For the second volume of If/Then: Chance and Creativity, we are looking for artists, writers and makers whose work explores ritual – repetition, routine, ceremony, habit, superstition, preparation, and the strange meanings that can emerge from doing something again and again. The publication is interested in both the rituals that shape creative practice and the moments where repetition begins to produce something unexpected. As with every issue of If/Then, chance sits somewhere in the background: interrupting, altering, or quietly changing what we thought we were doing.

If/Then: Chance and Creativity - Vol. 2: Ritual

We are inviting submissions for the second volume of If/Then: Chance and Creativity, a quarterly publication that explores how chance influences the creative process, and the lasting impact this can leave.

This issue explores the idea of ‘Ritual’ – the things we repeat, return to, prepare for, or perform, and how these actions can shape the way we create, think, remember, and move through the world.

Ritual can be deliberate or unconscious.

It can be something shared between many people, or something that makes sense only to you.

And, true to the wider theme of If/Then, we are particularly interested in what happens when repetition meets unpredictability.

What changes when you perform the same action again and again?

What stays the same?

And where does chance begin to creep in?

True to our theme, we see this publication as an experiment in chance itself!

We don’t know what we’ll receive, and that unpredictability is part of the process.

‘Ritual’ is up to interpretation.

It could be a repeated element of your creative practice, a daily routine, a superstition, a private ceremony, an inherited tradition, a compulsive action, or a process that has gradually taken on meaning through repetition.

It might be something you do before beginning a piece of work.

Something you do every day without really knowing why.

Something passed between generations.

Or something completely ordinary which, through repetition, has become important.

We are looking for both art pieces that relate to ‘ritual’, as well as articles and texts that delve into the topic.

On a more open basis, works that incorporate or explore chance can be sent in as well, however those that respond to the brief of ‘ritual’ will be prioritised.

Submissions may take the form of:

• Photography ‘as a medium’ (single images or series).
• Images of Art (paintings, sculptures, illustrations, etc.).
• Text (short prose, essays/articles, or poetry — max. 1000 words).
• Film stills and a URL (single stills or curated sequences).
• Collaborative works.
• Process-based documentation.
• Documentation of performances, routines, repeated actions or interventions.
  If you are unsure if your work is applicable, feel free to send it anyway.

We can have a discussion to see how you can be included.

Together, these works will be gathered into a collective publication.

All accepted contributors will be sent a series of questions exploring the themes of ritual and chance, looking not only at the finished work, but at the processes, habits, decisions and repeated actions surrounding its creation.

Submission Guidelines:

• Only work from the last 3 years will be accepted – 2024, 2025, 2026. This is in order to ensure the conversation we are having is contemporaneous.
• Number of works: Up to 4 pieces (images or texts) per applicant. Not all may be accepted, but submitting multiple works gives us a broader sense of your practice.
• Please label the work with your name and title of the piece.

Include:

• Your name and contact details.
• A short artist statement (max. 150 words).
• Year of your piece’s completion.
• Social media links if you want them included in the magazine.

Publication:

• Selected works will be published in If/Then: Chance and Creativity – Vol. 2 – The Ritual Issue.
• There is no submission fee. This may change with future volumes.
• Contributors will receive a PDF of the magazine when it is released.
• If/Then: Chance and Creativity is a digital-first quarterly publication exploring creative processes through the lens of chance. Future volumes may also be released in print depending on interest.

Individual artists maintain full copyright over their submitted works.

By submitting, you grant If/Then: Chance and Creativity permission to reproduce your work within the magazine and related promotional materials, both digital and print, at no financial compensation.

All profits from potential magazine sales will go toward supporting future issues.

Information on the Editor:

I’m Brandon J. Barnard, an experimental filmmaker and artist based in Plymouth, UK.

I’m currently doing a PhD on ‘Chance in Filmmaking’, exploring how randomness, restrictions and unexpected events can spark creativity.

In my work, I use arbitrary prompts and rules to push projects in directions I may not have chosen myself.

I’m much more interested in the process of creation than the finished piece.

I enjoy documenting my art journey through articles and diagrams, following how seemingly inconsequential decisions, repetitions and moments in life can gradually become important.