OPEN CALL: Loop Art Critique with Jon Rafman

Jon Rafman is a Canadian artist working across video, sculpture, and virtual reality, known for exploring how digital technology shapes memory, identity, and desire. He gained early recognition for "Nine Eyes of Google Street View," a project mining Street View images for surreal, unsettling moments. His work often blends found internet imagery, CGI, and personal narration to examine online subcultures, nostalgia, and alienation in the digital age. He has exhibited internationally, including at Julia Stoschek Foundation, the Venice Biennale, Zabludowicz Collection, and Sprüth Magers.

 

Loop Art Critique is an artwork, a critique system, and a shared spatial-internet (metaverse) environment for artists working through questions of process, feedback, display, and digital presence. It is a part of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami's Art + Research Center. 

Selected artists join a 6-week Critique Club that meets twice a week in Loop’s metaverse for 3-hour sessions, with dates/times chosen to be accessible across multiple time zones. Each cohort receives feedback from Loop facilitators, fellow artists, and a rotating Guest Artist, who joins live critiques for a minimum of 1 hour a week, schedule allowing.

The emphasis is on serious peer-to-peer exchange: artists bring work, questions, references, links, technical knowledge, and unfinished problems into the room, and Loop facilitators document key points so the cohort can return to them later through Discord and the developing Loop Library. Artists also receive 6 months of free access to XR Studio, the browser-based software developed by The MUD Foundation for building custom “verses” inside Loop.

After the critique phase, artists have 2 weeks to prepare a collectively curated exhibition. The cohort may use existing spaces such as The Salon or The Salon des Refusés, or build their own exhibition space with support from Loop facilitators.

The exhibition is not curated by the Guest Artist or by Loop staff; it is decided by the cohort. The final exhibition appears on the Loop Art Critique homepage, is archived on loop.onland.io, and is also live in Loop Art Critique’s installation at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami.  Artists are expected to attend at least 50% of meetings and participate in the planning and presentation of the exhibition.

Dates

Artists Selected: August 10th
Cohort meet & Greet: August 21st 
Critique session: August 24th - Oct 1st 
Preparation for exhibition: Oct 5th - Oct 19th 
Exhibition opens: Oct 22nd 
Exhibition closes: November 16th 

 

Submission Requirements: 

This is an anonymous submission. That means you will not be asked to provide an artist statement, resume, CV, or biography, and your artwork should not have your name on it.

Attach a minimum and maximum of 5 images, videos, links, documentation of sculpture, installation, other forms of artwork not mentioned here. You may attach a PDF containing links to your work. If attaching a PDF or link to video, it must not have your name on it, and the links cannot lead to a place that shows your name. This includes pseudonyms. 

The Guest will be shown artwork labeled with random letters & numbers. Only after their selection will the names be revealed.

We ask for your email and social media to tell you the results, both if you got in or if you did not. 

Choosing to continue to remain anonymous/pseudonymous is supported and respected but not required.

 Operating System for Loop Art Critique

 

Loop Art Critique (LAC) is classified as an artwork. It may operate at times similarly to an institution, residency, or artist-run-space but it is none of these. It beganin 2022 for an exhibition at The MUD Foundation and it has a small group of facilitators that maintain it. Since October 2023, it has been integrated into the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami’s  Art + Research Center. The project resides at loop.onland.io within the Onland spatial-internet, while maintaining a simultaneous presence inside of the museum.

Objective: To assist artists in the process of creating artwork through private feedback sessions in a supportive small group setting, drawing on the tradition of collective art salons. Artists share information and insights with each other to cultivate a shared pedagogical environment. A fundamental pillar of the Loop system is this direct, peer-to-peer exchange of specialized information. Artists organize an exposition of their work at the end, anchoring the collective experience.

Focus on Creative Process: Conversations within Loop emphasize the development of artistic practices and works-in-progress. The system’s foundational pillar is Process, which follows the path from an initial concept to the final public display. Inspired by the tradition of collective art salons, LAC believes in critical peer-to-peer feedback and guidance from established figures.

Submission Guidelines: To ensure a stress-free experience, artists are asked to submit five artworks within a single folder. It is mandatory that no identifying information, such as names, artist statements, CVs, or resumes, is included on the artworks or the folder. Any names found will be removed by the artist or by LAC staff after submission.

Anonymous Selection Process: A rotating Guest Juror reviews all submissions anonymously to select the new cohort. To maintain impartiality, the juror will not have access to any identifying information about the artists and will only learn their identities after the selection is complete. Only LAC staff may view artist names during the submission phase.

Role of the Guest: For every session, LAC invites a distinguished figure from the art world to serve as a Guest. The Guest provides insight during live critiques for at least one hour weekly, they do not curate the final exhibition.

Cohort Participation: LAC welcomes a diverse cohort of national and international artists, including those with or without deep digital art backgrounds.Selected national and international artists become part of a dedicated cohort. Participants are expected to attend critique sessions twice a week and contribute to the planning and execution of the final exhibition. Members must participate in at least 50% of meetings and contribute to the planning and execution of the final collectively curated exhibition.