2023-2024 Open Call: Where should we start?
Info Session: Wednesday, October 25 | Watch the Recording Here
Deadline (Extended): Tuesday, November 21, 11:59pm
Presentations: February & April 2024

For WPA’s 2023–2024 program season, we are inviting DC-area artists to submit ideas for one-night only events around the question: “Where should we start?”

“With everything we need to do, there is always a starting place within, a starting place between, and a starting place for the collective.” - adrienne maree brown

WPA’s first-ever symposium How can we gather now? (March 2023) explored questions of community and the potential of gathering as a crucial practice. During her keynote talk, author and organizer adrienne maree brown spoke about the different scales and modalities of gathering and how healing and change start at the individual level. As we embark on our 48th season, we are excited to invite DC-area artists to imagine programs that will challenge us towards new unimagined directions for future project development in response to the question: “Where should we start?”

Your program can respond to this question in any way that interests you and supports your research. The program you propose may take any form, including: film screening, workshop, conversation, performance, book presentation, and beyond. As this call is designed for anyone from the DC-area to apply, so should your event be designed for anyone from the DC-area to attend. While proposals for virtual events are not accepted, hybrid events are welcome.

We will produce two (2) Open Call programs this season, in February and April 2024 respectively.

The budget this season for each edition of our Open Call series is up to $3,500—which includes a fee of $750 for the artist-organizer (or lead artist), and additional support for invited discussants and collaborators, plus other associated costs (to be allocated in dialogue with WPA’s program staff). Please note: Your proposal should include at least one discussant/collaborator - or a clear vision for how to engage a specific group or community as collaborators.

To submit your proposal for the 2023–2024 Open Call series, please complete the following form. We encourage DC-area artists from all backgrounds and disciplines to submit their ideas. Submissions will be reviewed and accepted through Tuesday, November 21, 2023.

Please email us at info@wpadc.org with any questions.

1. The total budget available per Open Call event is up to $3,500. (please review this example).
2. $750 of your proposed budget should be reserved as an artist fee for yourself, and an additional 10% (or $350) must be reserved for contingency.
3. That leaves up to $2,400 for you to determine how to allocate in dialogue with WPA (and no, you do not have to use it all).
4. For any guest participants/collaborators, please reference W.A.G.E.-certified guidelines here. WPA is proudly W.A.G.E. certified, which ensures equitable pay for artistic labor based on our annual budget. If you have any questions about this, please reach out to us at info@wpadc.org.