Smashing Times Centre for the Arts and Equality invite submissions to the May 2024 edition of the Smashing Times Newsletter. Our theme this month is ‘Artists Against Fascism’.
Fascism is a political ideology and movement defined by characteristics such as extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, totalitarian ambitions, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the rule of elites, anti-communism, and the subordination of individual interests to the good of the nation. Fascism dominated many parts of central, southern, and eastern Europe between 1919 and 1945, with further adherents in western Europe, the United States, South Africa, Japan, Latin America, and the Middle East. Europe’s first fascist leader, the Italian Benito Mussolini, took the name of his party from the Latin word fasces. This referred to a bundle of rods with a projecting axe blade, which was used as a symbol of penal authority in ancient Rome.
The most prominent fascist regime in history was Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany. During World War II, the Nazis perpetrated some of the worst atrocities humankind has ever seen. The implementation of the Nazis’ racial policies culminated in the Holocaust: the genocide of six million Jews and 11 million others, including civilians from Poland, the Soviet Union, and Serbia; Sinti-Roma peoples; persons with disabilities; political opponents; and many more minorities.
Post-World War II iterations of fascism, generally referred to as neo-fascism, emerged in countries such as Italy, France, and Germany. Neo-fascist figures who came to, or maintained, power during this period include Juan Perón in Argentina and Augusto Pinochet in Chile, while General Franco’s Spanish regime lasted until 1975, and Portugal’s Estado Novo (New State) survived from 1933–1974.
Various right-wing populist and neo-fascist movements and individuals have enjoyed a surge of popularity in the 21st century. Notable examples are Vladimir Putin, who first came to power in Russia in 1999; Jair Bolsonaro, president of Brazil between 2019–2022; Benjamin Netanyahu’s current far-right, ultra-nationalist government of Israel, whose apartheid state is currently committing genocide in Gaza; and Donald Trump, United States President from 2017–21. Trump’s similarities to historical fascist figures include contempt for democratic values and the rule of law, demagoguery, appeals to racism, attacks on the legitimacy of the press, and incitements to mob violence, most famously his incitement of the mob that stormed the US Capitol in January 2021.
Art – work produced by creative skill and imagination – can be seen as inherently antithetical to the ideology and practice of fascism. Fascism tends towards violence and repression, art towards common understanding and expression. Fascism enforces homogeneity, while art recognises and celebrates the diversity of the world we live in. Art allows for the expression of the universal in the particular, while fascism imposes the particular on the universal. Art, through its power to inspire love and hope, insight and understanding, represents the open book of progress and new possibilities. Fascism, on the other hand, is the closed book of hatred, a dark, deadening, and regressive vision reflecting humankind’s most destructive traits.
We eagerly await your submissions. Please have a read of the guidelines below.
Artist Submissions
Artist submissions are welcome in any genre or form. A few notes:
- If submitting poetry, please send a maximum of two poems (of any length).
- If making a prose submission – a short story, non-fiction essay, novel extract, or article – please send no more than one piece, of no longer than 2,000 words.
- If submitting a written excerpt from a play or screenplay, please send no more than one piece, of no more than 1,000 words.
- If sending a photograph, or an image of a painting, sculpture, or architectural work, please submit no more than two. Please ensure that the images are of a high quality, and provide the work’s label: material(s) used, dimensions, and year. Please include a few lines contextualising your piece and explaining how it relates to the theme. Lastly, please remember to state the title of the piece.
- In the case of videos, or video excerpts, of plays, please submit one piece only, of no longer than 20 minutes. Please ensure that the video is of a high audiovisual calibre.
- If submitting a song, a short film, a video artwork, a feature-film excerpt, or a dance piece, please send no more than two, and ensure neither runs over 20 minutes. Likewise, please make sure that they are of a high audiovisual calibre.
- If submitting in multiple artforms, please send no more than two artworks overall. (For example, one short story and one poem.)
- Submissions may have appeared elsewhere before, though new work is especially welcome. (If a submission has appeared elsewhere before, please state this and include the publication details.)
- Submissions can be made in English, Irish, or in translation. For Irish language submissions, our preference is that they be submitted alongside English language translations, though this is in no way compulsory. For translations of the work of another author, all relevant permissions must be obtained beforehand. We may also look to publish the original alongside the translation.
- Themes are always flexible; any subjective response is considered valid.
- Please submit to communications@smashingtimes.ie by midnight on Sunday, 21 April, 2024. Subject lines should read: ‘Artist Submission, May 2024’. Please include a max two-line biography to accompany your piece, making reference to your previous publications (if applicable); any social media/website links you would like to be included in case of publication; a headshot or photograph; whether you would like to be signed up to the newsletter (so that, if selected, you receive the edition in which your work appears); and how exactly you heard of this submission opportunity. In order to ensure your submission’s eligibility, please make sure that you have included everything we have requested.
- Our preference for written pieces is that they be sent in a Word document. Please do not send them in a PDF.
- If we accept a written piece, the editor will contact you with at least one round of suggested edits, so please monitor your email closely.
- Furthermore, if your work is accepted, it will appear not only in the newsletter but on the Smashing Times website and possibly across our social media channels.
- Not all submissions will be accepted, unfortunately.
- The newsletter goes out on Thursday, 2 May, 2024.
- Publication is unpaid, regrettably, as we are a small charity with limited resources. The newsletter reaches around 1,200 people, however, including a range of major arts organisations, and many members of Ireland’s arts and human rights communities. Previous newsletter contributors include poet Jessica Traynor, Senator Lynn Ruane, 2023 Nobel Peace Prize-winner Narges Mohammadi, rapper-singer Saint Levant, visual artist Erika Diettes, and many more.
- Submissions are especially welcome from individuals who have been underrepresented historically, such as ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, members of the Traveller community, the LGBTQI+ community, and women. Please let us know when submitting if you belong to any of these or suchlike minorities.
News Item Submissions
News item submissions are welcome from any organisation or individual either working in the arts, or in human rights, equality, or similar areas. Some notes:
- News items should be 150 words or less. They may be written in either English or Irish. They do not need to have any relevance to the theme.
- We welcome any news item based on you or your organisation’s recent work, event, or activity in the areas of the arts, human rights, equality, or social justice.
- Please include a photo to go with your news item and ensure it is of reasonably high quality. If there is no relevant photo, please send on your organisation’s logo.
- Any links should be included as hyperlinks.
- Please double-check for spelling, grammar, accuracy, and clarity.
- We will endeavour to include as many submissions as possible – though this of course depends on the number we receive. (In the event of a surplus, we will hold onto any items which would still be relevant in the following month’s edition, with your permission.) We will prioritise submissions from Smashing Times members. Sign you or your organisation up as a Smashing Times member here.
- The newsletter reaches around 1,200 people, including a range of major arts organisations, and many members of Ireland’s arts and human rights communities.
- Please submit in a word document to communications@smashingtimes.ie by midnight on Sunday, 21 April, 2024. Subject lines should read: ‘News Item Submission, May 2024’.
- The newsletter goes out on Thursday, 2 May, 2024.
- Submissions are especially welcome from individuals who have been underrepresented historically, such as ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, members of the Traveller community, the LGBTQI+ community, and women. Please let us know when submitting if you belong to any of these or suchlike minorities. Likewise, we welcome submissions from organisations that advocate for any of these, or similar, causes.
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