[ is FAIR | tl:dr + FAQ]

The Institute of Sociometry announces is FAIR 20202021
at the Globeville EPICenter and Fort Greene Bar in Denver, Colorado on 11/11 – 11/14

If you are looking for the primary is FAIR page: <IS FIAR>

This page contains information for people who’ve already responded to the Call for Entries and are planning on submitting work to is FAIR 20202021. If this page does not contain the information you are looking for please email miles@sociometry.com

tl:dr

Contact Info:

Theme:

  • Individuals and their relationship to groups
    • Prefer “non-fiction”, documentation of real world actions and phenomena.
    • is = Institute of Sociometry. 
    • Sociometry = analysis of individuals and their relationship to groups.
    • Theme is to be loosely interpreted; simply submitting work is relating to a group. 
    • Free speech is a foundation of free thinking. However, work interpreted as violent, threatening, racist, misogynistic, homo-or-transphobic or containing language, symbols, or audio that discriminates against a person’s age, race, orientation, gender expression, or identity is very problematic; and, if sincere and not obviously intended as parody, will be scrutinized very closely by our curators and likely not shown.

Formats:

  • Free standing display (prefered table top, with table schwag)
    • Open call; everyone, all ages
    • Related small merch and zines can be vended by our agents at a separate table, 100% proceeds go to the artist.
    • Limited availability for large ~ 6-8ft. tall free-standing floor displays. Contact us if that’s your plan.
  • Video short (mp4 or mpeg4 via dropbox, google drive etc.… to miles@sociometry.com) 
    • Subject to curation due to limited time
    • Preferred 10 min. Max
  • Performance or stunt (performance art, story, oration, experimental self-contained music w/o sound tech needs, contortions and acrobatics, dunk contest, street wheelies, parade, baton twirling, etc…)
    • Subject to curation due to limited time
    • Preferred 10 min. Max

Deadlines:

  • Intent to submit a film short, performance or stunt: STAT, Sept. 10th cutoff
    • See “Info needed upon intent to submit” section below.
  • Intent to submit a display: Sept 10th (National Swap Ideas Day)
    • See “Info needed upon intent to submit” section below.
  • Proof of Concept: October 9th (Curious Events Day)
    • Pictures and/or written description
    • Approximate dimensions, i.e. half table, full table, etc.
  • Work Due: October 31st, 11:11, (All Hallow’s Eve)

Deliver or Mailed work to: (USPS, FedEd or UPS)

is PRESS
328 S. Lincoln St.
Denver, CO 80209

Info needed upon intent to submit:

A response to miles@sociometry.com with one of the following affirmations STAT:

  1. I’m THERE (I will be physically present).
  2. I’m IN (I’m submitting work from a remote location; we’ll work out the details later).
  3. I’m ALL IN (I’m submitting work AND I will be physically present).
  • Email and mailing address
  • T-shirt size
  • Exactly how you would like your name / alias or agent name / group-name to appear in isFAIR 20202021 documentation and publicity

Eventually:

  • A loan form for physical work. A liability waiver for performances and stunts.

Travelers:

FAQs for isFAIR 20202021 CFE

OK — so what is an “incidence report of sociometry” exactly? Sociometry is the “quantitative analysis of individuals and their relationship to groups” At is we practice and promote Guerilla Sociometry which is similar in focus but does not conform to the rigorous demands of math or science. An incidence report can be about: the lived experience, pranks, social phenomena, documentary, funny stories, parodies, activism, social practice art… it’s not limited to those categories but you get the idea. An incidence report can be obtuse or abstract where the narrative details are merely implied. An incidence report relies on: subjective stories, documentation with art, text, photos, drawings, video, audio, charts and diagrams, zines, pamphlets, and/or artifacts. 

What is an example of art that addresses the theme of “people and their relationships to groups”? Check out this portfolio from past fairs, get inspired by this good, old-fashioned DIY-or-die call to arms, or trawl past entries on http://www.sociometry.com. Examples include: 

Less ambitious and time consuming:

More ambitious or documenting pre-existing long term projects:

For extra credit, participants may also wish to peruse is EMANCIPATION, a 20-year anthology of the best-of-the-best incidence reports from is agents ranging from a Guggenheim Fellow to a former inmate in the California State Prison System. 

I have some paintings, drawings, banners, sculptures, objet d’art, assemblages, readymades, poems, etc. that address the theme of “people and their relationship to groups”. Can I submit those instead of a trifold? You can submit those on a trifold and/or set them in front of your diplay! Think of your tri-fold as your own mini-gallery and arrange your own show within it’s cardboard, plywood, or masonite wings. Some more sculptural work has been successful placed table top in front of a minimalist trifold that functions as a tasteful backdrop. 

I have a video, performance, and/or live-action stunt that addresses the theme of “people and their relationship to groups”. Can I submit any of that? Absolutely. However, we would like to know this as soon as possible so we can estimate the time needed for the programming. We will have a preference for work that is 10 minutes in length or less, and pending volume of submissions may have to curate entries due to limited time. Video, performance, and live-action stunts will (likely) go down across the street from the Globeville Center at Fort Greene Bar. 

