Artists Sought for Indy Art & Seek "Interventi...
Posted: Dec 04, 2019
The Arts Council of Indianapolis, in partnership with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. (KIB), is requesting information from professional and/or community-based artists/teams who are interested in creating small-scale, temporary works of art (which we’re referring to as “interventions”) in Indianapolis’ neighborhoods. All media welcome. Ninety interventions will be installed for summer/fall 2020. A mobile app will help the public find and engage with the interventions. Artists will engage with participating neighborhoods and will provide information for the app as part of their project.
BUDGET: $1,000 per intervention (see below for compensation details)
ELIGIBILITY: Artists and “makers” in all media over 18 and residing in metro Indianapolis (Marion County residents preferred) (see below for eligibility details)
DEADLINE: February 21, 2020, 5:00 p.m. (receipt of materials)
Apply online here.
Informational Workshops
Wednesday, December 18, 2019, 5:30–7:00 p.m. at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, 1029 E. Fletcher Ave., Suite 100. Limited free parking is available in KIB’s lot (please do not park in spaces reserved for FireEye Fitness) or along the street on Fletcher Avenue. A light dinner will be provided. RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/84766251139.
Monday, January 6, 2020, 6:00–8:00 p.m. at the Arts Council of Indianapolis, 924 N. Pennsylvania Ave. Limited free parking is available in the Lucille Raines Residence lot at 947 N. Pennsylvania and along the south side of St. Joseph Street east of Pennsylvania. Metered street parking is also available. A light dinner will be provided. RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/84767474799.
Friday, January 10, 2020, noon–1:00 p.m., live workshop on Facebook, no RSVP needed: https://www.facebook.com/IndyArtAndSeek/
Wednesday, February 12, 2020, 5:30-7:00 p.m. at The Indianapolis Public Library, East 38th St. Branch, 5420 E. 38th St. Free parking is available, or take the #39 IndyGo bus. Snacks will be provided. RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/84769504871.
Project Overview
Through the Strengthening Indianapolis Through Arts and Cultural Innovation initiative, funded by the Lilly Endowment, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB) is partnering with the Arts Council of Indianapolis to create public art experiences in Indianapolis neighborhoods. Our goal for the project is to make sure Indianapolis residents have both access to arts in public and a voice in their creation, particularly in lower-income neighborhoods without public art nearby. Public art is an important way to advance spatial justice, which we define as the way communities see themselves both represented in and influencing the places where they live, work, play, worship, and move through.
The project, called Indy Art & Seek, will feature 100 new “interventions” of engaging and accessible small-scale public art in all media, as well as 6 new, large-scale long-term installations in several of KIB’s new or legacy greenspaces. An interactive map and smartphone app will guide viewers through the experience, revealing locations and spaces that may have had little or no public art prior to the project. A pilot phase of the project installed ten artworks in fall 2019 and beta-tested the smartphone app. This call seeks artists for the small-scale interventions only.
We hope that Indy Art & Seek will encourage neighborhood residents to see their surroundings in new ways and will motivate artists to use neighborhood features as inspiration to create something fun, thoughtful, whimsical, or beautiful for people to encounter.
Great public art draws on hyperlocal culture, community, and connections. Art & Seek will try to match artists living or working local to the project area neighborhoods with opportunities to create installations in their neighborhood. We encourage emerging local artists to apply. Artists may also be given the opportunity to encounter a new neighborhood if they wish.
To learn more about Indy Art & Seek:
Project Website: https://www.kibi.org/indy-art-and-seek
Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/IndyArtAndSeek/
@IndyArtandSeek (Instagram and Twitter)
#artINDseek
What Is An Intervention?
For Indy Art & Seek, we’re defining an intervention as a temporary, small-scale artistic installation or action that changes people’s perception of a place. We think of interventions as “moments of delight.” Interventions can provide an engaging experience for a viewer, draw attention to overlooked physical features, spark conversations about topics an artist or community is interested in thinking or talking more about, or highlight positive changes that may be needed or are already taking place. Artistic interventions are often used to make places better looking, more inclusive, more appreciated, more fun, or more equitable. They call attention to the ways the arts can be an important part of everyday life.
