Artists Sought to Fill 10,000 Square Feet of Urban Canvas for $10,000
Hoping to add verve to what would otherwise be a blank slate, the Battery Park City Authority (BCPA) is partnering with ArtBridge, a non-profit that turns local artists loose on construction fencing and scaffolding to transform outdoor urban spaces into public art exhibitions.
The collaboration aims to decorate approximately 900 linear feet of construction fencing that has already sequestered Wagner Park, and will soon line the north edge of the Battery, along Battery Place. Comprising an area of nearly 10,000 square feet, these barriers mark the South Battery Park City Resiliency Project, which is reconstructing Wagner Park and the surrounding area, and implementing below- and above-ground barriers that will protect the community—and much of Lower Manhattan—from rising water.
ArtBridge is seeking proposals that convey the concept of sustainability and “environmental care for the betterment of communities.” Applicants may propose murals of any kind of artwork that can be replicated in 2D on vinyl, including photography, painting, and digital art.
According to this open call for art, submissions “cannot contain words or letters, though numbers are allowed,” and “depictions of violence and nudity are forbidden, along with other common-sense constraints of public art.”
Applicants must be New York City-based artists, living or working in one of the five boroughs. Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of jurors from the BPCA, along with two professional curators. The winning artist will be paid $10,000 and will retain full intellectual property rights to the design. The BPCA will cover printing, installation, and production costs.
Submissions, which can consist of rough sketches and a written description, are due by 11:59pm on Sunday, September 17. The successful proposer will be notified in late September and must be able to commit to a working period from September 29 through October 23 (for design edits). Installation will begin in late October.
For more information, see bit.ly/BPCA.