Art Ramble 2020, Hapgood Wright Town Forest
The Umbrella Arts Center
Entry Deadline: May. 10
The Art Ramble is an outdoor public art installation in the Hapgood Wright Town Forest in collaboration with the Concord Natural Resources Division. We are seeking proposals for artists to respond to this year’s
theme of water in the context of climate change.
Water Change: Where Spirit, Nature, and Civilization Meet
Sept 1- November 8, 2020
Curated by Susan Israel
How can you – artist communicator – use water to frame how people might think/feel about Climate Change as they ramble around Hapgood Wright Town Forest and Fairyland Pond? What is your call to action?
Here are some musings to help you connect your work to water and climate change using three themes:
Spirit: Water is the essence of all life on earth and deeply symbolic in all cultures, embodying life, spirit, purity, restoration, birth, passage and more. We weave it into our rituals, seek it out to survive, revive, play, and contemplate. Water inspires wonder, dreams, potential, and peace. The existential threat of habitat change brings a profound emotional burden. What does hope look like?
Nature: Waterways, ponds, and forests will be impacted in fundamental ways by climate change. How will flora and fauna adapt? As the climate warms, species are migrating northward, trees are dying off, invasive species run amok; our landscape is changing. Waterways are inundated or starved, smothered by invasives and algae blooms. What will this site look like in 100 years? What species will barely survive, thrive, or take over? How will increasing flooding from storms affect this site? How will the water table be affected?
Civilization part 1, Built Form: Water is the foundation of civilization. We drink it, dam it, detour it, waste it, and pollute it. We use it for transport, manufacturing, and play. We take it for granted, unconscious of our impact on it as builders, stewards, and cultivators. Fairyland Pond is an artificial pond, created and preserved by dredging, dams, and habitat maintenance. Using this site, how do we show human interventions – good or bad?
Civilization part 2, Action: As artists, we frequently live in the conceptual. Can you inspire, inform and awake, and move people to act? We have not just an opportunity, but an imperative to steward and regenerate nature. How can we impact a changing habitat? What are positive interventions that people
can make?
Integrate one or all of Nature, Spirit, and Civilization into your installations. Help people feel or understand this massive shift. How can we find joy and life in all of this? Because without hope, joy, and love, there is no action. Explore the site for further inspiration, action and education.
Visit the Hapgood Wright Town Forest Independent exploration of the site prior to creating a proposal STRONGLY encouraged. Your proposal should reflect a familiarity with the site. Additional information regarding the installation site may be found in the Hapgood-Wright Town Forest Guide at the following URL:
https://www.concordma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2090/Hapgood-Wright-Town-Forest-Trail-Guide
For more information on habitat and actions one can take:
https://concordma.gov/735/Plans-Reports-Brochures (see the 1st 3 brochures)
https://concordma.gov/615/Natural-Resources
http://energynecklace.com/resources/
Application Process:
Proposal Submission date: May 10, 2020. Artist notifications by mid-May. Installation sites confirmed by June. Work must be installed August 22 – 31.
Exhibit opens September 1. Artist reception TBA.
To Apply (You may submit more than one idea as separate submissions), email the following (preferably as one pdf file) to [email protected] by May 10, 2020 11:59PM.
1. Resume.
2. Project Statement: outline what you envision and accomplish with this work as informed by the site and interactions with the public (500 words).
3. Up to 6 images of proposed piece / design drawings / photo of a model of the proposed installation/art piece.
4. Link to an online portfolio of past work and projects, or 5-10 high resolution JPEG images of past artwork and projects labeled: LastName_FirstName(1) include an image List with dimensions, medium, date. For time-based media, 3-5 video/sound recordings or writing samples of relevant past projects.
Exhibition Information
Selected artists will be awarded a small honorarium. The exhibition will be on view September 1 – November 8, 2020. Please note this is a Leave No Trace exhibit; from installation to dismantling, nature must be left intact and all materials brought to the site must be removed at the end of the show. No pieces can be installed in or on the water. The Umbrella receives 30% commission on any works sold in the exhibit. By submitting a proposal, artists acknowledge The Umbrella Arts Center and the Concord Natural Resources Division assumes no liability for artwork on the property during the exhibition.
DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES May 10, 2020 11:59PM.