Full call here.

We are happy to announce a number of calls for participation in the 2012 edition of Northern Spark, which will take place June 9-10, 2012. For some background on this year’s Northern Spark see here. The new website will launch later this week at northernspark.org.

Please note that the deadlines for submission are different for different calls.

1. Call for a project in any media/discipline – inter/national

We are looking a  project that is sited/performed in public space and engage a broad public audience in that space. Projects can be in any medium or discipline. This call is funded in part by the NEA is for artists living or working outside of Minnesota. Application deadline: February 7. The call is here.

2. Call for Data Visualization project

This is an open call in collaboration with The Eyeo Festival for a data visualization project. Application deadline: February 7, 2012. The call is here.

3. Call for “platform” project

This is an open call in collaboration with ZERO1 Biennial for a “platform” project. Application deadline: February 13, 2012. The call is here.

4. Call for project in any media/discipline

We are looking for up to 10 projects that are sited/performed in public space and engage a broad public audience in that space. Projects can be in any medium or discipline. Look at the project line up for Northern Spark in 2011 to see the wide range of works presented. Application deadline: February 27. The call is here.

4. Call for Minnesota Center for Books Arts project

Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA), in collaboration with Northern Lights.mn, is accepting proposals for an all-night event in MCBA’s gallery and studio space as part of NorthernLights.mn’s Northern Spark Festival (June 9-10, 2012). Application deadline: January 30. The call is here.

More Calls

More calls will be announced in the coming days. Subscribe to the Northern Lights mailing list (at the bottom of the page), Like us on Facebook, follow us @Northern_Spark or get the tumblr feed to stay informed.

Links

• 2012 Northern Spark website
• 2012 call for projects
• 2012 call for projects – inter/national
• 2012 call for dataviz project
• 2012 call for platform project
• 2012 call for Minnesota Center for Book Arts project
• 2012 Kickstarter

• 2011 website
• 2011 report (pdf)
• 2011 trailer
• 2011 documentary
• 2011 flickr site

Performance opportunity on the Stone Arch Bridge

for dawn or dusk // homeward is a 10-15 minute sound work  for 100+ local musicians playing brass, percussion, piccolos and tiny whistles. The site specific performance will take place on the Stone Arch Bridge, stretching across the Mississippi playing overlapping melodies derived from the route of the river. The piece follows the route of the river south past St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans and into the Gulf of Mexico. The piece is written by Los Angeles based composer Chris Kallmyer who will come out to work with the group on June 3 + 4.

Participating Musicians

We are looking for musicians age 10 – 110 (amateur and professional) who love playing their instrument, are not afraid to play loud, and have an interest in engaging with their community via music. Folks need to be willing to participate in three rehearsals prior to the performance at the Northern Spark Festival on June 4 at 9:05. Participants will need to provide their own instruments, and percussionists are encouraged to bring two instruments from this list: marching snare drum, marching bass drum, glockenspiel, metal junk, and bells.

Time Commitment

Two rehearsals with your section leader prior to the June 4 concert.

• Friday, June 3. 6:00 – 8:00 pm // rehearsal at the Stone Arch Bridge
• Saturday, June 4. 9:05- 9:20 pm // Walk-through at 7pm // Performance at the Stone Arch Bridge

If you would like to participate, please contact the event coordinator, Phil Snyder.

Drew Anderson
Michael Hoyt
Caly McMorrow
Anthony Tran
Aaron Westre

Congratulations from the jury: Steve Dietz, Artistic Director, Northern Lights.mn; Ben Heywood, Executive Director, The Soap Factory; and Amanda McDonald Crowley, Eyebeam Art & Technology Center. And from AOV3 Co-Director Christopher Baker.

More information.

Proposals for ReGeneration can be for gallery installations or public projects on the grounds of NYSCI or in surrounding areas for the duration of the exhibition or for one-week modules exploring a particular concept or idea. Six of the projects will be juried based on this open call, three for installations and three for workshop modules. Collaborations are encouraged but should be confirmed with a letter of support in the application. More information here.

A group of guest writers have been invited to contribute to Public Address throughout 2011. Our first “guest” post is written by Ulrika Andersson, an artist, designer and curator who splits her time between San Francisco and Berlin. Her work can be seen at The Exploratorium, The Fort Mason Center in San Francisco and at www.weststarland.com.

The opening of Terminal 2 at the San Francisco airport brings five new artworks to this site, which was accredited by the American Association of museums in 1999, a first among airports. Much has been written about the nature of airports and their place in contemporary culture and imagination: usually colored with great ambivalence towards these busy, commercially promiscuous and stylistically limited environments. While theorists have sometimes wrung their hands over the idea that these crass places can contain something as venerable and delicate as fine art; artists have let their imagination soar into the grand meeting places, parting places, cathedrals of rapidly evolving technology and finance, surrounded by a bazaar of bustling enterprise.

