Call to Artists and Designers:
Earthworks Tour Inaugural Ride

Industrial Designers, Fashion Designers, Landscape Designers, Performers, Musicians, Sound Artists, Visual Artists,  Literary Artists, Craftspeople and Makers

Honorariums for Temporary Projects:

Individual project amounts depending on proposal. Most project budgets will fall in the $150 - $1,000 range. Several projects will be funded.

Geographic Eligibility:

Artists and designers residing in Washington, Oregon and California are encouraged to apply. (Travel will not be reimbursed.)

Deadline:

Monday, April 30, 2012 (5:00pm delivery deadline)

Event Date:

Saturday, June 2, 2012 (participation required)

Project Description:

The City of Kent Arts Commission seeks Artists and Designers to participate in the Earthworks Tour Inaugural Ride. We seek to support and promote artistic expression as it relates to non-motorized transit and stormwater management. In particular, we are looking for handcrafted projects that reveal new forms, whether that is a low-impact vehicle prototype, a new approach to outerwear, a site-specific installation along the route, or another form of expression.

 

We wish to make the Earthworks Tour Inaugural Ride a memorable event by having artists and designers participate. Industrial Designers, Fashion Designers, Landscape Designers, Literary Artists,  Performers, Musicians, Sound Artists, Visual Artists, Craftspeople and Makers are all encouraged to apply. If your work doesn't fit under one of these labels, that's ok, just go ahead and submit your idea. 

Background information:

The City of Kent Arts Commission has received a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) Mayors’ Institute on City Design 25^th Anniversary Initiative to establish and promote the Earthworks Tour. This new bicycle route will connect the Herbert Bayer Earthwork, the Robert Morris Earthwork, the Green River Natural Resources Area and Lorna Jordan’s Waterworks Gardens. Additional project support is being provided by 4Culture’s SITE SPECIFIC program.

 

For more information about the Green River Valley Earthworks and the Earthworks Tour, please visit www.KentArts.org/earthworks.

Promotion:

The work of participating artists and designers will be featured on www.KentArts.org/earthworks; at https://www.facebook.com/greenriverearthworks; in press releases and reports to the NEA.

Selection Process:

A selection panel comprised of two design professionals, a member of the Kent Arts Commission, a Kent City Councilmember, and a City representative will review all eligible applications and will select participants based upon proposals.

Selection Criteria:

The selection panel will use the following criteria to select finalists for interviews:

• Artistic quality of the applicants’ past work as demonstrated in the submitted materials
• Past experience that is relevant to the commission
• Artistic strength of proposed idea
• Feasibility

Important Note about Feasibility: Please keep in mind that this is a big event with a small staff. Your project needs to be self-sufficient. All delivery, set-up, monitoring – whatever you might need – must be something that you can independently coordinate. During the two weeks prior to the event and especially on June 2, City Staff and volunteers will be busy ensuring that the general public enjoys the ride and will not be available to assist you with your project. If after carefully reading these materials, you have questions about what is possible, please contact Cheryl dos Remedios (info below).

 

If your project is selected, pre-event coordination will take place the week of May 7-11. An optional meeting for participating artists will take place on Thursday, May 10.

Event details

If your project is selected, please plan to attend in person.

 

There are 3 routes: Easy, Intermediate and Advanced. You can suggest a project that will happen on or alongside any of these routes. Here is the current map:

 

 

 

Regarding the "event choreography," we envision everyone gathering at the Herbert Bayer Earthworks at the start of the event. The Advanced Riders will leave first and head-over to the Morris Earthwork Hillclimb. The Easy and Intermediate Riders will go directly to the Green River Natural Resources Area (GRNRA). As the Advanced Riders join the rest of the group, we envision another all-group gathering happening at the (GRNRA). From there, some riders will head back to the Bayer Earthwork, while others will go on to Lorna Jordan's Waterworks Gardens. Riders will be free to enjoy the event at their own pace.

 

We envision some of the temporary projects happening as a part of the ride. If you are planning a trail-side performance, installation or other project that is separate from the ride iteself, we can finalize the location and timing of your project during the week of May 7-11 and/or during the pre-event coordination meeting on May 10. If you have ideas about where/when you'd like your project to happen, please suggest these possibilities in your application.

