Global Bibles – Translating Colonialism
<Please note that the correct mailbox for application is globil-conference2024@bristol.ac.uk>
For a 2025-2026 exhibition at Bible Museum Münster on the global history of Bible translation, we are looking for artistic reflections from a post-colonial perspective. Professional artists and illustrators connected to African, Australian Aboriginal, Oceanic, Arctic, or other global majority communities are invited to submit proposals for 2D works (or works that can be reproduced in 2D) in any medium or combination of media. These works should offer a visual interpretation of the various meanings of Bible translations in your language and community in a post-colonial world. The artworks can be dark or colourful, outspoken or ambivalent; they can integrate text, photography, historical material, and/or traditional techniques. They should help us to understand the modern worlds and colonial pasts that these texts are part of through your eyes.
Your artworks will help our historical research. They are commissioned as part of the research project Global Bible: British and German Bible Societies Translating Colonialism, 1800-1914 at University of Bristol (UK) / University of Münster (Germany). They will be used for three purposes:
- As a basis for discussion at the Translating Colonialism conference on 7-8 November 2024;
- As part of the Global Bibles exhibition in Münster opening in October 2025 and the exhibition catalogue;
- As illustrations in the edited volume that will come out of the research project.
Therefore, an important requirement is that these works are reproducible, in print or digitally. Artists will retain the original; the copyright will be under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC).
Size
Maximum size is 70×50 cm; reproductions will generally be at smaller size. Proposals may be for multiple works (diptychs, triptychs, series).
Deadline for proposals
1 April 2024
Deadline for finished artworks
1 October 2024
Budget
The maximum fee is £ 2558 for 10 days of work (in line with UK Artists’ Union recommended day rate*). This fee includes materials as well as time for research and consultation with the project team. Proposals should specify the work process and if necessary, an indication of special costs.
Proposals
should be sent as a single pdf, and include
- a description with a design/sketch of the artwork
- an indication of size, medium, materials, techniques
- a work plan (max. 10 days)
- a short artist’s statement (max. 300 words)
- a CV with art degrees, artistic professional experience, exhibitions, commissions, publications
- a portfolio of 5-10 representative works
Procedure
Please send your proposal as a single pdf to globil-conference2024@bristol.ac.uk by 1 April 2024. The selection will be made by the project team and Dr Jan Graefe, Bible Museum Münster. Selected artists will be notified by May 2024. A more detailed design or pre-final version must be presented for consultation.
Prints or reproductions of the work (depending on the medium) will be used for the conference and exhibition. Artists will retain the original work; the copyright will be under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC). For the conference, you are asked to contribute a 5-minute video statement about your work and how themes such as language, religion, and identity in the postcolonial world figure in your art practice. It is envisaged that these videos will be part of the exhibition.
Payment will be in two instalments, after selection and after completion, with final payment subject to approval of the work by an independent panel including the curator of the Münster Bible Museum.
*The fee follows the UK Artists’ Union rates of pay guidelines for professional artists with > 3 years of experience: https://www.artistsunionengland.org.uk/rates-of-pay/
About the exhibition
The exhibition Global Bibles, October 2025 to March 2026, will present the history of Bible translation from a global perspective, through first editions and historical documents, commissioned artworks and audiovisual material. The Bible Museum Münster is part of the University of Münster and located in the heart of the city near the cathedral. It tells the story of the Bible – from its handwritten beginnings to the present day. The museum is affiliated with the Institute for New Testament Textual Research.
About the project
The Global Bible project (GloBil) aims to critically investigate British and German as well as Indigenous contributions to the creation of a global bible, that is the attempt to translate Christian scripture into all the languages of the world. By the early 20th century, some portion of the bible had been translated into approximately 1,000 languages, including many with no previous written form. GloBil will explore translation in three geographically diverse regions, namely the Arctic, Oceania and Australia, and West Africa, and the range of encounters with unique and distinctive languages and peoples.
Academic team: Prof. Hilary Carey (Bristol), Dr Felicity Jensz (Münster), Dr Michael Wandusim (Münster), Dr Floris Solleveld (Bristol)
Project website | Project website in University of Münster
The GloBil project and exhibition are funded by AHRC – Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) and DFG – Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Germany), project number 508233363