Airport-commissioned artworks have a certain role to play as celebrations of flight and the human longing to fly, to travel, to meet each other and to wax philosophical about it. In many ways they claim the position that a downtown would hold if passengers had the time to visit it, or that formerly was held by the grand railroad stations: inspiring pride in locals and confidence in visitors. It’s safe to say that airports in general have approached this task with mixed results, while the ever-expending expansions provides ongoing opportunities. At San Jose’s SJC there is a new series of data-driven works that are especially ambitious: blending input from weather reports, security cameras and passenger mood messages to surface in innovative places like the luggage carousel. The Hafermaas, Goods and Koblin piece eCloud (2010) uses switchable glass material to create a man-made cloud responsive to global weather reports. The Foreign Policy writer Walter Russell Mead called airports symbolic of “man’s triumph over the forces of nature” and claims that “not even farmers are as painfully exposed to the vagaries of weather as those who seek to travel by air”. It’s doubtful that this is literally true, but it’s a germinal statement and a nice accompaniment to a piece that considers both natural states and rapidly changing global human endeavors; the same factors that make airports and such potent sites for artists. It provides an impressive welcome hall to the Nation’s high-tech capital while leaving itself open to ambivalence, even fear of flying.

At SFO artworks have so far been of a more contained nature, and the new terminal offers no variation on that. Terminal 2, the new home of Virgin America is sure to be reasonably trendy and the terminal does offer a very representative welcoming hall; decked with local food and comfortable furniture (though the interior style would be more closely associated to Copenhagen than San Francisco). At the newly opened terminal there are five new artworks and twenty re-installed pieces from the existing collection: all selected by the San Francisco Art Commission. Also at at the Terminal 2 Community Open House on April 9th the art was joined by guest appearances by local musicians, seemingly as part of the ongoing You Are Hear program at SFO -a great idea that someone should get a raise for. From the entry hall visitors at the open house were first greeted with Janet Echelmans Every Beating Second, the swooping net construction in the ceiling that was most prominently featured in the press for the T2 project. Alongside the folk bands, local food and promises of sustainability it brought the mind to the macrame playgrounds of Bolinas from the seminal books on hippie aesthetic like Native Funk and Flash. This is as it should be in a trend-sensitive space: Native Flash and Funk is an increasingly hard-to-find book as it is being rediscovered along by a new generation of artists embracing the craft sensibilities of the early 70’s.

The cool of the terminal in contrast with the warmth of the artworks is enhanced in Walter Kitundu’s Bay Area Bird Encounters. This wall piece largely consists of images printed onto wood with the shading and grain of the wood panel outlining the rest of the shapes in this landscape piece. In front of the wall stands two low crescent shaped benches in the shape of birds’ wings. The wings feathers have been fashioned into blocks to be played by mallets like a xylophone, along with a corresponding instrument on the wings of one of the birds on the wall. Walter Kitundu is a devoted wildlife photographer and spends a great deal of his time studying these neighboring flying San Franciscans. So much so that he has tuned the instruments in the piece to mimic the birds’ calls when played on marked blocks left to right. At the T2 opening event he was watching delighted children pound the instruments, partially obscuring the devotion he has left at the lower right for his father: Dr. Peter Kitundu. This very much hand-made offering by an earthy, no-nonsense builder and musician is such a solid and dignified corner in the terminal, it made the familiar airport current of stress and alienation stand still.

Charles Sowers is emerging as an artist and designer of public art works; often involving elements of fluidity, materiality and currents. His work can be seen at The Exploratorium, The Randall Museum, The Fort Mason Center and the LIGO Science Education Center in Livingston Parish, LA. At T2 his Butterfly Wall makes an impressive presence: guarded as the butterflies are by thick, greenish plate glass and stainless steel footing. Like the massive time pieces at The Long Now Foundation, the ephemeral has a tendency of making itself known with the most solid of objects. Inside the glass tank twenty butterflies are hauled up on transparent cables as visitors to the piece crank the handles to propel them. As the cable stops spinning, the butterfly falls and glitters to the ground, its plastic wings casting blinding reflections around itself. The San Francisco Art Commission took some risk in commissioning this piece, as the rest of the artworks don’t contain moving parts. The piece delivers as it is the only piece in the airport collection that uses flight as an experience and as a medium, rather than as an abstract topic of inspiration.

SFO would do well in allowing for more interactivity and fluidity in the newly commissioned artworks, and it would have been nice to see more of the works embrace the data-driven and kinetic possibilities in exhibiting at an airport. While the craft-oriented artworks, Scandinavian furniture and wood paneling makes T2 is a significantly more fashionable terminal than your run-of-the-mill terminal, there is a lot of room for greater ambitions for the artworks at this site.

Turbulence.org and Pace Digital Gallery announce an Open Call for Networked Art to be commissioned for the exhibition Turbulence.org @ PaceDigitalGallery 2.

The curators are seeking works that address the notion of “Levels | Hierarchies”, as in chains of command, levels of play, stages of life, degrees of comfort... Pace Digital Gallery is, itself, distributed across three floors of a building; within a broad stairwell to be precise. Practitioners are required to address the theme according to both the physical space and the distributed space of the Internet, where the works will permanently reside.

via Networked Performance

Admittedly, as the current Artistic Director of the 01SJ Biennial I may not be an entirely unbiased voice in this matter, but let me share 10 reasons you should come to San Jose for 01SJ, September 16-19, and see at least some of 100 art installations, 46 commissioned works, 9 exhibitions, 20 workshops, 12 public artworks, 4 urban games, 1 drive-in movie theater, a nighttime street fair, a green prix of eco-locomotion, an epicurean multi-media dinner, a requiem mass for fossil fuels, audio ballerinas and robotic sitars, musical performances, operas, and more.

