Saturday, October 23, 2010

Brooke Foy's 'Tall Tales' Dedication Ceremony

Congratulations to Ms. Brooke Foy on the completion of her concrete book maze titled 'Tall Tales'. The life size concrete books were recently installed behind the Cordova Branch Library by Brooke and her team of helpers. It will serve as an interactive art piece for people of all ages, so check it out! Thanks for helping make Memphis BEAUTIFUL, Brooke!

Photos are on our Facebook page!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Moveable Collection Tours and Dedication of Court Avenue Bridge Public Art

MEMPHIS, TN- The UrbanArt Commission and the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphrey’s School of Law are co-hosting a special event on Thursday, October 22 from 6 to 8 PM.

Guided tours of UrbanArt's Moveable Art Collection on display in the new law school will be followed by a dedication ceremony honoring Cameron McNall and Damon Seeley of Electroland studio, the designers of the light display on the Court Avenue Bridge.

There will be a reception held in the law school with guided tours at 6:15p and 6:30p. At 7p the event will move to the back terrace of the law school to celebrate the public art project.

The mission of the UrbanArt Commission (501c3) is to enhance the cultural vibrancy of our community through the development of public art. UrbanArt is funded in part by the City of Memphis, ArtsMemphis, and the Tennessee Arts Commission.

Call to Artists! Broad Avenue DIY Sculpture Garden 19-20 NOV 10

Site and Project Descriptions:
The Historic Broad Business Association and Livable Memphis are offering artists the opportunity to create a DIY Sculpture Garden.  The Sculpture Garden will be open to the public and a featured exhibit during the “A New Face for an Old Broad” event on November 19 and 20.

The Sculpture Garden will be located in a secure area on Broad Avenue between Bingham and Collins.  The area is a fenced yard, but is accessible to the public from the street.   The event is expected to draw between 3,000 – 5,000 people over the two days. 

Memphians can see and enjoy the future when the Historic Broad Business Association and Livable Memphis bring their vision for the arts district and livable communities into existence for these two days.

To create an urban facelift, the current artist studios, galleries and restaurants will be joined by additional retail, food, art and activities that will be housed in the current vacant buildings along Broad Avenue.  In addition, bike lanes and greenscapes will magically appear when the street is temporarily repainted and planted for the event.  The purpose of the event is to create a 'Main Street' design that encourages bike and pedestrian traffic – thus being a role model for those seeking to create more livable neighborhoods.

Scope of Work:
The sculpture must be appropriate for all ages and able to be safely displayed outside in various weather conditions.  Artists may decorate their immediate area as they desire, list their sculpture for sale and be present during the event to solicit commission work.  Artists may exhibit a piece of sculpture from their current portfolio or create something new.  Given the nature of the event, sculpture that complements the themes of the event (biking and walking communities) will be given premium positioning and might be used in publicity for the event – with credit given to the artist.

The artist is responsible for the installation of the sculpture on Thursday, November 18 (3 – 7 pm) or Friday, November 19 (9am – noon).  Artists may pick up their respective sculpture on Sunday, November 21 (10am – 2pm).  Neither the Historic Broad Business Association nor Livable Memphis assumes any responsibility for theft or damage to the sculpture during the event.  However, please note that the DIY Sculpture Garden will be locked after hours. 

Deadline: 4P Friday 05 November 2010
Eligibility: Open

Guidelines:
Please submit the following:
• DIGITAL image(s) of the sculpture you will place in the garden during the event. 
• Image identification sheet with name of piece, materials and retail price (if you want to list the sculpture for sale).

Email to:
TCliftonArt@comcast.net
Subject – sculpture park

For more information contact:
Pat Brown, Historic Broad Business Association
tcliftonart@comcast.net

All requests to participate must be received by 4P Friday 05 November 2010.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Get Lost in Books!


SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2010
Contact: Rodney Coleman, (901)454-0474
    
