Read the Call for Submissions for “Stories & Bodies”
The Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (COHDS) is thrilled to invite proposals for an exhibition on “Bodies & Stories” (working title). This oral history exhibit, to be hosted in our brand-new exhibition space, will bring together artists, performers, researchers, and community practitioners in a participatory encounter on embodiment and storytelling.
Our bodies carry stories – through movement, through scars and through silence. They bear witness to our experiences. How do our bodies in turn tell their stories? How do bodies speak and how do they listen? How do they resist and become vessels of knowledge and archives of experience? How does memory live within the body, shaping how we narrate our experiences? And how does a story change when you hear it up close? Oral history and public history offer invaluable tools for exploring such embodied narratives.
We welcome submissions from the COHDS community and beyond, including recent graduates, students, artists, and other community stakeholders working in areas connecting to the theme(s) at hand. You are encouraged to submit a proposal responding to the conference theme, including questions related to:
- The sensory body
- Bodies and mobilization for political change
- The body as an archive
- Intergenerational memory and bodily rituals
- The body, work, and labor
- Performativity, gender, and queer embodiments
- Birth stories, obstetrics
- Medicalized bodies and the politics of illness, disability, and medical interventions
- Migration, displacement, and exile
You are warmly invited to contribute to the exhibition and/or the accompanying programming. We are eager to feature workshops, screenings, and other programs that foster engagement and facilitate collective reflection and dialogue. We welcome submissions (exhibition and programming) from a variety of disciplines and mediums, including but not limited to visual works (e.g., photovoice, videos, films, documentaries, digital or physical maps, drawings, paintings, sculptures, zines), research projects, sound-based storytelling, participatory installations, and walking tours.
The Acts of Listening Lab (ALLab) performance space will be available for projects that incorporate live performance and/or audience engagement, underscoring the importance of multidisciplinary participatory programming. We welcome submissions in English and French, as well as non-verbal and multilingual creative projects and performances. A digital catalogue will document both the exhibition and the program.
How to Apply
To submit for this exhibition and its program, please fill out this form, by March 5, 2025. The form includes submission requirements for the exhibition and submission requirements for the program.
What are the benefits of partaking in this exhibition and program?
Participating in this exhibition and accompanying program offers a unique opportunity to engage in collaborative curation and exhibition design. You will connect and collaborate with a diverse community of people working on innovative, thought-provoking projects and celebrate the launch of the exhibition at the vernissage. This is a chance to share ideas, exchange feedback, and build meaningful relationships with others who are engaged in exciting work around the themes of embodiment and storytelling.
Contact Us
Lastly, we get how overwhelming it can be to submit for an exhibition and programming, especially for the first time. We’re here to help! Please email us to discuss ways we can support you in your application process. You can reach us at: anniethaovy22@gmail.com
The deadline for submissions is March 5th, 2025.
