new media? culture specific background?
International Works: If there will be international artists/works included, how will these be curated/juried? Who will curate/jury them? Any unique ideas as to how these works will be shown in conjunction with WCA works.
Catalog: Will the catalog by bi-lingual? Will it have an ISBN number? Will it be print - on -demand? Will it be printed internationally? Will it include essays?
Call for Essays: Will there be a call for essays so that WCA members who are art historians/writers can participate? Will there be a separate juror for this? Who will edit the essays?
Theme: Exhibition Title
Include here the theme as it will be used for the Call for Art.
Timeline Draft
As of this date, proposals to the national WCA board are still supposed to be presented at the July meeting each year for any project that might require contracts, money or other significant commitment within the following year. In this section, include the major deadline dates as in this example. See the Exhibition Timeline and Tasks page of this website for more details.
Beginning date – write draft proposal, begin researching shipping options, gather International Caucus input
Date #2 – present proposal to WCA board
Date #3– WCA board decision deadline, grants and fundraising begins if approved
Date #4 – Finish gathering details needed to present to potential jurors
Date #5 – Juror chosen for US works
Date #6- Call for Art posted, Call for Papers posted
Date #7– Submissions deadline for art and essays
Date #8– works to juror, essays to juror
Date #9 – Juror decision for artwork
Date #10 – notification to artists, juror decision for essays
Date #11 – notification to essayists,
Date #12 – contracts from artists, essayists, begin editing essays
Date #13- catalog started
Date #14–exhibition opening, events
Allocation of Tasks/Expenses
The national WCA board will want to see that there is support for this project so that there is a greater chance for success. Here is the section to include 1) The name of the gallery/venue and what the gallery/venue will provide, what costs it will cover, 2) The major expenses for which the International Caucus will be responsible, 3) Key players and their responsibilities (i.e.. the director of the exhibition for the International Caucus, the director of the exhibition in the international venue, the curator if used), 4) the exhibition committees, their responsibilities and the names of any caucus members who have already volunteered for these committees.
Budget
This is a very important part of the proposal. All WCA projects must finish with a neutral or positive (income producing) budget. There are no funds to cover shortfalls. Please see the Budget Considerations and Expense/Income Items to assist in developing a budget. The budget should be presented in an Excel document attached to the proposal. The budget should be preceded with some text as to describe any unique budget items, how fundraising will proceed, what items would be struck if adequate funding is not found, etc. A budget template can be downloaded below.
| budget_sample_pdf.docx |