Free Art Fair 2024｜Open Call for Artists Around the World

【VISION】

The Free Art Fair serves as a platform that breaks down barriers, nurturing unrestricted artistic expression.  Artists and collectives worldwide converge here to freely create and exchange ideas. Emerging talents eagerly await discovery, gaining visibility among international curators, art media, and collectors. By fostering ultimate freedom, we envision the realization of all creative possibilities.  Since 2014, the YIRI LIVING Foundation has hosted the Taipei Free Art Fair, aiming to foster dialogue and imagination beyond conventional visual boundaries.

【THE THEME：Metamorphosis】

“The mere word freedom is the only one that still excites me. I deem it capable of indefinitely sustaining the old human fanaticism.” — André Breton

In 1924, as the world was still reeling from the upheaval of World War I and the influenza pandemic, the first Surrealist Manifesto was published in Paris. It embodied a powerful spirit of anarchism and revolution, striving to develop means of resisting oppressive systems and imagining a future founded on freedom and equality. What began as a literary movement ignited an artistic revolution, liberating creative imagination from the constraints of reason and traditional morality. This movement influenced nearly every form of cultural production and gradually shaped the collective imagination of subsequent generations. Today, we use the term "surreal" to describe things that are beyond imagination and comprehension.

In the same year, Kafka's life quietly concluded amid the social upheaval of the time. In The Metamorphosis, he captured the unease and anxiety felt by people entering the industrial age of the early 20th century. He pondered the possibilities for humanity when the external world had become absurd, and life itself resembled a series of internal nightmares and metaphors.

In 2024, as we emerge from the shadow of COVID-19 and face ongoing geopolitical conflicts, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, driven by artificial intelligence, sweeps across the globe. If algorithms can think and feel, how do we recalibrate our understanding of reality and humanity? A century later, we grapple with issues and seek solutions much like the generation that saw the rise of Surrealism. What insights can contemporary life draw from this?

The 6th edition of the Taipei Free Art Fair in 2024, themed "Metamorphosis," employs surrealism as a verb—unleashing the subversive power of perception to challenge the various issues of our time. Our aim is to explore previously undefined terms, which may be fantastical, transformative, or possibly hybrid, to narrate a world full of infinite possibilities and freedom.

This winter, as Breton once said, let Surrealism become the "invisible light" that will one day help us overcome our adversaries. "All roses will turn blue, and trees will become glass.”

【OVERVIEW】

Eligibility：Open to all artists across all art forms, responding creatively to the theme "Metamorphosis."

What You Get：
All selected artists will be offered a booth at the Free Art Fair, scheduled for November 1-3, 2024. Additionally, 1 First Prize and 10 Jury Prizes will be awarded during the event.

【EVENT DATES & DETAILS】

Event Dates: Friday, November 1, 2024, to Sunday, November 3, 2024, 12:00-18:00

Venue: POPOP Taipei (No. 13, Section 2, Nangang Road, Nangang District, Taipei City 115028)

【THE BOOTH】

Exhibition Fee: Free 


Booth Size: 300×150cm (floor space, no walls provided)


Equipment Provided: One 110V power outlet


Notes: Please include an exhibition layout with your submission.


*The committee reserves the right to adjust booth arrangements.