To Create & To Survive exhibition

BOSSIER CITY, La. (KSLA) – ArkLaTex Artistry’s Brittney Hazelton speaks to Bossier Arts Council’s executive director about the nonprofit’s exhibition, Duality.

Bossier Arts Council (BAC) has announced an artist call for its upcoming exhibition Duality. The show titled “Duality: To Create & To Survive” will allow artists to explore the artist’s struggle to create art and to survive.

Typically the BAC’s East Bank Gallery and the Virginia Cook Gallery only feature one or two artists at a time, but this time they wanted to make something collaborative.

“We knew we wanted to do something collaborative, to do something open call, and so we were playing around with a few different things. I’ve also been paying attention to creatives, I myself am a creative in a way. We were talking about how sometimes, in order to survive as a human and a functioning adult, you have to do all the adult things and it takes away from your time to be a creative,” says Brittainy Pope. “But, at the same time as creatives, we feel like we have to create to survive. So, there is two sides to the coin. Two heads to the magical wonderful creatures that we are, and that is duality.”

“I wanted to see a show that was, um, and I’m not saying any of the calls were not for the artist, but I wanted a show for the artists,” explains Pope. “Sometimes., calls speak to things that are publically, aesthetically appealing. But, I wanted the artist to be able to have that moment to create for the sake of creation. For the sake of their preservation.”

All artists are invited to apply, even artists who are on hiatus.

The BAC does reserve the right to reject any items that do not adhere to the guidelines.

• All work must be for sale, no $0 tags or NFS labels will be accepted.
• Deadline to submit is March 25th, 2025, at 4 p.m.
• The exhibition opening reception will be held April 6, at the Bossier Arts Council, 630 Barksdale Boulevard, from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
• Accepted work will be on display in the gallery from April 1 until May 27.
• All work can be picked up as early as May 28.

The form to submit to Duality can be found at https://forms.gle/H6rMfbwdxVbAwh198.

What mediums will be accepted?

“There are no limits on mediums, because, this is how much we want this to be a show for the artists. There are no limits on the mediums, and there is not really limits on the size,” explains Pope. “I mean, obviously, people are familiar with our gallery space,” says Pope.”They gotta be able to fit it in the actual building,” Brittney Hazelton comments.

“Obviously, no body fluids or anything like that,” says Pope.

Entry fee?

Bossier Arts Council members are free to submit. Costs to submit is $10 for non-members.

Prize?

“There will be a best of show, and subsequently, there will be a best of show prize for that person who the jury decides who will be best in show,” says Pope.

Benefits of BAC membership?

• The membership is currently $35 a year.
• Access to the knowledge of the staff
• One Stop Sessions, workshops to help artists succeed and learn.
• The One Stop room, contains computers, printers, meeting space, and more.
• Free photography services, which allow visual artists to get their work photographed. These photos can allow artists to better market their work or make prints. (A within a reasonable amount of work can be photographed at any given time.)
• Free entry submission into some exhibitions.
• Possible professional artist opportunities
• Some free and small-fee group classes, like Paul Savage’s artist marketing course that is upcoming.

What kind of impact does Bossier Arts Council have on Bossier City?

It is a space for people in Bossier who are seeking a creative space safe space to learn, master their crafts, and learn to market themselves, Pope says.

“Then there is the other side, of being able to educate the public on the significance and the importance of being able to support artists and support the arts.

“Sometimes, it’s easy to take the arts for granted. But, when we were home and could not get together, when we were home and just did not know what to do with ourselves, what did we turn to? We turned to creative processes. We turned to visiting those things we loved creatively over the years. We turned to the arts,” explains Pope.

Helping the public reconnect to what they love about art is important to BAC, and it’s important to our society. Councils like BAC remind people of the importance of supporting that creative side of humanity.

“Politically, or socially, the art is needed. The art is part of who we are in our human experience, so that is our duality,” says Pope. “That’s our existence in Bossier.”

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