1. Largest DIY garage in the world

I don’t know if it really is the largest "garage" in the world, but Out of the Garage, Into the World takes place in the 80,000 sqaure feet (7,432 square meters) South Hall of the San Jose Convention Center. Essentially a domed parking lot, for two weeks, beginning September 4, 01sj.org/art/out-of-the-garage/ will publicly build their projects in and around a scaffolding structure designed by Madrid-based architect Angel Borrego Cubero. The projects run the gamut from a book-making workshop by Guggenheim fellow Monica Haller for war veterans the Eyebeam Roadshow to a contemporary hurache workshop by Pilar Aguero-Esparza and Hector Dionicio Mendoza to mobile archipelagos by Nova Jiang to a zipline "xAirport" wearing innovative wing designs over an artificial marsh "ark" for endangered frogs by Natalie Jeremijenko to public orchards, DIY solar sculptures , gift horses, i-weather, pirate radio, and much more . The entire "garage" is serviced by a full tech shop with laser cutters, CNC mills, shop bots, and industrial sewing machines.

Come often to see these works-in-progress September 4-14, admission is free, and only $5 for multiple visits September 16-19.

2. “Drive in” trip out

As part of Out of the Garage, Into the World, artists Todd Chandler and Jeff Stark and cohorts will be constructing Empire Drive-In, a full-scale drive in theater using salvaged materials, including the cars for seating. There will be a daily film program and nightly live cinema performances such as Chandler and Dark Dark Dark’s Flood Tide Remixed, Graham Weinbren’s 50 Letters, Stephanie Rothenberg’s Second Life talk show Best Practices in Banana Time, Zoe Keating’s remarkable cello in collaboration with Robert Hodgin’s visuals on Into the Trees, the California premiere of Rick Prelinger’s latest archive mash up The Lives of Energy, Sheepwoman by SUE-C & Laetitia Sonami, and a series of telematic performances, Domain, curated by Rhizome’s John Michael Boling, by Jeremy Bailey, Petra Cortright, Constant Dullaart, and JODI.

3. Art in the streets

Art is not just in the garage and theaters and galleries at 01SJ, it is also in the streets, everywhere. Luke Jerram’s acclaimed Play Me I’m Yours has 20 pianos throughout San Jose, which anyone can play – and decorate. Rigo 23 is producing a newly commissioned video projection, Oglala Oyate: Sister City for a Better Future. Chris Baker’s interactive projection, 01sj.org/2010/artworks/offscript/, will play nightly at Santana Row . Yung-ta Chang’s Signal Flow, in a nod to San Jose’s radio history, will greet visitors to South Hall along with Sabrina Raaf’s Meandering RIver. A half dozen works have been commissioned by the San Jose Public Art Program for 01SJ, and Chico MacMurtrie’s Inflatable Architectural Growth will expand on 1st Street during AbsoluteZER0 and the Green Prix.

4. City Hall reacts

Each Biennial San Jose’s Richard Meier-designed City Hall has been the canvas for a major public art commission. On Thursdsay, September 16, duirng the 01SJ Opening Ceremonies, the Rockwell Group LAB will power up Plug-in-Play, an interactive projection, which suggests a new type of environment where social interactions, citizenship, and personal activities are more dynamically reflected. Inside the City Hall Rotunda, Ken Gregory will present his sound sculpture, wind coil sound flow . During opening ceremonies, Benoit Maubrey and Ballet San Jose will perform Audio Ballerinas.

5. AbsoluteZER0

Now an annual event, AbsoluteZER0 is a vibrant street festival where the public can engage with art, music, science, and technology in new and compelling ways outside on city streets. From an Art Ark to CITY/SPACE/SHARE, a pilot project out of CCA intended to revitalize vacant storefronts and transform urban activity in the City Center of San Jose to Marcus Young’s solo dance program Can’t You Feel It Too? to Steven White’s two-person Ferris Wheel, Over the Top, AbsoluteZER0 is an event not to be missed.

6. Play in the streets

"Go play in the streets" is not just something your mean uncle said. At 01SJ it is a new strand of programming where artists use the city itself as a playground for "serious play." The world premiere of Blast Theory’s A Machine to See With is co-commissioned with the The Banff Centre, and Sundance Institute’s New Frontier Initiative. It mixes documentary material, stolen thriller cliches, and the films of Jean-Luc Godard and invites you to become someone else. Step inside a film as you walk through the city, receiving phone calls. Are you the protagonist or a bit part player? Start making decisions and you will find out. Participation slots are limited, and you can buy tickets ($12) here. You can also become a Zoropathian or participate in an EST-like seminar, LevelFive in commissioned projecs by Ken Eklund and Annette Mees and Brody Condon. And don’t forget to transform your favorite hoodie for an interactive game of zombie tag during AbsoluteZER0.

