Deadline to Submit: 15 January 2023
New Traditions
Traditions ground us. They are markers of time and place, giving meaning to key moments in our lives and connecting us to our ‘people’, whether that be as intimate as family, as far reaching in diasporic communities, or maybe neither. Such bonding experiences, often marked by ritual or performance, shape the socio-cultural context of individuals and groups in shared moments that are carried through time and across place. It is often in moments where we forget where we come from that we may take a fresh look at where we are and see ourselves and our people anew. It is perhaps from this startled moment of recognition that inventing or reinventing ourselves brings about the realization that new traditions are needed to either form new bonds or strengthen old ones which may have eroded.
For UNTIL issue # 14, we would like to examine our long-standing relationships with our personal as well as socio-cultural traditions and possibly see them in a new way.
What is tradition to you?
As we continue to redefine ourselves through place and people, do our traditions still fit? And if not, how do we re-draft, re-define and re-configure traditions in ways that resonate and ground us?
How does tradition serve identity and culture and how do identity and culture, in turn, serve tradition?
We welcome all original works inspired by an inquiry into new traditions and new ways of finding and expressing belonging to where you are.
UNTIL 14, “New Traditions” will be guest-edited by Desirée Leal
Desirée Leal is a parent, artist, writer, and filmmaker who is grateful to live, work and raise her family on the traditional territories of the Lək’wəŋən-speaking people, where she endeavours to help create cultural spaces of inclusion, expression, and learning. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Art from Simon Fraser University and a Masters (with distinction) from the University of Bristol in Archeology and Anthropology for Screen Media. She is currently studying Visitor and Community Engagement at the University of Victoria with a focus on art education, decolonization, and public programs, proudly working in close partnership with the Victoria Arts Council.
Call to Artists
The Victoria Arts Council is seeking submissions of literary works (poetry, prose, essays, and non-classifiable texts), visual art, moving image, and audio/musical arts to be included in the next issue of UNTIL magazine.
Please email submissions to: arts@vicartscouncil.ca with UNTIL ISSUE 14: New Traditions in the subject line
Accepted file types include jpg, png, tif, pdf, doc, mp3 & mp4.
With your emailed submission, please include:
Bio (max 250 words)
- Artist statement as it might relate to the theme (max 500 words)
- Title, medium, dimensions and year of work
- Contact information [email; mailing address; and phone number]
All contributors will receive an honorarium as well as one free annual membership to the VAC.
Deadline to Submit: 15 January 2023
Issue 14 will go live: 1 March 2023