NOW ON VIEW: AN EPHEMERAL PUBLIC ART FESTIVAL
The Hillsborough Community College Art Galleries is seeking proposals from artists and creatives for Now on View, an ephemeral public art festival taking place in Ybor City tentatively scheduled for Saturday, February 22, 2025.
The committee defines art in a broad sense, and encourages applications from artists working in the visual arts as well as in literary, dramatic, performance, dance, interactive, time-based, and other media.
Artists must be available for the festival to be eligible to participate. Six (6) selected applicants will receive a $1,300 stipend to activate Now on View by designing temporary art installations specific to Hillsborough County (especially Tampa/Ybor City) and participating in the festival.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The purpose of Now on View is to create a thoughtful series of temporary public artworks that invite the public to consider Tampa’s past, present, and future. Local artists* will be selected through an open call to create site-responsive artworks that speak to Tampa’s rich history while also considering concepts of representation, presence, and connection. The resulting artworks will be displayed in a one-day public festival in Ybor City with music, food, and other entertainment.
*Artists must reside in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Pasco, Manatee or Sarasota County in order to be eligible.
Above: Kali Rabaut's interactive Flower Bike installation, Now on View festival 2024.
Tampa Bay is among the fastest growing areas in the nation. Artists of all backgrounds have historically played a crucial role in Tampa’s development by defining the city’s character and driving economic prosperity. Currently, neighborhoods across Hillsborough County are seeing broad transformations in terms of both built and human environments. As the region undergoes immense change from rapid development, we can yet again look to artists as navigators across shifting landscapes. In this pivotal moment in Tampa Bay history where large-scale projects such as the proposed Gas Worx community in Ybor and the expansion of Downtown Tampa’s Riverwalk will have generational influence, questions of representation, sustainable growth, and inclusivity are perhaps more relevant than ever. An ephemeral art festival like Now on View sheds light on these important topics by creating a space for critical dialogue that is culturally engaged, community driven, and accessible to a wide range of audiences.
The project’s steering committee will be looking for artwork that reflects the cultural vibrancy of Hillsborough County by encouraging artists to craft proposals that relate to various backgrounds, traditions, and historical narratives of the region. As a reminder: we welcome applications from artists working in the visual arts as well as in literary, dramatic, performance, dance, interactive, time-based, and other media.
Above: Dancers perform in collaboration with installation by Emma Quintana, Now on View festival 2024.
Successful proposals will fit the project’s themes of representation, presence, and connection in consideration of Tampa's past, present, and future, demonstrate an ability to complete the work as proposed, align with HCC’s core values for public art, and show feasibility. A total of six artists will be selected to host installations over the course of one day at select venues in Ybor City, which will be determined in collaboration with community partners for the project. Once proposals are selected, artists will be curated in pairs and assigned the venues that best fit each proposal. The gallery's support staff will also be on-hand for guidance and mentorship to ensure the success of your project.
Questions? Watch our recorded info session on YouTube at https://youtu.be/ef3O9AopAWE
RESEARCH: OTHER PROJECTS
For examples of previous artist installations included in Now on View, potential applicants can review information on HCC's Grounds4Art website under "Past Projects."
For other examples of similar projects that emphasize site-specific, short term exhibitions with a strong focus on community impact, you can view the following links. Browsing the examples can give you a sense of the types of projects suitable for a one-day ephemeral arts festival.
LUMA (Downtown Binghamton, New York)
LIST OF VENUES
Click on the links below to view more information about each venue.
- HCC Ybor City Campus
- Hotel Haya
- TEMPUS PROJECTS
BUDGET
HCC will select six (6) proposals for commission, each of which will receive a $1,300 stipend. This amount is to cover all expenses including:
- The construction and purchase of any materials;
- Stipends for additional performers or collaborators;
- Any expenses related to travel, insurance*, or rentals; and
- Participation in the festival (February 22, 2025).
The selected applicants are expected to meet project budget and schedule.
*Insurance: if you do not currently have a general liability/event insurance policy, applicants will need to purchase one (approx. $100) through third-party vendors such as Event Helper.
CRITERIA
Strong applications will include the following:
✔ Demonstrate a clear concept for the temporary public art installation/ performance;
✔ Explain how your project conceptually connects to the theme of Now on View;
✔ Serve as inspiration to our campus and local communities;
✔ Consider values such as education and inclusion;
✔ Generate a sense of community pride; and
✔ Stimulate conversation and interaction.
ELIGIBILITY
Eligible applicants will:
- Be based in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Manatee or Sarasota County;
- Be available to attend the festival;
- Demonstrate experience and familiarity with materials and methods for creating temporary and/or public art installations;
- Have a strong interest in community engagement.
Applications can be submitted as an individual or on behalf of a group/collective. (If submitting as a group/collective, the $1,300 stipend would be provided to the group as a whole.)
DEADLINE AND WORKING PROJECT TIMELINE:
Deadline to submit applications: November 11, 2024 by 5:00 p.m.
Finalist notification: no later than November 27, 2024
Now on View Festival: Saturday, February 22, 2025. Note: If selected, you will have access to the host site the day prior for setup/dress rehearsals/tech and the day after (with prior approval) to dismantle your temporary installation.
SELECTION COMMITTEE
A selection committee will be comprised of HCC faculty, staff and students as well as representatives from community partners. The committee will review the applicant CV's and bios as well as the included support materials regarding how each applicant would approach the public art installation.
The applicants who are selected for commission will work with the committee if any adjustments to the concept/proposal are needed.
Please address questions to Amanda Poss at aposs@hccfl.edu.
*This program is generously supported by the Arts Council of Hillsborough County through their Community Arts Impact Grant (CAIG) program for Colleges and Universities.
https://hillsborougharts.org/
