This Is Not A Gateway seeks proposals from artists whose point of reference is ‘the city’. Deadline: 12th July 2010.

This Is Not A Gateway, an independent organisation that???s brings together critically engaged emerging urbanists, is seeking submissions for its 3rd annual festival (22-24 October 2010, London).

Application forms are available on www.thisisnotagateway.net

The festival is participant lead, and previous festivals have included discussions, soapboxes, workshops, book & project launches, guided walks & tours, exhibitions and film screenings. Participants have come from the fields of urban regeneration, economics, government, visual art, psychiatry, archaeology, activism, medicine, journalism, literature, religion, technology, architecture, planning, environmental protection, law, property, theory, housing, film, psychology, finance, philosophy, engineering, human rights & social justice. Furthermore participants have included residents, newly arrived immigrants, youth-workers and local politicians.

Alongside the general open call, submissions are sought from across the globe that specifically interrogate and contribute to a better understanding (and re-use/ re-understanding) of ???Central Business Districts/The Corporation/Downtowns???. There is no fee to propose a project for the festival.

???This year, we hope, by focussing in on the spatiality of ???The Corporation??? or areas more commonly recognised as ???Central Business Districts??? and dissecting them via a wide range of disciplines ??? participants will provide a critical and timely insight into some of the most pertinent, contradictory, intriguing and under-studied spaces in cities across the globe. It is an exciting opportunity to contribute not only to an emerging inter-disciplinary body of knowledge but also add to the urgent research underway seeking to understand the current crisis of capitalism???.

In 2009 over 1200 festival-goers took part in 60+ activities, organised by 160 individuals from across Europe. 68% of these events were organised and lead by women. In 2008 43% of the projects were organised and lead by ethnic minorities. There is no doubt a diverse public is generating compelling new ideas, questions and knowledge on cities.

The knowledge generated at the festival is built upon and widely circulated in the annual book Critical Cities; Ideas, Knowledge and Agitation from Emerging Urbanists (Myrdle Court Press, London).

This Is Not A Gateway???s role is that of a facilitator. It provides the infrastructure to enable participants to hold their own activities. Support includes securing venues, equipment, publicity, audiences and installation assistance.

Application forms are available on www.thisisnotagateway.net

OPEN CALL FESTIVAL 2010 | STRANDS
Deepa Naik And Trenton Oldfield
coordinators@thisisnotagateway.net
07 919 506 604

Discussions & Workshops: Do you have a pressing urban concern that would benefit from being explored with critical thinkers and those working on the ground? Example: Seven young organisers from Paris’s 19th District came to the 2008 Festival to present their experiences of living in the suburbs, seek feedback on their projects and workshop the different models of citizenship, housing and establishing non- governmental organisations.

5 Minute Soapbox: Oh That???s Interesting! Do you have a project or research results that really should not sit on a shelf? Do you have an interesting PhD, masters or undergraduate dissertation that should be shared? Would you like feedback on a forthcoming project? Is there something you really need to get off your chest about ‘the city’? 25 people presented at the 2009 Festival, coordinated by Ben Campkin (UCL Urban Lab).

Walks & Tours: Do you have a local project or neighbourhood you would like to share? Is there an overlooked history or pressing urban issue you would like to draw attention to? Example: At the 2009 festival, David Rosenberg lead a tour highlighting sites poignant to the Radical Jewish History of London???s East End. ** This is open to people who aren???t able to come to London and would like to hold an event in their city.

Book or Project Launches: Do you have a book, pamphlet, project or urban initiative you would like to launch? Example: Ana Povas launched Porto 2.0 City Change ??? a new paradigm urban festival proposed for Porto, Portugal. Stevphen Shukaitis launched Imaginal Machines: Autonomy & Self-Organization in the Revolutions of Everyday Life (Autonomedia).

Films: Our surveys highlight that the film programme is the most anticipated of the festival. As films can be easily transported and screened, it is one of the most international aspects of the festival. All film styles that interrogate cities are welcome.

Armchair Sessions: These sessions provide an opportunity to have an intimate conversation with an eminent urbanist (non/professional, academic, activist etc). Is there someone who you consider to have valuable critical insight, experience, and knowledge? Example: Irit Rogoff, Professor of Visual Cultures, Goldsmiths, held a conversation with 20 emerging urbanists at the 2009 Festival.

Exhibitions & Installations: Are you working on a project that provides finely tuned insights into urban experiences? The previous two festivals have shown the work of 32 visual artists. Example: Joy Gregory???s ongoing photographic study of locations in London that have historical connections to Africa ???Sites of Africa??? was exhibited along the Old Truman Brewery wall on Hanbury Street at the festival in 2009.

Presentations: If you need more time to get across your research/theories/argument presentations are likely to be the most suitable format. Examples from the 2009 festival: Joanna Erbel presented ???For Whom Do Post-Socialist Cities Change? Polish Cities After 1989???; Jonathan Rock discussed ???New Planning Methodology As A Way Of Moving Towards Resolving The Planning Disparity In Jerusalem???.

Others, Including Afternoon Tea: The festival is an open platform – atypical (though manageable) projects are welcome. Example: In the 2009 festival ???Euphemia P Niblock??? held an informal afternoon tea. The discussion investigated contemporary urban renewal and its aftermath via the Castlefield Urban Heritage Park in Manchester. The Mobile Institute???s Park Bench Reader: A London History commandeered a handful of benches alongside Spitalfields Market.

DIY Urbanism: Would you like to organise a peer-to-peer skills sharing session? Previous sessions have included ???A-Z of Getting Published???, ???Establishing Your Own Practice???, ???Influencing The City: The Art Of Making Space???.