7. Artful eco-motion – the Green Prix

The Green Prix is a parade and all day festival of sustainable, ecological friendly, and fun modes of transportation—artful “eco-motion.” It will include and Aeolian Bike Ride, Art Bikes, a burlap 1964 Ford, a Gift Horse, Maria del Camino, a video game concept car , a mechanical elephant on wheels , solar cars and much more. And It is open for EVERYONE: artists, designers, families, schools, and anyone else who has or wants to create a new mode of sustainable transportation. It is your opportunity to create, participate in, and cheer on innovative projects related to eco-themed transportation. So break out your banana-bikes, self-propelled jet packs, soapboxes, and solar cars to come out and strut your stuff in front of a cheering audience. The Green Prix Parade will begin at 11:00 am on Saturday, September 18th. It’s not too late to register here . The Green Prix culminates in a special mass by O+A at St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Requiem for fossil fuels.

8. After midnight

During 01SJ, San Jose will be a 24/7 city. Three midnight concerts by contemporary sound artists curatd by artist and musician Stephen Vitiello will take place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night at midnight inside one of San Jose’s historic venues, Trinity Cathedral. untitled composition for piano, field recordings, sine waves by Olivia Block, Possible Landscape (for Donald Judd) by Steve Roden, and Untitled by Stephen Vitiello and Molly Berg . For other nighttime events check out the live cinema at Empire Drive-In, Randall Packer’s multimedia opera A Season in Hell , and KarmetIK’s symbiotic Robotic/Human Ensemble in collaboration with Abhinaya Dance Company.

9. Workshops and artist talks

At the heart of 01SJ is the artists, of course, and many of them will be participating in an artist talk series beginning Tuesday, September7, through Sunday, September 19. The full schedule is here. And you can do more than listen to many of the artists, as enlightening as that can be. Many are offering hands-on workshops open to the public from a barn raising to a biodiesel bus tour of San Jose’s urban orchards and farms to DIY solar sculptures to a youth workshop on future sounds to Imaginary Airforce Flight Attendant Training and much more. The complete listing of workshops is here.

10. Help 01SJ to continue

The 01SJ Biennial is one of very few similar events in North America. ZER01 receives very little support from government sources, unlike similar events in Europe, South America, and Asia. Help this important event to continue by chipping in whatever you can. Every $5 helps. Donate here.

Above all, come and visit. Tickets are online here.

See you in San Jose @01SJ.

The Department of Urban Development, Taipei City Government (DUD) along with the Bureau of High Speed Rail, MOTC is holding an international competition that invites art consultation / advisory teams to submit artist proposals for a public art installation project, to correspond with the “Bureau of High Speed Rail, MOTC Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Access MRT System Construction Project.” The selected art installation project will be located somewhere along the new airport MRT route—the specific location to be determined by the artist. The project seeks a design that will be consistent with its surrounding site and that takes into consideration visual movement, public open space, and interaction between people and public art. The airport route serves as a unique platform for the artwork to be seen by a large range of people and the competition offers an amazing opportunity to truly express the meaning of public art.

More Information: Please refer to the DUD website (http://www.udd.taipei.gov.tw/) or the tendering notice on the Council for Cultural Affairs’ public art website (publicart.cca.gov.tw).
Contact: Miss Rou-lan Hung in the Urban Design Division
ruolan@udd.taipei.gov.tw
886-2-27258285 (Phone)
886-2-27593318 (Fax).

Photo: Stephen Vitiello

From:     Stephen Vitiello
Subject:     Re: financial update (so far)
Date:     October 14, 2009 11:18:29 AM CDT
To:     Steve Dietz
Cc:     Matt Flowers

Photo: Stephen Vitiello

no NL to be seen. We went to visit this guy Stu Ross last night. We paid him $40 each for an evening at his cabin. Not to sleep but to have a sort of speed-education in the Northern Lights, as well as a slide show and then access to his lakefront view to the sky. He does these “Aurora Tours” which have produced incredible photographs. The tourism brochures and websites make it seem like you just come here and the sky is filled with color but that’s not always true at all. He said on a great year, you may see lights 20 nights out of the month on the ‘peak’ months. This was predicted to be a big year and season for the lights but the predictions haven’t come true. He’s barely seen anything and nothing in the last week at all. It sounds like 2012 is supposed to be the high-point on the 12-year cycle. We took lots of pictures. There was too much interference from phone lines to do VLF recordings but there’s one spot I can return to today to do those. Stu said that there’s a chance of NL activity tonight but it may be too cloudy to see – prediction is for snow today, rain and snow tomorrow. If it looks good, he’ll call us and we’ll jump in the car. Otherwise, we may go close to his place without paying him and just get our last shots tonight. Matt stays for one extra night. I can certainly make something but it’s more of a “waiting for the lights” piece. Sadly, Fort McMurray is not a pretty town at all but if you go 30 minutes out on the lake, where Stu lives is at least more rural, charming and dark at night. best, Stephen

See Looking for aurora borealis.

Deadline

Monday, November 16, 2009

Application Online

Go to http://northern.lights.mn/aov2/apply

Informational Meetings

An informational session (optional) will be held Friday, October 9 at 12:30 pm in the Influx room at the Regis Center, U of M, Monday, October 26 at 12:00 pm in the small auditorium at MCAD, and Tuesday, October 27 at 1:00 pm at Common Roots in the Common Room.  Additional dates and times for informational meetings will be announced soon. Sign up for the Northern Lights newsletter or subscribe to the Public Address blog to ensure you are notified.

