Call For Artists: Temporary Artwork

The Germantown Public Art program is excited to launch Shelby Canopy: Our Shared Connection in the fall of 2023. Through the installation of temporary artwork along the Wolf River Greenway trail system, this project aims to connect citizens of Shelby County, raise awareness of the importance of trees locally and globally and encourage participants to move from knowledge to action.

This project includes the presentation of two artworks: The Blue Trees Environmental Art Installation by international artist Konstantin Dimopoulos and a temporary artwork by a regional artist. 

The Germantown public art program invites artists living within 350 miles of the Memphis metro area to participate in an open Call for Artists. 

Shelby Canopy: Our Shared Connection is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the City of Germantown. Project partners are the Wolf River Conservancy and the Germantown Parks and Recreation department.

Project Summary

The Germantown Public Art program is excited to launch Shelby Canopy: Our Shared Connection in the fall of 2023. Through the installation of temporary artwork along the Wolf River Greenway trail system, this project aims to connect citizens of Shelby County, raise awareness of the importance of trees locally and globally and encourage participants to move from knowledge to action.

This project includes the presentation of two artworks: The Blue Trees Environmental Art Installation by international artist Konstantin Dimopoulos and a temporary artwork by a regional artist. 

Shelby Canopy: Our Shared Connection is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the City of Germantown. Project partners are the Wolf River Conservancy and the Germantown Parks and Recreation department.

Project Description

The Germantown public art program invites artists living within 350 miles of the Memphis metro area to participate in an open Call for Artists. One artist or artist team will be selected to design and create a temporary artwork, happening, or intervention that raises awareness of the importance of protecting the region's tree canopy and the connection to other regional natural resources (i.e., air, water, land).  

Germantown Public Art Project Goals: 

• Engage people of all ages and abilities in creative acts
• Move citizens in the Memphis area and children in schools near the Wolf River Greenway trail system from knowledge to action
• Raise awareness of the benefits of and reasons for protecting our regional tree canopy
• Position Germantown as a regional environmental change agent for the future
• Strengthen social relationships between Germantown and other communities within Shelby County

Artwork should:

• Connect with the site of The Blue Tree Environmental Art Installation along the western edge of the Germantown Greenway. This includes on-site installations or satellite sites that relate to the project within close proximity of the Shelby County Wolf River Greenway trail system.
• Be created out of sustainably sourced materials and/or consider how materials may be recycled or reused at the completion of the project.
• Be installed in a way that does not have a detrimental impact on the installation site, leaving the art site and local environment unharmed at the completion of the project.
• Artists should consider weather and demonstrate how their artwork will respond to strong winds, subfreezing temperatures, snow, ice, and rain for elements of their artwork that will be installed at a site for long periods of time.
• Be installed for 5-6 months (Fall-Spring) or the artist should plan to engage participants through a series of engaged activities during this timeframe in a format that makes sense with their work.
• Thematically focus on humans’ connection to natural resources, watersheds, and/or environmental stewardship.
• Not require electricity.
• Engage diverse communities in community engagement methods that include but are not limited to:
  • Workshops during the conceptual phase of the artwork and/or during the creation of elements of the piece, events, presentations, and/or by requesting that participants contribute to the artwork during its temporary display.

Eligible artwork

Any publicly interactive visual art, performance art, or social practice that meets the above artistic requirements. Includes but is not limited to: art structures, assemblage, conceptual installations, ecological art, ephemeral displays, digital design formats, kinetic sculptures, multimedia installations, murals, sculptures.

Selected artist(s) will be required to:

• Meet (in person or virtually) with our project partners to learn more about existing advocacy campaigns and educational resources during the ideation phase of their project.
• Collaborate with 3-4 schools or community organizations across Shelby County in either the development or implementation/creation phases of their artwork. Project organizers will work with the selected artist to schedule and identify community groups.

Artist Support: 

• Selected artist(s) will receive information sharing and support from the Wolf River Conservancy's natural resources education program and community outreach efforts.
• Project support from the Project Coordinator and Public Art Manager from concept to implementation. Staffers have extensive experience in creative placemaking, community engagement both as art administrators and working artists in the field.

