Second Annual
Art in the Park
Juried Sculpture Exhibition
Elm Park, Worcester, MA

Release Date: Wednesday, February 20, 2009

CALL FOR ENTRIES
Deadline: Friday, May 8, 2009
Eligibility: Open to New England artists.

Building on the momentum from last years popular exhibition, The Worcester Cultural Commission invites artists to forward a selection of up to three existing sculptures or installations for a juried outdoor exhibition in Elm Park, Worcester from July 27 – September 31, 2009. Artists are encouraged to enter particularly large-scale work for installation on the grounds, floating in one of its three shallow ponds, or suspended from trees. A well loved public space, durability is a major consideration in the selection of artwork. 20 selected pieces will be featured in the exhibition. Artists may offer works for sale.

The project is sponsored by the Worcester Cultural Commission, ArtsWorcester, and the City of Worcester and its Department of Parks and Public Works, with partial funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Prizes and Honoraria:

Three Prizes of Excellence will be awarded for best works: $2,000 first prize, $1,000 second prize, and $500 third prize. All exhibiting artists will receive a $300 stipend from the Worcester Cultural Council to cover the cost of transportation and installation. Artists may offer works for sale. Sales are not subject to commission, but organizers ask for a tax-deductible 10% contribution to Park Spirit, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that funds cultural programming in the City of Worcester.

Jurors:

ELLEN DRISCOLL is the head of the sculpture department at Rhode Island School of Design. Public art projects include banner projects at the new Grand Central Terminal in New York and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. Recent projects include Turnscope, an interactive sculpture at the Green Street transit station in Boston, and Meanderlink, an airplane banner flown over the Boston Park system on summer weekends. Driscoll has been awarded fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Anonymous Was a Woman, Harvard University’s Bunting Institute, Massachusetts Cultural Council, and New York Foundation for the Arts. Her work is included in major private and public collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Whitney Museum of Art.

MICHAEL HACHEY is a native of the Worcester area and has been an artist and studio teacher for over thirty years. Hachey has had numerous solo exhibitions, and his artwork in the collections of the Worcester Art Museum and the City of Cambridge in addition to private collections. Hachey is a recipient of fellowships from the Massachusetts Artists Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts/New England Foundation for the Arts. His artwork has evolved from miniature architectural fantasies to on-site installations of sculpture with mural-size drawing of chalk-on-blackboard, to musically-abstract color grids, to his present paintings inspired by scientific imagery. Currently an Assistant Professor of Art at Worcester State College, Hachey has also held professorships at Clark University, Worcester State College and the school of the Worcester Art Museum.

BETH McLAUGHLIN has been working in the arts industry for the past 15 years in both art consulting and museum exhibition development. Positions she has held include Corporate Program Director for DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, MA; Art Consultant for Boston Corporate Art; and Curator/Project Manager for the Oakland Museum of California, where she managed large-scale sculpture exhibitions in off-site, public spaces. Additionally, Beth is a member of the New England Chapter of ArtTable, a leadership organization for women in the arts. Currently, Beth is the Development/Membership Coordinator for the Attleboro Arts Museum.

About Elm Park, Worcester, MA:

Elm Park, the best-known historic park in Worcester, was purchased in 1854 using public funds. The park is recognized as one of the first purchases of land for a public park in the U.S. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Elm Park is known for its historic bridges. Park facilities include a playground, tennis courts, basketball, and winter skating. There are numerous picnic areas and paths. A prominent park feature is three interconnected, shallow Mere Ponds. A perimeter walking path surrounds the ponds which can be crossed on two bridges that serve as passages between pond sections. Additional information at http://www.ci.worcester.ma.us/dpw/parks_rec/city_parks/elm_park/home.htm

Considerations:

Use: Elm Park is a well-loved park that sees upwards of 1,000 visitors on weekend days during nice weather. Families and children especially respond to sculptural installations, so that public safety and durability of the structure are major considerations.

Selection: Jurors will choose 20 works based on quality, suitability for an outdoor environment, as well as durability and public safety. Larger sculptures make more of an impact on the site and are more likely to withstand the activities of the public and weather. Pieces larger than 6’ in any dimension or weighing greater than 250 lbs are encouraged but not mandatory. Sculptures relating to themes of sustainability are also encouraged.

Installation: Anchors of up to 1-foot depth are permitted. Sculptures must be either large enough and/or mounted securely. Artists are responsible for bringing the sculpture to Elm Park, after which the parks department is available with the necessary equipment to assist in the installation. Guide wires must be marked and/or secured by protective barriers. Tree sculptures may be installed utilizing flexible clamp mechanisms that will not harm trees.

Siting: The exhibition planning team will determine siting of all works in the 5-acre park area surrounding Mere Ponds. Regard to maintaining healthy planted areas, and avoiding damage are considerations. Sculptures must be installed for the entire duration of the exhibition. All works are subject to approval by the project partners, the City of Worcester, and other agencies as appropriate.

Related Programs:

Cultural arts programming takes place in Elm Park and surrounding areas throughout the exhibit period. The weekly, popular summer concert series on Thursday evenings will begin on July 10 at 6:30pm and is sponsored by Park Spirit and the City of Worcester. The award ceremony for the three artist prizes will take place on Thursday, August 6 at 8:30pm during the Park Spirit concert series. Also, sculptures will be in place during stART on the Street, the largest arts street festival in central Massachusetts – http://www.startonthestreet.org.

Schedule:

Friday, February 20 Release Call to Artists
Friday, May 8 Deadline for submissions
Monday, June 1 Artist notification
Tuesday, July 21 – Sunday, July 26 Installation of sculptures
Thursday, August 6
6:30-7:15pm Concert, Part 1
7:15-7:45pm Artist Walk-through
7:45-8:30pm Concert, Part 2
8:30pm Award Ceremony, followed by artist reception Park Spirit concert and award ceremony for prize-winning sculptures, with artist reception and walk through.
Thursday, October 1 – Sunday, October 4 De-Installation

APPLICATION PROCESS AND CHECKLIST

Artists may enter up to three works. Interested artists may only submit entries by email to Curator caro…@gmail.com.

Application checklist:

• Brief description or artist statement.
• Resume with current contact information.
• Up to 5 clearly labeled JPEGs of up to 3 existing works
– Artists may send JPEGs formatted as follows:
– Formatted to read in Adobe Photoshop
– 300dpi Image resolution
– Maximum file size per image – 1MB
– Name each image: lastnamefirstnameimagenumber.jpg
• Image list