Interventions are often thought of as unsanctioned street art but can easily be commissioned and installed with permission, as we intend to do. To explore the many possibilities of artistic interventions for Indy Art & Seek, attend one of the application workshops, where we’ll discuss examples. (see the project calendar for application workshop dates, times, and locations)
We are looking for interventions in any form: visual, theatrical, musical, dance, literary, street art, sound, video, etc.
They can be traditional physical objects, or site-specific installations.
They can be performed live for/with an audience or recorded/broadcast for people to encounter at their leisure.
They can be works of art that present themselves as discussions, meals, videos, signage, augmented reality apps, audio, etc.
Creativity and response to local conditions is the guideline, and interactivity for visitors is welcome! The main requirement is that the intervention must be placed or take place at a physical location within the project boundaries and that the location can be identified via GPS.
Interventions for this project are not intended to be major public art projects or full-scale productions.
For visual works, we encourage projects measuring no larger than 2 ft. x 2ft. (x 2 ft. if sculptural)
For live/performed works, we encourage actions with durations less than 20 minutes and with artist/production teams of no more than four people.
For recorded or sound-based works without a live, in-person audience component, we suggest running times less than 5 minutes long.
We encourage artists to use materials already on hand or donated/gathered/repurposed from the site or community as an integral part of their concept.
Eligibility Requirements
To qualify, artists must:
Be 18 years of age or older
Be a resident of the metro Indianapolis area, with preference for Marion County residents
Create work in any of the following media:
A visual art (painting, sculpture, graphic design, photography, printmaking, ceramics, glass, fiber arts, conceptual art, architecture/building arts, landscape design, welding, etc., including “makers” of all types)
A performing art (live [preferably] or recorded theater, dance, music, spoken word, storytelling, etc.)
A literary art (fiction, nonfiction, personal essays, poetry, etc.)
A media-based art (sound, film, video, animation, etc.)
A social/civic-practice artistic discipline (social practice art employs an art form to connect and empower communities, including creatively using food, gardening/farming, interpersonal dialogues, etc. as an art form)
Be willing to meet all contractual obligations and adhere to a defined timeline
We are particularly seeking applicants who grew up in or are currently living in the Art & Seek project area. The project is intended to encourage artists to create interventions for the neighborhoods in which they live or share a common language, culture, or background.
Community Engagement Expectations
This project values community–artist interaction as a way to make the intervention more meaningful to the neighborhood and to the site where the intervention will occur.
Participating artists will be required to attend one meeting (typically a weekday evening) with neighborhood representatives to learn more about the community context context, plus at most one more meeting, which would be either with the confirmed site owner/host to finalize onsite logistics or a formal proposal of the intervention to the community group. These two meetings should total no more than 3 hours.
Additional engagements by the artist with the community are encouraged (but not required) as appropriate to the nature of the artist’s project—these engagements could be further design sessions, community-assisted fabrication, etc.
KIB and/or Arts Council staff will assist the artist in determining the best way to engage with the community based on the neighborhood and the artist’s project and will attend community engagement sessions with the artist. If additional engagements or negotiations are necessary but are beyond the artist’s ability to attend, staff will represent the artist and their project as needed.
Smartphone App Production Requirements
In addition to creating the artwork and engaging with the community, artists will be required to provide the following for the Art & Seek smartphone app:
A photograph of the artist (can be a selfie)
A photograph of the completed artwork
A 2-minute audio file of the artist talking about the artwork (can be completed using the recording feature of a smartphone)
The following item is optional:
A link to a video on YouTube or Vimeo, if relevant to the artwork; for example, additional documentation of an on-site live performance, or a video showing the visual artist making the artwork
KIB and Arts Council staff are available to help the artist produce these items, as needed.
For information about the app format, visit the vendor’s website at http://www.otocast.com or review other “tour” programs by downloading the free Otocast app.
Compensation and Project Budget
The works are intended to be site-specific, small-scale, and temporary (if a physical object, it should remain in place from three to six months). Projects with extensive labor requirements or pricey materials are NOT encouraged! The intervention should be small, quickly created, and of brief duration if time-based, like a performance or a media piece. Interventions are meant to engage the site as it exists, without the need for extensive modifications or site preparation by the artist or the neighborhood.