Help! I’m not an artist and I haven’t made a trifold display since my sixth-grade science fair. Can I still participate? Heck yeah! Just chug a bunch of grape soda and channel your inner sixth grader. The isFAIR is organized by artists (who else would bother doing something like this) but we love non-artist submissions. If you have a bunch of great content and material and no clue how to get started, we’re here for you! Contact us and we’ll talk through it with you. If your content is super amazing and you’re super not craft inclined we may even volunteer to make a display for you.  

Help! I am a sincere romantic and/or a serious person. Can I still submit work if it isn’t funny, ironic, nihilistic, or snide? I don’t know, can you?

The last time I created a trifold, I won the blue ribbon at my state, region or municipality’s science fair. What are some tips for creating a winning submission this time around? The isFAIR 20202021 is not a juried exhibition and we welcome submissions from all-comers. While entries are not judged per se, there are some things you can consider to make your submission stand out: 

  • Videos less than 5 minutes in length with audio
  • Performances or stunts that:
    • Are 10 minutes max.
    • Engage or acknowledge the audience.
    • Employ enthusiasm and/or humour and/or unique thoughts or actions.
  • Displays with:
    • Custom construction with more durable materials than foam core.
    • A headline or title alluding to the idea or theme.
    • A flood of background color, pattern, or texture – not stock Office Depot foam core background color.
    • Photos, graphics, drawings, or art.
    • A brief write up or explanation in 16+ point font.
    • Additional artifacts or supporting documentation on the table top.
    • Give-aways like stickers or buttons in a container marked “FREE Take one”.

What is the deadline to submit my work? (Also see the tldr;) We need to receive your submission no later than 11:11 PM on ALL HALLOW’S EVE, October 31, 2021. Submissions received after this date will automatically pass over to the other side of the veil to be revered on All Trifold’s Day (All Soul’s Day’s obscure cousin, twice removed by marriage) in remembrance of what could have been and will not be included in isFAIR 20202021. So, in other words, please plan to get your work in the mail, on a FedEx truck, or securely in the beak of your local carrier pigeon BEFORE the deadline. If you’re standing in line at the post office with your trifold tucked under your arm on Halloween, then you’re already too late…

How do I submit my work? Add answer here

  • Trifolds – USPS, UPS, FedEx, or in-person delivery — ultimately dumped on the porch of 328 S. Lincoln St. Denver CO 80209
  • Video – mp4 or mpeg4 via dropbox, google drive, etc. to miles@sociometry.com
  • Performance or live-action stunt – description STAT to miles@sociometry.com

What are the requested specs for each work? 

  • Trifold – Tabletop trifold display boards like this are great. We can potentially accept a very limited amount of larger, free-standing trifold displays. If this is something you are considering, you must share dimensions and details with isFAIR 20202021 organizing agents as soon as possible. PLEASE do not get cute and submit a “deconstructed” trifold that is really just three heavy or fragile things we have to hang on a wall. Reality check — isFAIR 20202021 will be held in a former rec. center gymnasium. We really don’t have wall space and we can’t guarantee its security, especially when agents join in a rousing game of F. ART (it’s like HORSE, except it’s got the “F” for, you know, fine art…)
  • Video – Preferred max 10 minutes. mp4 or mpeg4. 
  • Performance or live-action stunt – Preferred max 10 minutes. Self contained and audible to a couple dozen people in a bar’s back room (we likely will be able to supply a microphone and PA if needed.)

I don’t live in Denver and cannot attend in person. How do I send my work to you? 

USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL to:

is PRESS 
328 S. Lincoln St. 
Denver CO 80209

I have a specific vision for how my work should be installed but I can’t be there in person to convey my genius. What should I do? Please contact us in advance – especially if any prep work or materials is needed from our installation team. Also, include specific installation instructions with your work (think IKEA instructions but actually intelligible.)

Will I be compensated for my participation? The is FAIR is like a 5K. You expend a lot of energy and sweat and get a free t-shirt (and an is agent starter kit and play set full of is FAIR schwag).

Will “important” people attend the fair? I want to be collected by a museum or have a blue-chip gallery start selling my work!  We always like to say that the mark of a “successful” artist is that you scrape together enough money from your art hustle to necessitate claiming it on your taxes, but, nonetheless, we admire your ambitions. Assuming your definition of important indicates an individual of high status and/or high net worth then… maybe? We suppose that somewhat depends on you and how well you are able to network on your own behalf. If by important you mean a generous mix of free-thinking adults representing life’s rich pageant, then HELL YEAH!

What else do I need to do? All participants will be required to complete a loan form for each work submitted and all live-action performers are required to complete a liability waiver. On your loan form, please let us know exactly how you would like your name to appear in isFAIR 20202021 documentation and publicity. 

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[ WHAT IT is ]

is PRESS is a Denver publishing press and studio space. is PRESS publishes short run art books and zines documenting urban art and conceptual time-based art that explores the nexus of art and everyday life. is PRESS also produces limited edition prints by the artists we publish.

is PRESS art books and zines deploy a sophisticated design aesthetic and high quality DIY printing, often featuring letterpress (with screenprinting and risography done by our Chicago sister press Flatlands Press | flatlandspress.com).

is PRESS also distros art books, zines, patches, and prints featuring graphic art, urban art, street art, urban photography, and graffiti.

is PRESS is the press of 
The Institute of Sociometry
sociometry.com

…. is PRESS is the official press of the …. …. ~ << [Institute of Sociometry] >> ~ ….

[ CONTACT ]

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PO Box 9542, Denver CO 80209
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