Last year, several Weber State University students took a leap and opened the Ogden Museum of Contemporary Art. In a subsequent venture, OMOCA members have begun accepting submissions for a new independent magazine dedicated to showcasing local contemporary art.
“Anyone — regardless of ability, age, skill — that lives in Ogden and has made work in the last couple of years can submit their work,” said JP Orquiz, one of OMOCA’s founders and a creator of the magazine. “Even if there’s work from 2013, that’s still contemporary.”
The entries for the magazine will be picked through a first-come, first-serve style with absolutely no curation — meaning every submission will be featured in the magazine. Because of space limitations, however, the earlier people submit their art, the better their chances are of their work being in the magazine.
“There’s no right or wrong,” Orquiz said “Whatever gets submitted gets in until we run out of volume in the magazine.”
While this magazine strikes those interested in art, some students aren’t even sure what contemporary art is.
“I’m interested in art, but I’m not quite sure what contemporary art means,” said WSU student Devon Taylor. “I do think the idea of the magazine is cool, though.”
To those who aren’t sure what contemporary art entails, Orquiz suggests that it has no good or bad, neither talent not lack thereof, but it is still a form of art.
“The idea is to make it more open and less restrictive,” Orquiz said. “Not that the art scene in Ogden isn’t open and welcoming, but people who have those preconceived notions of what is good art and what should be shown in an art space may not be as submitting to this type of art.”
Some of the submissions that have already been entered showcase the contemporary art scene of students and residents of Ogden and other areas around it.
OMOCA’s main goal with the magazine is to offer exposure to the public.
“We started OMOCA last year as an opportunity to present our work somewhere off of campus,” Orquiz said. “This is just kind of extending that idea. It’s not just giving students the opportunity to show work — but anyone in Ogden to show their work.”
For those interested in submitting to the magazine, email your work to [email protected] with your name and the title of your piece.
