CALL TO ARTISTS
EXQUISITE CORPSE ART-A-THON 
FUNDRAISER

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Exquisite Corpse is a collaboration where each artist adds to a hidden section of a piece—resulting in a final artwork full of surprise, mystery, and delightful chaos.

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WHAT IS EXQUISITE CORPSE?

Exquisite Corpse is a collaborative art-making game developed by Surrealist artists in the 1920s, notably André Breton, Yves Tanguy, and Marcel Duchamp. The name comes from the first sentence produced in the game’s original literary form: "Le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau" ("The exquisite corpse will drink the new wine").

In visual form, each participant adds to a drawing or collage without seeing the whole work—only a small portion of the previous section is visible as a guide. The artwork is passed from one person to the next, creating unexpected juxtapositions and dreamlike compositions. The process celebrates chance, collective creativity, and the liberation of the unconscious, core ideals of the Surrealist movement.

QUICK SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT: 

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This art-a-thon project will consist of large wood panels that will be divided into 3 sections. 3 different artists will collaborate to create an Exquisite Corpse artwork. It will be set up in the front of GFAA Gallery and each artist will have 24 hours to complete their assigned section, and each section will be covered up with a sheet before the next artist starts. Just like a marathon, artists will have their own link where people can sponsor them, raising money for our nonprofit and for the artist! The final piece will be revealed on Halloween night during the Artwalk reception!  

THE CREATION PART:

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• Artists will be assigned a section of one of the large panels - Top/Head, Middle/Torso, or Bottom/Legs.

• Each artist will have 24 hours to complete their section in the gallery. Work cannot be removed from the gallery.  

• Artists will be working on primed wood panels that will be provided. 

• Artists will bring their own materials/mediums. Any medium is acceptable: pencils, paint, collage, pastels, etc. Keep in mind that it will be covered up with a sheet so oils or anything that takes awhile to dry might not be the best idea unless you have a plan to protect it. 

• This is not a shut-in! Artists can come and go as they please and will have access to the building for those 24 hours.

• Visitors can watch the artists at work from 11 - 4 during open hours at the gallery. 

• Artists must stop working exactly at their end time. Their work will be covered up with a sheet - with just a small strip of the work visible for the next artist to work from.

• Artists cannot enter earlier than their start times! The most important aspect of this is to not know what else is on the panel that you are working on, so it’s important that the next artist doesn’t enter the building until the piece is covered properly. 

• Final creature creations will be revealed at 7:30 pm on HALLOWEEN NIGHT during Gainesville's Artwalk!

THE NON-PROFIT FUNDRAISER PART:

• Each artist will get a link to their own personal art-a-thon sponsorship page.

• Artists will each have a goal to raise $500 (or more if they’d like!)

• GFAA and the artists will advertise and reach to folks and ask them to sponsor the artist.

• GFAA will highlight each artist with a bio and images/videos of their work on the GFAA website as well as the fundraising pages, Instagram and Facebook and our email list. 

• Artists will receive 30% of all sponsor money they raise. 70% will go directly toward GFAA nonprofit programming and operations.

• The final pieces will be on display and will be sold via silent auction throughout the month. Proceeds will go to GFAA nonprofit programming and operations.

IMPORTANT DATES:

• Sign up by: September 15

• Assignments given*: September 22 - NOTE: The number of pieces is still TBD - total artists will depend on interest and space. We are planning on not doing a jury process, but if we get a ton of interest that may change. We will keep everyone posted! 

• Mandatory Meeting with artist participants: Monday, September 29, 7pm - We will be going over everything and doing small versions of Exquisite Corpse on paper

• ART-A-THON SESSIONS:
  TOP ⅓: HEAD - October 28 - 9am - October 29 9am
  MIDDLE ⅓: TORSO - October 29 9:30am- October 30 9:30am
  BOTTOM ⅓ : LEGS - October 30  10am - October 31 10am
   

• Reception: October 31, 7 - 10 pm  - final creations will be unveiled at 7:30pm on Halloween Night!

• The auction will go live that night and will close at the end of our Holiday Art Market on Saturday November 29 and will jumpstart our annual Artful Impact Fundraiser.