SITE call for proposals

IN:SITE, a local organization fostering temporary public art in Milwaukee County, and Sherman Park Community Association are pleased to announce that they are collaborating on temporary public art installations in the Sherman Park neighborhood for 2008.

There will be two five-month cycles of temporary public art, the first in April and the second in September of 2008. One project for each cycle will have a community involvement component. In addition, one project for each cycle will feature IN:SITE mentoring an emerging artist from the Sherman Park area.

Currently, IN:SITE is accepting Spring 2008 proposals for the following sites in Sherman Park:

Sherman Park (four city blocks, bounded by Burleigh on the north, Locust on the south, Sherman Boulevard on the west, and 41st Street on the east): This site is open to all artists, emerging or established, though the project must retain a community involvement component. IN:SITE encourages using the park’s pathways and using materials that will last up to four or five months.

Sherman Park Community Association Office (3526 W. Fond du Lac Avenue): This site is only open to artists residing in the Sherman Park area. Interested artists should attend the meeting on Saturday, January 5, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. at Sherman Perk Coffee Shop (4924 W. Roosevelt).

Please be sure to go to IN:SITE’s website for detailed descriptions and images of the specific sites. Once you have an idea of what you want to propose, submit a thumbnail sketch. To do so, fill out the proposal form and submit via email or by mail at P.O. Box 151, Milwaukee, WI, 53201. Submissions are due by February 1, 2008. The installations have to be in place before the May 3 opening.

Please think inside the realm of TEMPORARY public art, outside of the permanent public art box. Your project could be a mural, sculpture, or a video. Since the stipends are not large ($200-$500), think about appropriate use of time and materials.

Funding for the art is made possible by a matching grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board (WAB) with funds from the Challenge America program of the National Endowment for the Arts. The money from the WAB, supported in part by funds from the State of Wisconsin, is matched with funding through SPCA’s involvement in the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative sponsored by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.

VITAL wishes you luck with your proposals!