Pleasure Dome welcomes submissions of experimental, time-based media work by Canadian and international artists for our 2022-2023 programming year. The deadline for submissions is April 5, 2023.

THERE ARE TWO OPEN CALLS:

(1) “Re-imagining the Experimental”
(2) “New Toronto Works.”

WHEN YOU SUBMIT, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SELECTED THE CORRECT CATEGORY.

For the first time ever, we have shifted our open call to a themed call: “Re-imagining the Experimental.” Before submitting your work, we ask you to consider whether and how your film work or moving image work or new media work constitutes a novel approach to re-imagining “the experimental,” whether this be formally, conceptually, politically, culturally, and so on.

Pleasure Dome is committed to equitable programming by prioritizing work by women artists, Black artists, Indigenous artists, artists of colour, artists with disabilities, artists who are neurodivergent, artists who are self-taught or working outside of academia, artists from marginalized faith backgrounds, and 2SLGBTQIA+ artists. However, everyone is welcome and encouraged to apply. We are committed to our organization’s history of considering political and subversive artworks, as well as artworks that collapse artistic categories and might find difficulty being placed elsewhere. Please be advised that we are currently very much interested in re-imagining what notions like “subversive,” “experimental,” and “political” means in film and moving-image work today and in the future.

We accept single-channel films as well as multi-channel or expanded cinema projects, installation, and performance. If the form of your project is not well suited to single-channel streaming, please include relevant links to additional materials in the project description or notes. We can accommodate 35mm, Regular / Super 8, 16mm, VHS, DVD, and Blu-Ray, and Digital files. Please incorporate keywords in your synopsis to help support our volunteer programmers.

For more information about our year-round programming, see https://pdome.org/about/programming-process-and-policy

While we appreciate the breadth and prolific nature of your practice, please apply with only ONE proposed work that is most aligned with our mandate.

Our submissions operate on a Pay-What-You-Can-Basis: $2.50 or $5.00. Your entry fee contributes to the intellectual and critical understanding of experimental media through writing, discussions, screenings, essays, and interviews through Pleasure Dome.

Pleasure Dome does not offer awards or prizes, but all selected artists are paid screening fees at or above IMAA recommended rates: https://imaa.ca/source/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMAA-fee-sched-2020-23-with-approval-en-2022.pdf

We would like to acknowledge funding support from The Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council. Pleasure Dome is made possible through the generous support of our funders, as well as our members, sponsors, and community partners.

The deadline for submissions to both the New Toronto Works and Reimagining the Experimental is April 5, 2023. The call is open to experimental media artists who reside in Canadian or internationally. Please note, though, that for New Toronto Works, all work must be made by artists who are based in Toronto or the Greater Toronto Area.

Selected artists will be paid screening fees at or above IMAA recommended rates. Pleasure Dome always pays above the minimum standard: https://imaa.ca/source/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMAA-fee-sched-2020-23-with-approval-en-2022.pdf

Before submitting your work for consideration, we ask you to please familiarize yourself with our mandate and values to make sure your work is an appropriate fit. You can read about our community policies at https://pdome.org/about/

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  • Adriana Lopez Garibay

    Beautiful Festival. They are very kind. <3

    February 2021
  • I am amazed by the quick decisions surrounding the New Toronto Works exhibition in the wake of COVID-19. Pleasure Dome was in regular contact with us, allowing us to keep up with their strategies to continue with the exhibition date as planned.

    The update of their platform and the format of the event were perfect. The artist panel was very planned, and the public was engaged.

    I am honoured to have been part of this festival and to have been able to show work during times of isolation. This is an exceptional experience, and being part of it was beautiful.

    May 2020
  • An amazing venue, Theresa works hard to provide great programming, and if it weren’t for Pleasure Dome I would never have shown in Toronto. These are people who support the artist in every sense. I would be honored to show with Pleasure Dome again.

    September 2019