Submission guidelines for
“Language in Bloomsbury” exhibition
This exhibition is a celebration of language in Bloomsbury.
Deadline for submissions: 8 October 2016
We are looking for and can accommodate the following types of artworks:
Visual arts:
Drawings, illustrations, paintings, collage, textiles, photographs, prints, mixed media works, small sculptures, jewellery, glass
Creative writing:
Short stories, poetry, illustrated books, comics, fanzines and graphic novels
Sound art – small scale installations and pieces
Things to bear in mind:
· You can submit a maximum of 3 works - there is no charge for this.
· The Exhibition will be hosted in the Goodenough College Common room which is a publically accessible building - the content of artworks will need to be sensitive to this.
· We can provide basic frames for 2D work up to A1 size.
· We can accommodate larger 2D works up to 2m x3m
· We can display smaller sculptures, glass and other 3D works.
· We cannot hang heavy 2D work and we cannot accommodate or move very heavy 3D work.
· Creative writing and poetry – please submit in a digital formal too
· Artworks to be delivered in person to the Creative Arts Department, Mary Ward Centre, 42 Queen Square, WC1N 3AQ
· The selection of artwork for this exhibition will be by the Creative Arts Department – their decision is final.
· Art work will be installed by the Creative arts department – please give detailed instructions for complex setups.
If you would like to discuss work before you submit, please contact the Curriculum Coordinator, Marc Breen on 020 7269 6041 or email
The Theme of Language
As SOAS celebrates its centenary and Bloomsbury residents reflect one of the highest levels of cultural diversity in the UK, we have chosen the theme of Language for the 2016 Bloomsbury Festival.
Bloomsbury institutions, communities and individuals each engage with one or other aspect of this multifaceted theme. Below are some thoughts on language:
● Language comes in many forms – for instance speech, symbols, nonverbal communication, performance language, dance notation, morse code, sign language, computer code, Brail;
● We know that all living things communicate – but is talking unique to humans?
● The evolution of verbal communication and language is a rich and controversial area of scientific conversation, subject of much disagreement between anthropologists, linguists, neuroscientists,
geneticists, comparative psychologists and other specialists;
● 92% of children at Argyle School are learning English as an Additional Language. How many languages do we speak in Bloomsbury?
● 2016 also marks the 400 th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, Roald Dahl’s Centenary and the 500 th anniversary of Sir Thomas Moore’s Utopia being published
● There are roughly 7,000 spoken languages in the world today. However, about 2,000 of those languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers. By the end of this century 3,500 of them will have
become extinct
● The British Museum contains thousands of scripts illuminating the history of writing, and holds a library of humanity’s memories. The Rosetta Stone included
● Legal and medical ‘languages’ are used in many firms and laboratories and hospitals in Bloomsbury.
● The British Library holds 1000’s of rare texts as well as historic manuscripts, prints, books.