Looks like Dallas will open the Oak Cliff Cultural Center in August. And its first show will be a juried exhibition of work by artists living or working in the neighborhood.

Grand opening at the center,  223 W. Jefferson Ave., will be Aug. 12. Community celebration on Aug. 15. After that, the center’s regular hours will be, well, slight : 6-9 p.m. Tues. and Thurs; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturdays.

Deadline’s June 28. There is no entry fee.  Entry form here. Center’s exhibition guidelines here.

Full release after the jump.

Exhibition Dates: August 12-October 23, 2010

Entries Deadline: All entries must be received by 5:00 PM on Monday, June 28, 2010

The City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs will open the newly-renovated Oak Cliff Cultural Center in August 2010. The center is located at 223 West Jefferson Avenue in the heart of Oak Cliff.

The 5,000 sq. ft. Oak Cliff Cultural Center has a visual arts gallery and a dance studio; it was designed to serve as a community arts center, offering dance classes, arts workshops and exhibitions to the Oak Cliff neighborhoods. The grand opening of the center will be held on Thursday, August 12, 2010, with a community celebration planned for Sunday, August 15, 2010. After the grand opening, the center will be open to the public Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-9 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Concept & Theme:

The inaugural exhibition at the new OCCC will be a juried exhibition that highlight recent work of professional visual artists who live or work in Oak Cliff. The goal of this exhibition is to showcase the work of the visual artists whose creative endeavors have made Oak Cliff the vibrant and growing artistic community that it is today.

There is no specific theme for the artwork that will be featured in this exhibition; rather, we are looking for artwork that reflects the energy, diversity and creative character of Oak Cliff. A selection jury will select approximately 25 artworks for this inaugural exhibition.

Eligibility:

• This juried exhibition is open to professional artists over 18 years of age; students are not eligible for this exhibition (a student exhibition will be planned for the spring).
• Artists must reside, have a studio in Oak Cliff, or be actively engaged in the arts and cultural life of Oak Cliff.
• Artists may submit up to 3 artworks for consideration.
• Artwork should have been created within the past two years and must not have been exhibited in the DFW region within the last 18 months.
• Artworks submitted must be in the possession of the artist.
• Artwork must be available to be on display for the entire run of the exhibition.
• Artwork must be framed, set on an appropriate base, or suitably ready for installation at the time of delivery.
• Artwork should not exceed 48″ in any dimension.
• Any visual arts medium will be considered, including but not limited to paintings, sculpture, works on paper, mixed-media, ceramics, metals, textiles, video, etc.
• If applicable, it is the responsibility of the artist to provide video, sound, and/or other type of electronic equipment for the artwork.

For a copy of the Oak Cliff Cultural Center Policy for Exhibitions, please visit http://documents.ellipseinc.com/doccenter/generic/724/OCCC_ExhibitionPolicy.pdf.

Entry Fee:

There is no entry fee to participate in this exhibition.

Submitting Entries:

A complete entry includes the entry form and a CD with the images. The entry form is available for dowload at http://documents.ellipseinc.com/doccenter/generic/724/OCCC_OpeningExhibitionEntryForm.doc. Entries must be sent or delivered to the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs (1925 Elm Street, 4th Floor, Dallas, TX, 75201).

Entries should be submitted as JPEG digital photographs saved on CDs. Images saved in a different format or files on detachable flash drives will not be accepted. Entries that are e-mailed will be disqualified. No prints or slides will be accepted.

Saving your images – Please follow these guidelines to save image files on the CD:

• Label the CD with your full name, phone number and e-mail address.
• Do not embed the images into any type of software (Word, Powerpoint, etc.). Files must stand alone.
• Save only JPEG images with a size between 500 KB and 3 MB. Usually, the quality of the image is better if the file size is larger.
• Name your files by using your last name, first name, and the number 1, 2 or 3 (in the case of multiple entries) separated by an underscore space (i.e., DOE_JOHN_1.JPG, DOE_JOHN_2.JPG, etc.).
• Artists are responsible for the clarity, scale, layout and overall quality of their image files.

Entry materials will not be returned. Unless noted otherwise by artist, it is understood that the Office of Cultural Affairs / Oak Cliff Cultural Center is authorized to reproduce the images submitted by artists for marketing and educational purposes.

Exhibition Schedule:

Deadline for submission of entries:
All entries (entry form and images CD) must be received at the Office of Cultural Affairs by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, June 28, 2010. This is not a postmark deadline. Entries received after the deadline will not be reviewed.

Selection notification (via email):
Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Delivery of accepted artwork to Oak Cliff Cultural Center (223 W Jefferson Avenue):
Friday, July 23, 2010 (4-7 PM)

Exhibition opening:
August 12, 2010
Grand opening / ribbon cutting for the OCCC at 11:30 a.m.
Reception for the artists from 7-9 p.m.

Exhibition closes:
October 23, 2010

Artwork pick up:
Saturday, October 24, 2010 (2-4 p.m.) or Tuesday, October 26, 2010 (6-8 p.m.)

Insurance:

The City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs provides insurance on most works of art. In some cases, the City of Dallas may refuse to insure certain pieces of art. Artists have the option to purchase their own insurance separately. While on exhibition, the artwork will be given all reasonable care. The Oak Cliff Cultural Center will not provide insurance for shipping of artwork.

Sales:

Financial transactions for the purchase of artwork shall be directly between the purchaser and the artist or his/her official agent; OCCC staff will assist interested buyers in contacting the artist but cannot act as a dealer. If any artwork is sold during the exhibition, we ask that the artist make a donation of 15% of the proceeds of the sale to the OCCC; donations will be used to support exhibitions and arts education programs at the center.

Questions?

For more information about this exhibition, please contact Gary Sanchez at (214) 670-3688 or [email protected].

This RFP is posted at the Office of Cultural Affairs website at http://www.dallasculture.org/jobDetails.asp?jobid=4002.