Launched as part of The Shed’s inaugural-year program, Open Call is a large-scale commissioning program for early-career, NYC-based artists. For its third edition, 18 proposals out of more than 1,200 total submissions by artists and collectives were chosen by interdisciplinary leaders and professionals in their fields, including other artists and members of The Shed’s staff, to present work in an exhibition in fall 2023 and a performance series in summer 2024. Selected artists receive a commissioning fee of up to $15,000 depending on the scope of their projects, robust production support, and resources to further nurture their practices and expand their audiences.

The artists presenting in 2023 and 2024 create work in disciplines from drag performance and sculpture to filmmaking and poetry, each proposing care- and community-based responses to the urgent issues of our time. On view November 4, 2023, to January 21, 2024, an exhibition presented 10 artworks by artists who bring personal stories intersecting with global history to the Level 2 Gallery. Artists presented in the exhibition included Minne Atairu, Jake Brush, Cathy Linh Che & Christopher Radcliff, Armando Guadalupe Cortés, Lizania Cruz, Bryan Fernandez, Luis A. Gutierrez, Jeffrey Meris, Calli Roche, and Sandy Williams IV. In summer 2024, in The Shed’s Griffin Theater, the remaining eight commissions will feature immersive, multidisciplinary performances. Artists presenting performances include Cain Coleman, Kyle Dacuyan, Kayla Hamilton, Nile Harris, NIC Kay, Asia Stewart, Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre, and Garrett Zuercher.

Admission is free to all Open Call events.

The third edition of Open Call is organized by Tamara McCaw, Senior Advisor and former Chief Civic Program Officer; Darren Biggart, Director of Civic Programs; Dejá Belardo, Assistant Curator, Visual Arts and Civic Programs; and Daisy Peele, Associate Producer.

The program was conceived by The Shed’s Artistic Director Alex Poots; Tamara McCaw, Senior Advisor and former Chief Civic Program Officer; Emma Enderby, former Chief Curator; and Senior Program Advisor Hans Ulrich Obrist.

Special thanks to former program team colleagues who facilitated the third edition’s call for proposals and selection process: Solana Chehtman, Sarah Khalid Dhobhany, Alessandra Gómez, and Andria Hickey.