Project Timeline

• Artist Notification: Week of April 17th, 2023
• Project Planning: April 24 - June 6, 2023
• Project proposal and Budget due: June 7, 2023
• Studio visit/Project check-in: Week of Aug. 7, 2023
• Installation of artwork: Nov. 1-18, 2023
• De-install: Spring 2024 (TBD)

Location

Projects associated with Shelby Canopy: Our Shared Connection will be installed along the western edge of the Germantown Greenway near the border of Germantown and Memphis. This trail is part of Shelby County’s Wolf River Greenway trail system, a corridor of protected green space along the Wolf River that includes a paved pathway for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The Wolf River Greenway trail will eventually extend a total of 36 miles to connect over 22 neighborhoods all the way from downtown Memphis through the neighborhoods of north central Memphis, Shelby Farms Park, and the cities of Germantown and Collierville.

Other sites along the Wolf River Greenway trail system or other locations in Shelby County will be considered on a case-by-case basis for projects that may take a more social-practice approach or projects that result in less tangible or materialized art forms. 

Budget

Project Budget: $12,000  

Travel/lodging/meals stipend: $1,200**                                                                                         

Project Budget includes: 

• Costs associated with community engagement
• Artist fees and taxes
• Supplies, materials, rental equipment
• Fabrication of temporary artwork
• Travel costs that exceed the travel stipend

**Artists living outside the Memphis metro area should consider how they will use the travel stipend over the course of the project and consider dedicating a portion of the overall budget for projects that may have an increased level of interaction with participants. 

Application Requirements

Applicants submitting materials for the Shelby Canopy: Our Shared Connection temporary artwork Call for Artist project must fill out all of the sections and include all of the required information, materials, and attachments through the CaFE™ artist application system, including:

• Letter of Interest (2 page max) should include the following:
  • List any relevant background in environmental research and/or interest in the subject matter.
  • Experience working with others in a project-based manner and/or community engagement.
  • Experience working on public art projects or relevant art experience.
  • Initial idea of what you might create should you be selected and/or how you plan to develop your project.
• Artist Statement and Bio (1 page max)
• Artist Resume/CV
• Ten (10) samples of relevant artwork completed in the past 8 years. Samples can include photos, video, or audio.
• All of the information in the drop-down menus with details for your work of art samples.

Eligibility

The project is open to all experienced professional artists. Artists who are new to the field of public art and/ or have experience interacting with community groups are also encouraged to apply. Teams can be composed of more than one artist or one artist who is pairing up with an individual with relevant project experience.

• Individuals and teams who live within 350 miles of the Memphis metro area. (For example: Western & Central Tennessee, Arkansas, Southern and Central Missouri, Northern and Central Mississippi, Northern Alabama)
• Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States.
• Applicants must be at least 18 years of age.
• Artists must have at least a three-year history of professional artistic practice.
• Artists must have demonstrated experience in design through the creation of high-quality work.

For the purposes of this call, the definition of an artist is a professional who:

• has completed basic training in art or an apprenticeship with an accomplished practitioner in the field, and/or
• maintains an artistic practice and has publicly shared an independent body of their work for at least three years.

Selection Process 

Applications submitted in response to this Call for Artists will be reviewed by the City of Germantown’s Public Art Manager, who will then forward all complete and eligible applications received by the deadline to the Selection Committee. The committee will include members of the City of Germantown’s Public Art Commission, partner representatives, arts professionals, and other community stakeholders.
The Selection Committee will evaluate the qualifications of the artist and select three (3) semi-finalists. Virtual interviews will be conducted with each semi-finalist before the finalist is selected.

The Selection Committee will make the final selection based on the following criteria:

• Artistic quality of submitted portfolio
• Community engagement experience
• Interest in this project
• Artists’ familiarity with the site and/or theme of the artwork (i.e., ecology, demographics, landscape, etc.)
• Willingness to collaborate and work with others during the ideation and/or the implementation/creation phases of the their project

About Germantown Public Art

The Germantown Public Art Program is a city division that supports the work of the Public Art Commission. Under the guidance of the Germantown Mayor and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, the Public Art Commission was formed in 2018. The Germantown Public Art Program is dedicated to celebrating the people, history, and spirit of Germantown through its investment in high-quality public artwork to enhance the city’s environment and public spaces by strategically placing public art throughout the community.

Questions and Point of Contact

Cat Peña, Public Art Manager 

City of Germantown

• Phone: 901.751.7664
• Email: cpena@germantown-tn.gov