Art(ists) on the Verge Background

In 2008-2009, the Jerome Foundation partnered with Northern Lights to commission six new works by Minnesota-based emerging artists. For more information about the first AOV program, see http://northern.lights.mn/programs/aov1/ and related pages. The AOV2 program is based on the experience of and lessons learned from the first Art(ists) On the Verge program, and its core goal remains to support network-based, experimental art practice by Minnesota-based emerging artists with the following key elements: critical support and evaluation, monetary and technical resources, audience development through presentation and exhibition, and institutional recognition.

AOV2 Fellowship Program

A total of five $5,000 commissions will be awarded with some additional support for technical development and public presentation available.  Each commissioned artist or artist group will participate in an intensive 9-month fellowship program from January 2010 to September 2010, culminating in programming and exhibition opportunities at the Spark Festival in October 5-10, 2010. The fellowship program will consist of several elements:

• At least monthly meetings with individually selected mentor/advisors
• Every other month meetings of all fellows with guest speakers covering specific topics such from determining your technical specifications to marketing and promotion to installation planning, as well as topics to be determined by the group
• Every other month meetings of all fellows with Northern Lights’ Artistic Director and guest critics to be determined.
• At least two formal critique sessions with outside evaluators
• Participation in at least one public prototyping opportunity
• Co-organizing bi-monthly programs open to the public

Participation in the fellowship programming is not optional and can only be done in person.

“Exhibition”

The AOV2 Fellowship is not a research grant per se. It is expected that all AOV2 Fellows will publicly exhibit or otherwise present a final project as part of the Spark Festival October 5-10, 2010. Other options are acceptable upon consultation. Limited funding is available for public exhibition or presentation.

AOV2 Project Criteria

AOV2 is for artists or artist groups working experimentally at the intersection of art, technology, and digital culture with a focus on network-based practices that are interactive and/or participatory.

• Experimental. How does your proposed project fall outside – or straddle – traditional and discipline-based notions of art practice? Note. This is not a research grant and personal experimentation with a practice that is new to you does not in itself constitute experimental practice.
• Intersection of art, technology and digital culture. This grant is not for software development per se, and your practice should incorporate technology in a meaningful way. It does not have to be “new” technology, but if your technology is the pencil, it should be an innovative use. “Art” is broadly defined in relation to digital culture. For example, video games or Twitter can be your art, and/or you can eschew the term art for a broader concept of cultural production.
• Network-based practices. Primarily, this means the Internet and any related or dependent platform or protocol from Second Life to Facebook to FTP. Your project does not have to be network exclusive, however, and we encourage hybridity, particularly in relation to physical public space.
• Interactive and/or participatory. Your project should have some significant, dynamic component to it, which is not fixed.

The goal of the AOV2 fellowships is not to be prescriptive but to support artists’ practice that often falls between the cracks of traditional programming opportunities. We’re convincible. However, AOV2 is not a program in which technology is used to expand upon, distribute or document work in other disciplines.

Eligibility

Applicants must be:

• Minnesota residents at the time of application and during the fellowship program, January 2010 – September 2010.
• Considered an emerging artist. An emerging artist shows significant potential, yet is under-recognized by peers, curators, producers, critics and administrators. Evidence of some professional achievement is expected, but not an extensive record of accomplishment. Full-time students are not eligible, with one exception. If an artist enrolls in an undergraduate or graduate degree program or takes classes while maintaining a current and active professional practice of creating and presenting work to the public, she/he is eligible. Artists may be supported as individuals or as equal collaborators.
• Committed to participating fully and regularly in the fellowship program.

Selection Process

Artist proposals are sought through an open call.

Jury

A jury consisting of Darsie Alexander, Chief Curator, Walker Art Center, Steve Dietz, Artistic Director, Northern Lights, and Kathleen Forde, Curator for Time-Based Arts at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) in Troy, NY, will make the final selection. Five projects will be selected by the jury.

Evaluation

Proposals will be evaluated primarily based on their excellence and applicability to the program (see “Project Criteria”). In addition, each proposal should demonstrate and will be evaluated on:

• Quality of past work as demonstrated through work samples. Note, this does not mean that the artist is required to be expert in all the technology or fields required to successfully complete the project.
• Ability to artistically accomplish in a timely manner an artwork for public presentation as demonstrated in prior work
• Articulated interest in participating in a creative and critical process with peers and mentors. Note, it is acceptable but not required to have a mentor in mind you would like to work with. Mentors receive a small honorarium for their participation.

Notification

Selections will be announced by December 15, 2009.

Checklist for AOV2 Application

(Include all of the following. All files should be sent as .PDF files.)

• Artist Statement
• Proposal
• Work samples descriptions and URLs
• Bio + Résumé
• Budget and Timeline
• References (optional but recommended)

Artist Statement

Your Artist Statement (2 pages max) should articulate both your interest in participating in an intensive fellowship program and how your artistic goals match the program criteria.

Project Proposal

Your project proposal (2 pages max) should discuss your project’s core concept, your approach to realizing it, the kind of support you think you will need, and what the public outcome will be. The project proposal should be as specific as possible about goals and outcomes. It is less critical to know exactly how these will be accomplished. In any case, the project proposal is considered a starting point, and we recognize that it may change radically over the course of the Fellowship.

Work Samples List

Provide a list of your work samples with title, date, medium, link, and a brief description for each sample.