The compensation offered is intended to cover community engagement, design/development/storyboard/choreography, materials, fabrication and installation labor, rehearsal and performance time, and the work required to organize and submit materials for the smartphone app. Artists are responsible for ensuring that the nature of the intervention is scaled appropriately for the compensation given.
Solo artists (for example, a visual artist, a poet, a dancer, a musician) will receive a fee of $1,000, regardless of medium or art form. A solo artist may be commissioned to create more than one intervention in more than one neighborhood; in this case, they will be paid $1,000 per distinct intervention.
Groups or teams may apply, and if accepted, compensation will be made under the following guidelines:
Visual artists: A two-person team of artists submitting together on one application is considered a single applicant and, if selected, will receive $1,000 per intervention to split between themselves. However, if the intervention design has components that are geographically separated but within the same neighborhood, each team member will receive $1,000.
Performing artists: A group or team of performers will receive compensation up to $4,000 to develop the piece and will perform it live up to four times in four different locations. The group leader is responsible for dividing the single payment equitably among the performers. KIB or ACI staff will document one of the scheduled performances for the smartphone app and will share the documentation with the group; if the group wishes to secure additional documentation for their own purposes, it will be at their own expense.
Sound, video, or filmed works: A pre-recorded, site-specific intervention will receive $1,000 total, regardless of the number of performers or production staff.
Some sites may require the artist to have their own liability insurance in order to work there. Artists may already have the proper policy in place; if not, the Arts Council will help find affordable insurance. Artists should plan for the cost to be covered by the compensation amount.
Please contact Julia Moore, Director of Public Art at the Arts Council (jmoore@indyarts.org), to discuss compensation questions or circumstances you might have before applying.
Project Timeline
This timeline represents the project as it now appears. Changes may be necessary as the project progresses.
Wednesday, December 4, 2019—Release Request for Qualifications
Wednesday, December 18, 2019, 5:30–7:00 p.m. Informational workshop at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, 1029 E. Fletcher Ave., Suite 100. Limited free parking is available in KIB’s lot (please do not park in spaces reserved for FireEye Fitness) or along the street on Fletcher Avenue. A light dinner will be provided. RSVP here for this workshop.
Monday, January 6, 2020, 6:00–8:00 p.m. Informational workshop at the Arts Council of Indianapolis, 924 N. Pennsylvania Ave. Limited free parking is available in the Lucille Raines Residence lot at 947 N. Pennsylvania and along the south side of St. Joseph Street east of Pennsylvania. Metered street parking is also available. A light dinner will be provided. RSVP here for this workshop.
Friday, January 10, 2020, noon–1:00 p.m. Informational workshop live on Facebook, no RSVP needed.
Wednesday, February 12, 2020, 5:30-7:00 p.m. Informational workshop at The Indianapolis Public Library, East 38th St. Branch, 5420 E. 38th St. Free parking is available, or take the #39 IndyGo bus. Snacks will be provided. RSVP here for this workshop.
Friday, February 21, 2020, before 5:00 p.m.—Applicant information due
Week of March 1, 2020—Artist submissions reviewed
By March 15, 2020—Artists notified and contracted
Week of April 1, 2020—Kickoff, orientation to project and communities, exploration of working context
April–May, 2020—Community engagement, project development, project planning, permitting as necessary
June–July, 2020—Artworks installed
August 2020—Smartphone app goes live to the public
December 2020—Project ends; artworks removed (as necessary)
Selection Process
Artists and creative “makers” may indicate their interest in Indy Art & Seek by submitting their biography and project history according to the requirements listed in this document. No designs or site selections are required as part of the artist’s application materials!
Submitted information will be reviewed by a selection panel consisting of representatives from selected neighborhood stakeholders, from KIB and Arts Council staff, from artists participating in the pilot phase of the project, and from the Arts Council of Indianapolis’ Public Art Selection Committee, which includes neighborhood residents, artists, arts advocates, naturalists, administrators, and other arts and community specialists.
Applicant artists will be notified according to the timeline in this document.
Selection Criteria
Participants will be selected based upon the following criteria, which are all equally important:
Artistic quality: Applicant’s past work shows that they develop creative and stylistically distinctive works of art
Aesthetic sensibility: Applicant’s work and working method display an approach and style that would be appreciated by the participating neighborhoods
Technical ability: Applicant’s submission indicates skill with their chosen media or art form
Enthusiasm: Applicant’s submission indicates a passion for producing small-scale, neighborhood-based work—or, for emerging artists, a strong desire to start doing so
Process: Applicant’s submission indicates that they are eager to work collaboratively with the project coordinators and that the project will be completed on time and within budget
How to Apply
To apply for this project, provide your contact information, your background as an artist, and samples of your work.
