Fame

The Fame Gallery is the opening room of Face The Strange, a global celebration of David Bowie’s enduring influence on art, creativity and self expression.

Featuring 50 original works chosen from the international open call, the gallery will bring together portraits and interpretations created by Bowie fans and artists from around the world. Artists will be encouraged to look at Bowie through their own eyes and create something that expresses what David Bowie means to them personally, rather than simply reproducing an existing image.

There are no restrictions on artistic style or medium. Submissions can include painting, collage, illustration, photography, sculpture, mixed media, digital art, abstract work, watercolour and experimental forms, giving each artist complete creative freedom to interpret Bowie in their own way.

The worldwide open call will run from 15 September to 15 October, after which a judging panel will select 50 works for exhibition in The Fame Gallery.

The Fame Gallery will celebrate much more than Bowie’s iconic image. It will explore the imagination, individuality and freedom of expression he inspired across generations and cultures. Each work will represent a different personal connection to Bowie and, when brought together in one room, create a remarkable collective portrait of 80 years of influence, reinvention and creativity.

A open call to fans to create a portrait of Bowie

Submission Guide

The Fame Gallery is an international open call inviting artists, students, emerging creatives and David Bowie fans from around the world to create an original portrait inspired by Bowie.

There are deliberately very few rules. We want to see Bowie through your eyes, created in your style, using whatever artistic language feels right to you. This is not about reproducing a famous photograph. It is about creating your own interpretation of the artist, the icon, the performer or simply what David Bowie means to you.

Your Work. Your Medium. Your Bowie.

Your portrait can be created in any medium of your choice. Painting, oils, acrylic, watercolour, drawing, charcoal, pastel, collage, mosaic, photography, digital art, printmaking, textiles, sculpture, mixed media, recycled materials, experimental work or something entirely new are all welcome.

You can work on canvas, board, paper, wood, metal, fabric, photographic material or another background of your choosing. If your idea does not fit neatly into a traditional format, that is absolutely fine.

There is no prescribed shape or scale. We will accept works from approximately 10 cm × 10 cm through to 2 metres × 2 metres. Portrait, landscape, square and unconventional formats are all welcome.

The Brief

Create an original work inspired by David Bowie.

It could explore his face, image, music, personas, fashion, creativity or cultural influence. It could be immediately recognisable as Bowie or completely abstract. It could reference a particular period of his life or combine several different eras into something entirely new.

The important thing is that the work comes from you.

We want 50 different artists to give us 50 different ways of seeing Bowie.

Selection

A judging panel will select 50 original works to form The Fame Gallery as part of Face The Strange at Factory International, Aviva Studios, Manchester.

We are looking for originality, imagination, individuality and a genuine creative response rather than simply technical perfection. Established artists and first time exhibitors will be considered on the same principle: the strength of the idea and the work itself.

How to Submit

For the initial submission, artists should provide clear photographs or digital images of the completed work, together with the title, dimensions, medium and a short description of the idea behind it.

Artists whose work is selected will then receive full instructions regarding delivery, installation and collection of the original artwork.

Submissions: 15 September to 15 October. Any medium. Any scale. Any interpretation.

Show us Bowie through your eyes.