All work samples should be accessible via the web. They can take any form, as long as they are accessible via the web. You may include up to 8 minutes of work samples. Note: more is not necessarily better, and you should include only work samples relevant to your proposal. If one of your work samples is a website, include specific pages to view and how to navigate to them, if there is no direct URL.

Bio + Résumé

Include a short narrative bio, 150 words max, as well as a complete resume of exhibitions and related work. If you are applying as a collaborative, include résumés of all involved equal collaborators, noting the role of each person’s involvement in this work (no more than 2 pages per person.) You do not need to but may include the names of supporting collaborators, such as a programmer or performer, for example. Note: In the case of collaboratives, the artist honorarium will be split amongst the collaborators, and all equal collaborators need to participate in the Fellowship programming.

Budget and Timeline

Include your best estimate of a production timeline and project budget, which can include your own fee. The budget is not determinative, and both it and the timeline can and probably will change, but the scope should roughly match the resources and timeline of the Fellowship program.

References

References are optional. Include up to three letters of reference. The references are most useful in relation your ability to work in a collaborative environment and follow through on commitments. Your works samples will be your primary indicators of artistic excellence. Ask your references to write about their experience with your process and their estimation of your ability to benefit from the AOV2 program. Actual letters should be provided.

Contact

Email AOV[at]northern[dot]lights[dot]mn with any questions.

Support

Photo: Stephen Vitiello

Northern Lights has commissioned renowned sound artist Stephen Vitiello to create a new multimedia work based on Very Low Frequency (VLF) recordings and filming of the aurora borealis. Last week, Stephen traveled with cinematographer Matt Flowers to Fort McMurray, in Alberta, Canada.

From: Stephen Vitiello
Subject:     report so far
Date:     October 12, 2009 12:33:32 PM CDT
To:     Steve Dietz

Stephen Vitiello. Photo: Matt Flowers

Hi Steve, just thought I’d give you a report. So far, so good. No Aurora but lights from rainbows, oil refineries and cars approaching on a quiet road at night. As we left Calgary, a wolf was running along the side of the runway, just before the plane took off. It’s cold – generally about 20-30 degrees F. Yesterday it snowed some. We feel like we’re just getting a feel of the place. Today is Thanksgiving here so it’s very quiet. Fort McMurray is a strange town. When I told the customs agent where I was going, he sort of laughed. Maybe it’s like telling someone you’re going on vacation to New Jersey. The sky is supposed to clear up by tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll see something great.

Photo: Stephen Vitiello

Photo: Matt Flowers

Information session – Influx, Regis Center, Univeristy of MN at 12 30 pm this Friday, October 9. Everyone welcome.

“During their September 24, 2009, meeting, the Directors of Jerome Foundation awarded a one-year grant … to Northern Lights in support of the Art(ists) on the Verge Fellowship/Commissioning Program for emerging Minnesota artists working at the intersection of art, media, technology and social practice.”

Thank you Jerome Foundation. A full call will be sent out in the next few days. A sneak peak is here. Past AOV grantees here.

Last Sunday, ON SAN FERNANDO, Arcangel Constantini "activated" Brendan Rawson of 1stACT, DJ Tommy Aguilar, and artist Pilar Aguero-Esparza with his electro-shock art "icpiticayotl", which ZER01 presented at the Mariachi Festival. Propose your own activation project on San Fernando.

GENERAL INFORMATION

San Jose Public Art and ZER01 invite artists to submit qualifications and letters of interest to install temporary artworks on the San Fernando Street corridor in Downtown San Jose. These artworks will be installed in June 2010, be a feature of the 3rd 01SJ Biennial (September 15-19, 2010) and will continue their display through October 2010.

PROJECT BUDGET: Varies depending on site. See complete RFQ for details at http://www.sanjoseculture.org/?pid=4500

ARTIST ELIGIBILITY: U.S. residents are invited to apply, or those who have a US Social Security or Tax Identification Number by the application deadline.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Submissions (described below) must be received as a complete application in CaFÉ™ by no later than 12 midnight Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) on Thursday, October 8, 2009.

APPLICATION PROCESS: All materials will be submitted online, via CaFÉ™ website (www.callforentry.org). There is no application fee to apply or to use the CaFÉ™ online application system. To view the application, go to www.callforentry.org, register a username and password, navigate to “Apply to Calls”, and search the list for “City of San Jose – San Fernando Corridor Project”.

Andréa Stanislav, Ghost Siege, 2009, 70 ft L x 70 ft W x 22 ft H, steel, nylon, sound. Socrates Sculpture Park, NYC, NY. Photo courtesy the artist.

Andréa Stanislav’s Ghost Siege opened Sunday, September, 13th at Socrates Sculpture Park, NYC, NY as part of the Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition.

A site specific installation/formation of ghost flags comprised of 50 strategically located flag sculptures, made from reflective silver fabric, and steel flag poles. The flags have no markings or signifiers of conquest or elements of communication.  Instead, the flags serve notice that the location has been conquered by time.

Opening Day Performance

Set within Ghost Siege, dancer/choreographer Leah Schrager will dance to music composed by Kenny Aronoff, preeminent drummer and percussionist.

Ghost Siege from Leah S on Vimeo.

