Call to Artists Commercial Alley

Public Art in Commercial Alley

Partnership between the City of Victoria and Open Space Arts Society (Victoria, BC)

Call to Artists

Deadline for proposals: 

Friday, June 13, 2014, 5:00 p.m.

Description of Project

Open Space invites artists proposals for works and projects to be presented in Commercial Alley in downtown Victoria. The City of Victoria and Open Space are partnering in a pilot program to develop a section of the alley to present works by artists living in the CRD that respond to the unique conditions and context of the alleyway. Commercial Alley is a working space, providing vehicle access to businesses and organizations. It is part of a network of alleyways that cross the downtown core. The City of Victoria and Open Space support the work of local artists, and this pilot project is intended to reimagine a service alley as a site for artistic and creative expression.

Artists chosen to present work in Commercial Alley will be contracted for a period from August 9, 2014, to February 15, 2015, to open in conjunction with the Integrate Arts Festival, scheduled August 15 16, 2014. The chosen proposal will be paid a fee of $1,500. Plywood panels, weatherproofing, installation, and strike of the work will be provided by the City of Victoria.

Work will be presented as a series of four 4'x8' plywood panels installed on the west wall of the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society building.

Commercial Alley

Commercial Alley runs between lower Yates Street and Bastion Square. It is a corridor of activity. The west-facing brick wall of the Youth Empowerment Society is the new site chosen to be developed to present public art. The alley is an access lane to the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society, Renaissance Book Store, The Reef Caribbean Restaurant, and Lucky Bar, with pedestrian access to Bastion Square.

Proposals

Open Space is looking for proposals that take into consideration the context of Commercial Alley as a downtown throughway, but also as a public site within the core of the city. The Open Space Program Committee and representatives from the City of Victoria Art in Public Places Committee and the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society will review proposals that meet the submission guidelines. The panel will choose one proposal. Fee: $1,500.

Proposals should include the following:

1. A statement of interest (250 words) expressing your ideas about public art in the City of Victoria

2. A description of the work (250 words) that you propose to install in Commercial alley

3. A brief biographical statement (100 words)

4. Ten images of your past and current work (each image as a 1 MB JPEG file, 1024x768 PPI in size) labelled with # + Initials + Date of Work + Title of Work

The Artist agrees to the following stipulations outlined by the City of Victoria:

1. The artwork will be contained within the maximum panel size of four panels at 4 x8 at designated locations on the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society in Commercial Alley.

2. Profanity, hateful language, and any other words and/or images that are likely to be perceived by the general public as offensive will not be permitted. 

3. Language or images that convey or portray drug and/or alcohol use will not be permitted. 

4. Explicit or encrypted signatures (i.e. graffiti) will not be permitted. 

5. Artists signatures can be up to 1.5% of panel area (e.g. 70 square inches on a 4 x8 panel).

Proposals should be sent by email to openspace@openspace.ca with ATTN: COMMERCIAL ALLEY PUBLIC ART as the subject line.

For further details, please email us at openspace@openspace.ca.

Deadline for Proposals: June 13, 2014, 5:00 p.m.

About Us

Founded in September 1972, Open Space is a non-profit artist-run centre located in Victoria, British Columbia. For over forty years, Open Space has supported professional artists who utilize hybrid and experimental approaches to media, art, music, and performance. As an exhibition and performance centre, Open Space reflects the wide diversity of contemporary art practices in Victoria, across Canada, and beyond. Our commitment to contemporary artists is inclusive, embracing work by artists of different disciplines, media, generations, cultures, genders, and communities.