   Tall Tales Dedication Ceremony
  Saturday, October 16th , Cordova Branch Library: The Urban Art Commission presents Brooke Foy’s recently installed maze-sculpture, Tall Tales at the Cordova Branch Library at 2123 Trinity Road. The ceremony begins at 10:30 AM.
  Have you ever dreamed of flying to Neverland with Peter and Wendy? Or imagined tiptoeing through the Secret Garden like Mary? Maybe you’ve even tried climbing into a wardrobe in search of a magic world on the other side?
  Now, you can let your imagination run wild at the Cordova Branch Library with Brooke Foy’s newest sculpture, Tall Tales. The recently completed installation is a maze of life-sized concrete books spanning a 1,000 square ft. space behind the library. Each colorful book makes up the walls to the maze and 19 tile book titles grace the covers of the gigantic book structures. Both children and adults are sure to enjoy climbing, standing, and sitting on the gigantic books in the safety-surfaced playground.
  The artist Brooke Foy is a native of Lafayette, Louisiana. She received her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from the University of Louisiana, Monroe, and is a recent graduate of the University of Memphis with a Master’s of Fine Arts in sculpture.
  The Cordova Branch Library and the Bert Ferguson Community Center are epicenters of activity for people from ages 3 to 63. The sites offer a plethora of educational, art and exercise programs to everyone in the community. With the library providing a quiet place to study or get lost in a novel, there is no better place to have a community sculpture for all to enjoy. The once empty lot has been transformed into an aesthetically pleasing neighborhood landmark thanks to Brooke Foy’s Tall Tale book maze.
   The mission of the UrbanArt Commission (501c3) is to enhance the cultural vibrancy of our community through the development of public art.


Monday, October 11, 2010

Charjean Park RFQ

UrbanArt Request for Qualifications for Charjean Park

Site and Project Descriptions:
UrbanArt and the City of Memphis are commissioning a work of public art for Charjean Park located on Ketchum Rd at Crosby near Airways Blvd and I-240. This park can be seen from the I-240 Expressway.
Artists will be selected based on previous experience with the design and production of exterior public art sculptures. Artists are also expected to have the technical capabilities to design and install such projects, including providing maintenance instructions. The finished project must require little to no regular maintenance.

Scope of Work:
The selection committee is interested in proposals that create a wayfinding system that will be placed around the walking trail for children that are utilizing the park from Airways Middle School and the nearby neighborhood. The wayfinding system should include inspirational/motivational slogans or quotes that promote success and leadership. Final artwork should compliment the characteristics and neighborhood identity of the site. The artist selected shall be expected to conduct community workshops with the general public for education purposes, as well as collaborate closely with site architects and designers. Note that artists are permitted to work with outside contractors to fabricate the actual work.
The selection committee will select 3 finalists based on their qualifications, and interview each individually before selecting 1 artist (or artist team). Finalists will receive $1,500 for a design proposal, which will be discussed in the interview.

Budget: $59,250
Deadline: 4P Friday 05 November 2010
Eligibility: Local: Artists living in Memphis or Shelby County for 2 years

Guidelines:
Please see http://www.urbanartcommission.org/sampledocuments.html, particularly the UrbanArt Artist Handbook, for more information about applying to UrbanArt projects and how the selection process works.
Please submit the following:
• Typed, one-page letter of interest noting the project for which you are applying. Explain your interest and your general approach to its design and production. Note: this should not take the form of a formal design proposal, but rather a description of your methods for producing a design and finished project if selected.
• Résumé, not to exceed 2 pages.
• Recent DIGITAL images of your work that are relevant to this project and are good representations of your style of work. Send up to 10 digital images in JPEG format, 1920 pixels maximum on the longest side, 72 dpi, with compression settings resulting in the best image quality under 2MB file size.
• Image identification sheet with location, brief description, and project budget.
• List of three professional references, including current phone and email.
• Optional: Self-addressed, stamped envelope with postage sufficient for the return of your materials. Materials will not be returned without one.

Send applications to:
UrbanArt Commission
Attn: Charjean Park
2549 Broad Avenue
Memphis, TN 38112

For more information contact:
Tiena Gwin, Projects Manager
(901) 454-0474 / tgwin@urbanartcommission.org

All proposals must be received by 4P Friday 05 November 2010.

To ensure fairness to all, there are no extensions or waivers of deadlines.
Applicants will be notified by letter as to the status of their application.
Commissioning of artists by UrbanArt and the pursuit of all UrbanArt activities are
implemented without preference to racial or ethnic origins, gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, disability or age.  UrbanArt reserves the right to modify this solicitation and to request additional information or proposals from any or all participating artists.
UrbanArt reserves the right to accept or reject, at any time prior to the commissioning of a work, any or all proposals when the acceptance, rejection, waiver or advertisement would be in the best interest of the project. In addition, UrbanArt may solicit proposals from artists not responding to this call and reserves the right to select an artist outside of the pool of artists responding to this call.The staff of UrbanArt shall be responsible for all correspondence and communication by and between applicants and members of selection panels. Discussion regarding these projects by and between any applicant and any member of a selection panel outside of regularly scheduled meetings during the selection process may be grounds for the disqualification of the applicant. Such determination shall be in the sole discretion of UrbanArt.

 











Thursday, October 7, 2010

Come out to UrbanArt tomorrow from 6-8p for Gadsby Creson's exhibition of 40 bike rack maquettes!