Each year, EAF artists are awarded a grant and a residency in the Park’s outdoor studio and are also provided with technical support and access to tools, materials and equipment to facilitate the production of new sculptures and installations for exhibition in the Park.  The artists develop their projects throughout the summer in the open studio and on site in the landscape, offering visitors the opportunity to experience both the creation and presentation of their works.  Representing a broad range of materials, working methods and subject matter, the diverse sculptural works in this exhibition are presented against the Park’s spectacular waterfront view of the Manhattan skyline.

Adriene Jenik, SPECFLIC 2.0, part of the 1st 01SJ Biennial, 2006, San Jose Public Library, San Fernando and 4th St.

For Artists

San Fernando Corridor Project – Request for Qualifications
San Jose Public Art and ZER01 invite artists to submit qualifications and letters of interest to install temporary artworks on the San Fernando Street corridor in Downtown San Jose. These artworks will be installed in June 2010, be a feature of the 3rd 01SJ Biennial (September 15-19, 2010) and will be continue their display through October 2010.

Background: San Fernando Street
San Fernando Street is a significant east/west corridor through downtown San Jose that connects Diridon Station, the major train, light rail and bus center on the west side of downtown; continues through the sports, retail and cultural district; and defines the north side of San Jose State University at downtown’s east edge. The street passes from the station, beneath State Highway 87 and over the Guadalupe River before entering the downtown core. As such, the street offers a variety of opportunities for the creation of artworks in different media ranging from static to electronic, sound, projection, light-based, interactive and mobile or networked. The artworks will be accessible to anyone who works, lives or visits downtown San Jose.

Background: 2010 3rd 01SJ Biennial
The 3rd 01SJ Biennial will take place September 15-19, 2010, throughout San Jose and Silicon Valley. Its theme, “Build Your Own World,” is about how powerful ideas and innovative individuals from around the world can make a difference and come together to build a unique, city-wide platform for creative solutions and public engagement. It is about the inspiration needed to build a world we want to live in and are able to live with. The 2010 01SJ Biennial is predicated on the notion that as artists, designers, engineers, architects, marketers, corporations and citizens we have the tools to (re)build the world, conceptually and actually, virtually and physically, poorly and better, aesthetically and pragmatically, in both large and small ways.

PROJECT BUDGETS: Vary depending on site

ARTIST ELIGIBILITY: U.S. residents are invited to apply, or those who have a US Social Security or Tax Identification Number by the application deadline.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Submissions (described below) must be received as a complete application in CaFÉ™ by no later than 12 midnight Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) on Thursday, October 8, 2009.

APPLICATION PROCESS: All materials will be submitted online, via CaFÉ™ website (www.callforentry.org). There is no application fee to apply or to use the CaFÉ™ online application system. To view the application, go to www.callforentry.org, register a username and password, navigate to “Apply to Calls”, and search the list for “City of San Jose – San Fernando Corridor Project”.

For full details and application process read the Request for Qualifications.

DOCUMENTS FOR REFERENCE IN APPLYING FOR PROJECTS WITH THE CITY OF SAN JOSE PUBLIC ART PROGRAM

Design Contract – Boilerplate (PDF)

Fabrication Contract – Boilerplate (PDF)

City of San Jose Standard Specifications (External)

http://zero1.org/press/releases/banff-zero1-sundance

The timeframe for applications is short – due August 3 – but the opportunity for a residency and technical support to produce a new work to be shown at the 2010 01SJ Biennial, the 2011 Sundance Festival, and the 2011 Banff Summer Arts Festvial is enormous. Please distribute widely.

For more information on the Locative Cinema Commission: http://zero1.org/01sj/lccall

San Jose, Calif. – July 8, 2009 ―The Banff New Media Institute at The Banff Centre, ZER01: The Art and Technology Network, and Sundance Institute’s New Frontier initiative today announced the formation of The Locative Cinema Commission, a joint venture to stimulate and showcase the creation of a locative cinema project. The Commission is presently soliciting proposals. The chosen artist or artists will realize their proposed project during a residency at The Banff Centre, to be completed by July 2010. They will also receive a $4,500 (four-thousand five hundred dollar) commissioning fee, related production funds, and will present their work at the 2010 01SJ Biennial from September 15 – 19, the 2011 edition of New Frontier at the Sundance Film Festival from January 20-30, and the 2011 Banff Summer Arts Festival.

“ZER01, Sundance Institute and the Banff New Media Institute all have proven commitment to supporting emerging forms of creative practice,” said Susan Kennard, Director and Executive Producer at The Banff New Media Institute. “It is our hope that this collaboration will inspire the creation of a dynamic new work that can be exhibited to wide and diverse audiences in San Jose, Park City, and Banff and excite the public about changing ways to experience art.”

The purpose of this commission is to use “locative cinema” as an apparatus through which artists can share their vision using place in ways that are both specific and generic, or at least transferable. The Commission understands the notion of “locative cinema” as a platform-agnostic apparatus through which artists share their vision of place. Any variation on how to present an artist’s work will be considered, from cell phones to the black box of the cinema, from mixed reality to street theatre, from GPS to handhelds, from distributed to ambient. Proposals will be evaluated on their ability to engage people using place as a key element of the experience. The chosen project will receive a $4,500 commissioning fee a residency in Banff with up to $5,000 in related costs, and technical support from the Banff New Media Institute. Reasonable presentation costs, including necessary travel, will also be covered. The final project will be presented in San Jose, California, Banff, Canada, and Park City, Utah, and therefore must be realizable in those locations.