Artist/Designer Project Schedule [subject to change]:  

Deadline for entry: Monday, April 30, 2012 (5:00pm delivery deadline)

Selection Panel: first week of May

Notification: Friday, May 4 via email

Pre-event project coordination: May 7-11

Information meeting: Thursday, May 10, 3:30-5:00pm 

Agreements due: Monday, May 14

Earthworks Tour Inaugural Ride: June 2, 2012, 8:00-3:00pm or longer (depending on project)

Application Materials

• You can apply online or by post. Either way is fine.
• If you can easily direct us to online samples, go HERE to apply online.
• If you want to apply by mailing us your materials, here’s what we need you to mail:

A. Proposal 

A single page explaining what you want to do and any relevant experience. Include your contact information on this page.

Please note:

• We are interested in having the ride itself be artful with happenings along the way.
• Site Specific Installations could be on view for a longer period of time with advance coordination.
• Be sure to read the “Important Note about Feasibility” above –and- confirm that your project is feasible.

B. Budget  

State a flat fee amount for participating in the Inaugural Tour on June 2, including all materials and taxes.

 

For example, if you make a hand-crafted cycling accessory that you plan to demonstrate while you ride, you might request a $150 honorarium. If you have multiple projects that you can demonstrate but need to hire other riders to join you, your fee would be slightly higher. Be sure to give the panel options (ie: Budget #1: demonstrate 1 handcrafted cycling accessory @ $150; Budget #2: demonstrate 2 handcrafted cycling accessories @ $200; etc). This is just 1 example.

 

Please note:

• We hope to receive a wide variety of project proposals with a variety of budgets
• We are providing honorariums for participation in the event. We are not purchasing any items for a permanent collection.
• Full payment for participation will be issued within 30 days of the event.

C. Work samples  

Provide samples of past work related to your project proposal.  

 

Work samples may be submitted in a variety of standard formats (see descriptions below for Visual, Audio, Video and Textual Work Samples). Applicants can send work samples that include all three types. 

 

Visual Work Samples - Applicants can submit a minimum of 6 and up to 12 digital images on a

CD-R.  Label the CD-R with the applicant's name, contact information and number of images.

Do not embed images into PowerPoint. Applicants are encouraged to submit images of past work that best illustrates their qualifications for the project.  If applying as a team, the team also submits a total of up to 12 images.  Images will be projected one at a time during the panel review session.  JPG files only; images must be 1920 pixels on the longest side and at least 72 dpi.  Using only letters, numbers and underscores, label your images in the following manner: LastName_FirstInitial_ImageNumber. Example: Smith_A_01; Smith_A_02.

 

Audio & Video Work Samples - Applicants may submit up to 3 brief audio and/or video files.

Each applicant’s work will be reviewed for a cumulative total of 3-5 minutes.  Clearly label all

CD/DVDs with the applicant’s full name and the title of the works.  Acceptable file formats include:

 

Video    .mp4      .mov   .m4v 

Audio    .wav      .aiff        .mp3 

 

• All samples should be tested by the applicant prior to submission.

 

• Sample Labeling – Samples must be digitally titled as above:

LastName_FirstInitial_OrderOfReview  

 

Textual Work Samples — Applicants may submit printed textual work samples – up to 2,000

words in length – such as abstracts or excerpts from a report, review, anthology, prose or poetry

works. Each page of the Textural Samples should include the applicant’s full name

 

IF YOU WISH TO REFER US TO ONLINE SAMPLES, YOU MAY ALSO WISH TO USE OUR ONLINE APPLICATION. 

D. Resume

A two-page resume is OPTIONAL, but please be ready to provide references upon request.

Final Notes 

• Please do NOT email or fax application materials. These will NOT be accepted.
• Please do NOT mail anything that you want returned.
• Hand delivered submissions will be accepted.
• Online applications will be accepted.
• Late applications will NOT be accepted.
• Current Kent Arts Commission members, employees of the City of Kent and the business partners and immediate family members of all of those individuals may not apply for this project.

Special Note

If after reading these requirements, you decide not to apply, but you still want to come along for the ride, registration is free! Go to www.KentArts.org/earthworks to register.

Mail or hand-deliver applications by 5:00pm, Monday, April 30  

Cheryl dos Remedios 

RE: Earthworks Tour Inaugural Ride

Cultural Division/City of Kent

220 4^th Avenue South

Kent, WA 98032-5895

Questions?

First, please carefully read through the Call and materials posted to www.KentArts.org/earthworks. If you have additional questions, please email Cheryl dos Remedios at Visual Arts Coordinator, cdosremedios@kentwa.gov or call 253.856.5058 and she will be happy to discuss your project ideas.