More UrbanArt Commission 10th Anniversary Projects!

University of Memphis MFA student Chandler Pritchett will be bringing fine art into the realm of commercial culture with her newest watercolor installation at the Center City Commission. As part of the UrbanArt Commission’s 10th Anniversary temporary exhibition Interactions/Interruptions, these watercolor paintings, along with the free postcards that are distributed at the site, will be on display at the Center City Commission office at 114 N. Main Street through May 23rd, 2008.

Also in celebration of the UAC’s 10th Anniversary are the performance art pieces of Delbert Sisk. Beginning at noon every afternoon, Sisk’s performances will continue through the month of March. As the artist stands in front of historical statues and carries out “interactions” with them in various parks throughout the city, he brings a sense of humor and life to the unresponsive statues. Sisk’s final week of performances will be at Overton Park from March 25th through the 31st.

For more information please contact Elizabeth Alley at 901-525-0880, or visit our website at www.urbanartcommission.org.

Art Opportunity for TN, AR, & MS Artists

Countrywood/Fletcher Creek Park
Memphis, TN
Deadline: 5/7/08

The UrbanArt Commission (UAC) is seeking an artist to create a fun and unique public art enhancement for Countrywood Park, soon to be renamed Fletcher Creek Park. The top three residential priorities for the installation include: promoting community interaction and bringing people of all ages together, linking the project with the surrounding environment, and including an innovative educational aspect. The location within the park and nature of the enhancement is to be left up to the artist.

The budget for this artwork is $50,000. All artists who live in the tri-state area, which includes Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi, are invited to submit their proposals by 4:00 PM on Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Also, a workshop will be held at the UrbanArt Commission office at 8 S. Third St., Suite 100 at 5:30 PM, Monday, April 7, and is open to all artists who wish to learn more about the project and its guidelines.

The full guidelines for proposals can be found on the UAC website, www.urbanartcommission.org, or by calling Laura Caroline Johnson, Project Coordinator, at 901-525-0880.

Please Join Us

Library Panel Discussion
The UrbanArt Commission’s First Project: The Central Library
March 25, 2008
5:30 PM
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library

The UrbanArt Commission began in late 1997 to administer what is still one of its largest projects to date, the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library. On Tuesday, March 25 at 5:30 PM, the Central Library will host a panel discussion about the library as the UAC’s first project. The panel will include former executive director Carissa Hussong, artist Nancy Cheairs, artist Jeane Umbreit and others. The program includes a slide presentation of the artwork at the Central Library, plus discussion of how the project started and how it spurred the development of the UAC, how the artists were selected, and what it was like for artists to work with architects for the first time.

This panel discussion is happening in conjunction with the exhibit, 10 Years of Public Art in Public Libraries, which takes a look back at drawings and models from projects the UAC has done in City of Memphis libraries, on view March 3-31.

For more information please contact: Elizabeth Alley, 901-525-0880. For more information on our 10th Anniversary, please visit our website.

Cool Possible Public Art Material

From Cool Hunting:

Mixing glow-in-the-dark particles with flooring materials, the Dutch company S. Lövenstein BV created one of those no-fuss design fixes that improves safety and convenience. The substance has limitless applications for things like signage or guide strips with the ability to be evenly and seamlessly distributed throughout a surface and masked into shapes and patterns. Integrated with contrasting colors, it serves a purpose in both light and darkness or it can be used strategically so that it only shows up when the lights are off—making it particularly useful in emergency situations. Maintenance free, it's a far superior alternative to complicated lighting systems that need energy and require wiring.

Call to Artists for Austin, TX

Austin Art in Public Places is pleased to announce a new public art opportunity for the
Municipal Court/Police Substation Project.

Public Art Budget: $210,000

Deadline to Submit Statement of Intent with Qualifications: May 2, 2008

Call to Artists and Application System for Austin Public Art (ASAP!) available at www.cityofaustin.org/aipp

The City of Austin Art in Public Places (AIPP) program of the Cultural Arts Division seeks to commission an artist or artist team to create art for the new Municipal Court/Police Substation facility. AIPP requests a statement of intent with qualifications from professional visual artists who live or work within the United States. Up to three finalists will be selected to travel to Austin to meet with the project team, learn about the site and artwork opportunities and present their qualifications to an interviewing panel. One artist or artist team will be selected for the project.

This facility will constitute an adaptive reuse of a former big box retail store located near IH-35 and St. Johns in North Central Austin, and will house the municipal court and also provide space for a police substation. The construction will be part of a design-build process, with the artist participating in the design process as it progresses. Multi-media, digital media and other innovative approaches are encouraged.

Positive Feedback for Blue Parkway

From the Commercial Appeal's letters to the editor:

It's the river. Get it?

A few people have noticed a change in Midtown -- hundreds of trees on the parkways wrapped in blue bands. This temporary public art project by Tad Lauritzen Wright, part of the UrbanArt Commission's 10th anniversary celebration, is intended to make people see the environment in a new way.

It is unfortunate that a few people jumped to conclusions without stopping to take a closer look at the work. Assuming the city was planning to remove the trees, one parkway resident started removing the blue bands. On South Parkway, Tad and his volunteer installation team were threatened and told to go back to Germantown. The artist and most of his team live in Midtown. Tad even spent the last few years living on North Parkway, a fact that helped inspire this project.

It does not take a lot of thought to figure out that the blue represents the river and that the artist wanted to bring the river into the city. Unless we live or work Downtown, we often forget that the river is there. But it is the reason all of us are here, regardless of where we live in the tri-state region.

The work also speaks to another key element that defines our city -- trees. The blue line highlights how many trees there are along the Parkways. I am glad someone cares enough about the trees to take action should they be threatened. But as a city of trees we are doing far too little to ensure that we have a healthy green canopy 20 years from now.

Many of our trees are at the end of their life cycles. If we don't take care of our existing trees and replace those that have died, we will lose a key part of what makes Memphis such a special place.

Carissa Hussong

Memphis

Night Shot

Call to Artists for Port of Los Angeles

THE PORT OF LOS ANGELES
CABRILLO WAY MARINA

PUBLIC ART OPPORTUNITY
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

DEADLINE APRIL 8, 2008

The Port of Los Angeles is seeking artists qualified to collaborate with the design team of EDAW Inc. to create a site specific permanent outdoor public art component within the scope of the Cabrillo Way Marina project, San Pedro, CA. The competition is open to professional artists who have the experience, vision and skills required to complete the commission within the aggressive time schedule to the highest standards of artistic innovation and technical expertise.

The budget for the commission is $250,000 and includes all costs associated with, but not limited to: artist’s design fees, project materials for fabrication, travel (once selected), insurance, engineering, installation and documentation.
Once artists are short-listed, a conceptual verbal description of your vision for the project will be required in the interview process.
For a full description of the RFQ, including Artist’s Scope of Work, Eligibility, Budget, Approach, Timeline, Selection Process and Criteria, Submission Requirements, and Contact Information go to: www.portoflosangeles.org.
DEADLINE APRIL 8, 2008

The entire RFQ is posted at the Port of Los Angeles website: www.portoflosangeles.org

Need additional information? Contact Fine Arts Services LLC: art@fineartsservices.com

Another View

Greely Myatt Temporary Project Installed

Cloudy Thoughts, at the northwest corner of Belvedere and Madison


















Another 10th Anniversary project.

Temporary Public Art in NYC

Read about this New York City Department of Transportation temporary project here.

Temporary Public Art Installed

Blue Parkway by Tad Lauritzen Wright


















part of the UAC's 10th Anniversary