Proposals will be accepted until August 3, 2009, and must include a conceptual proposal describing the relationship of the project to the place, a technical proposal outlining the basic parameters of the project, and strategies for problem solving during the residency. Other requirements include a budget, list of collaborators, links to examples of related past work, and resumes of key personnel.

More information and specific application details are available at http://zero1.org/01sj/LCcall.

Abigail + Michael Mouw (left) at Art-a-Whirl

We demonstrated ideas for our artists’ iPhone/iPod Touch app at Art-A-Whirl in Minneapolis, during the weekend of May 15-17. Approximately 35,000 artists and supporters attend this open studio event in the northeast warehouse district.

Artists iPhone app Goal

We are artists-in-virtual-residence at Northern Lights and mnartists.org, as both organizations are providing the virtual studio space that will allow us to create an iPhone/iPod Touch app. Our goal for the app is to connect artists and arts supporters in Minneapolis-St. Paul to public art in our area. We hope the app will allow users to identify their favorite public art, locate it on a map, and share thoughts and feelings with each other about the work. We hope to launch a free app through Apple’s iTunes store in spring 2010.

Feedback from Art-A-Whirl attendees

Art-A-Whirl was an excellent venue to discuss ideas around our app-in-progress. Our target audience of local artists and supporters were in attendance. They responded positively to the concept, and understood the wide appeal of an app that runs on the iPod Touch, which works on any wireless network, and doesn’t need a phone contract. The positive potential of the app for the local arts community was communicated through the informal front-end testing of our concept.

The new art project on the Berlin Underground, U10 – from here to the imaginary and back again, sets a focus on the social and collaborative dimension of public art.

Artists or collaborative groups of artists and non-artists are invited to take part in this call for submissions. Preference will be given to artists who see their work as a means of exchange and shared dialogue and who are interested in reaching new audiences. This may include a readiness to collaborate with, for example, groups of BVG staff or passengers who have little experience of contemporary art. The organisers cannot take part in the call themselves. The U10 project will run for a maximum of 3 years.

The organisers are looking for situation specific and/or participatory projects which focus on the Berlin Underground and its staff and/or users. They can range from being short, interventionistic artistic reactions to specific occurrences on the Underground to being long term collaborations. The competition sees members of staff, passengers, kiosk and snack bar owners, buskers and ticket traders not only as a potential audience but also as potential collaborators on a joint research of the Berlin Underground.

Run by Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst (NBGK) Berlin, in collaboration with the Berlin Underground Train Network (BVG), financed by Berlin Council’s Department of Culture and supported by Wall AG.

via actuphoto

“Increasingly, people working in diverse aspects of contemporary urban society, from developers to park wardens, are turning to the arts for new ideas, regeneration, problem solving and community bridge building. The employment of artists in these (traditionally non-cultural) fields, where there are other non-art issues and agendas at stake, is becoming the norm. This manifesto is a chance for you to address the uncertainties of commissioning art in areas of urban change, discuss crucial concerns, and devise tangible solutions, knowing they will be presented to key decision makers.”

The manifesto includes thoughtfully pragmatic advice for all parties in the process of commissioning, creating, producing, and presenting art in and for the public sphere and is divided into six sections:

• The Commissioning Process
• The Artist
• The Curator
• The Community
• The Art
• The Evaluation

The wiki also incluses a list of resources and links to other manifestos, such as Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ 1969 “Maintenance Art—Proposal for an Exhibition. [pdf]

The introduction to the project and manifesto is here. Add your experiences and opinions to the wiki here (registration required).

via Marking Place

Deadline for applications: Monday 2nd March 2009

Folly, a leading digital arts organisation, and Lanternhouse International are pleased to be seeking new applications for the Digital Artist Residency Scheme 2009.

The scheme will be of particular interest to established digital artists seeking time and space to develop new works, research innovative ideas, make new connections and explore technique or production.

Based at The National Creation Centre on the edge of the beautiful Lake District in Cumbria, UK, successful artists will be offered accommodation and a flexible and open-ended opportunity to push their work forward and creatively engage with the two partner organisations.

We are seeking innovative and experimental artists who are naturally collaborative and interested in leaving a local legacy through participatory activity.

See http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.folly.co.uk%2Fclick%2F1355%2F2

Applications for will be accepted until midnight April 2, 2009.
To apply and for more information: http://www.rhizome.org/commissions

In the 2010 cycle, Rhizome will award nine grants total. Seven of
these will be selected by a jury and  two will be determined by
Rhizome’s membership through an open vote. Reflective of Rhizome’s
commitment to openness and community, this unique process encourages
dialogue among artists and participants and provides members with the
opportunity to survey the current field of practice.

Member voting will begin on April 6th.
Information on Rhizome membership is here:
http://rhizome.org/support/individual.php

The Rhizome Commissions program is supported, in part, by funds from
the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Jerome Foundation,
the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State
Council on the Arts, a state agency, and the Rockefeller Foundation’s
NYC Cultural Innovation Fund. Additional support is provided by
generous individuals and Rhizome Members.