All applications, work samples, and sharing requests must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 21, 2020. Late submissions will not be reviewed, and forms without work samples will be discarded. Allow plenty of time to prepare and submit your information, and if you have difficulty, please contact Alejandra Lagunas, indyartandseek@gmail.com.
To apply online:
Applications can be submitted here. You do not need to print out this application!
The form will ask you to type in or attach your resume/bio information, and you may also attach samples of your artwork (images, video, sound files, text files, etc.) or indicate an online location where they can be viewed (your website or blog site, YouTube or Vimeo, SoundCloud, etc.). This is the preferred way to get work samples to us, but you can send materials separately.
Click “submit” to upload.
If your application did not have the required information attached or you didn’t indicate an online location to view examples of your artwork, you can e-mail or text work samples to Alejandra Lagunas, indyartandseek@gmail.com. Sharing pics or media files from your phone is possible! Limit 5 files of up to 2 MB each for e-mailed or texted samples. Larger samples may be shared with Alejandra via Dropbox or WeTransfer by uploading materials to those services first and sending a sharing link with indyartandseek@gmail.com.
Walk-in online submission help: On Friday, February 21, we will be at the Arts Council office, 924 N. Pennsylvania St., from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and available to help walk-in applicants submit an online application. Bring your work samples with you, either on your phone or on a CD or flash/jump drive, or bring the URL(s) where they live online. Please allow 30 minutes for a walk-in submission; we will not take new walk-ins after 4:00 p.m. so that the process can be completed by 5:00 p.m.
To mail or hand-deliver an application:
Contact Alejandra Lagunas, indyartandseek@gmail.com, to receive an application form that you can edit or fill in by hand.
Burn the application form and your work samples to a CD or copy them to a flash/jump drive.
Mail or hand-deliver the CD or drive to the Arts Council office: 924 N. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis, IN 46204. We close promptly at 5:00 p.m.
QUESTIONS? Contact Alejandra Lagunas, Arts Engagement Project Coordinator, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, indyartandseek@gmail.com or (317) 643-0953
Note to Applicants
This Request for Qualifications does not constitute an offer to contract or a promise for remuneration, recognition, or any other benefit to the applicant. Submission of materials in response to this Request for Qualifications does not constitute an express or implied contract. The information provided, and/or any program or event described, may be changed, amended, modified, or canceled at any time and for any reason. The Arts Council of Indianapolis reserves the right to accept or reject any and all responses received, or to commission an artist through another process, with the goal of accomplishing the best result possible.
Arts Council of Indianapolis Equity Statement
The Arts Council of Indianapolis is committed to working with the arts and cultural community to cultivate a sector that serves, celebrates, and values every resident of Indianapolis. In pursuit of this vision, we do not predetermine participation on the basis of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, or religion. We see a successful arts and cultural community as one where all artists have full access to the robust creative arts resources of our city and in which their varied histories, voices, and life experiences are honored.
To read the full Arts Council Equity Statement, click here. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact Julia Moore at jmoore@indyarts.org or call 317-631-3301 x240.
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful Equity Statement
KIB helps people and nature thrive most effectively when we reflect the diversity of perspectives, voices, and abilities found throughout our city. The principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to our work—from supporting biodiversity in nature to engaging communities.
KIB encourages applicants—including persons of color, people who are LGBTQ, veterans, those who are multilingual/multicultural, and individuals of various ages and abilities—to help us create collaborations among a broad range of backgrounds and thinking.
Arts Council Fair Pay Statement
The Arts Council of Indianapolis values the experience and the skilled work created and completed by artists of all disciplines. As such, we are committed to providing fair and equitable compensation for the artists who participate in all of our projects, programs, partnerships, and collaborations. We also advocate that others in the community provide similarly fair and appropriate compensation when working with artists.
For more information about the Arts Council of Indianapolis, visit www.indyarts.org.
For more information about Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, visit www.kibi.org
