OPEN CALL

Vital Spaces, in partnership with 516 ARTS and The Paseo Project, is accepting submissions for Windows on the Future, a series of month-long storefront art installations that will take place across Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Taos. Selected participants will receive a $500 stipend in May in advance of completing the installation.

Artists, creatives, and art groups are invited to submit proposals for window showcase installations based on the theme Windows on the Future. Open to your creative interpretation, your installation might be realistic or fantastic, it might imagine a future close at hand or one a few millennia out, it can be representational, abstract, or somewhere in between. We invite proposals in any medium, including music, dance, and performance art. While you are welcome to include freestanding artworks in your installation, we will give preference to proposals that actively engage with the window format and create cohesive installations over straightforward displays of existing pieces.

The call will be open until Midnight on Sunday, may 17.

Windows on the Future is open to artists of all levels from within New Mexico — from emerging to professional artists. We aim to feature artists representing diverse communities. We are seeking a balanced gender representation and prioritizing the inclusion of participants from diverse and varied racial/ethnic backgrounds, a wide age distribution, LGBTQ+ participants, and those financially impacted by Covid-19.

Please read criteria below before submitting.

For questions about the application or to VOLUNTEER your storefront email: contact@vitalspaces.org

CRITERIA

All submissions will be considered, reviewed, and selected by Vital Spaces, 516 ARTS, and The Paseo Project based on the following criteria:

Viable: given the nature of the project, participants will need to be agile, adaptive, and innovative to be able to execute their vision with the resources, funds, and spaces available.
Compelling: artistically strong in concept and execution, compelling to a diverse audience and actively engaging to the public.
Relevant: responsive to and engaging with diverse audiences, themes, neighborhoods, and landscapes.
Quality: the work presented is of exemplary quality —specifically in regards to the medium in which it is presented.

In the interest of accessibility and inclusivity, artist statements, resumes, or exhibition histories are not required to apply. The committee curates each open call blind — meaning that we review the art without knowledge of the artists’ names in an effort to produce an unbiased selection.

PARAMETERS

We are unable to accept proposals that feature graphic sexual or violent imagery, support an elected official or candidate, or invite the public to enter the space. Projects must be created at an off-site location and then assembled in a single eight-hour visit with limited assistance. We hope to be able to give participants more time to install their work, but that will be determined in consultation with individual spaces.

WHAT TO EXPECT IF YOU ARE SELECTED

Each selected artist receives a stipend of $500. All participating artists must submit a signed W9 form and a signed “Display Terms and Conditions” contract. The installations will be up for one month.

Each selected participant will be paired with a curator or established artist to talk through their installation ideas. At least one discussion during the planning phase is mandatory for participation. An additional discussion about the finished project can also be scheduled. Joan Vorderbruggen, Director of Hennepin Theatre District Engagement, Hennepin Theatre Trust in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the developer of Made Here, the largest storefront window art installation series in the country, will also hold an online Q&A with all participating artists.

Following selection, participants will receive a photograph of their window with a document outlining the window sight-lines and the dimensions available for the installation. If possible, you will have one site visit before installing. Each participating artist will be given one day to install their showcase. Work is not permitted onsite outside of installation times. All materials must be installed inside the window.

Each artist will be provided access to a clean, safe commercial storefront to create a showcase with electrical access, extension cords, clamp lamps, light bulbs, minimal hardware and power strips, as needed. Professional installation assistance is available upon request.

All showcases will be professionally photographed and featured on dedicated pages on the Vital Spaces, 516 Arts, and the Paseo Project websites. These organizations will actively promote the series through their communication channels, including email and social media. We will create maps of the installations for self-guided tours. Should social distancing guidelines permit, we will also lead guided tours.

THANK YOU

Special thanks to the Falling Colors and LOR Foundations for their generous sponsorship of Windows on the Future. Thank you to Creative Santa Fe for partnering with Vital Spaces on the Santa Fe portion of the project. Thank you to the businesses and private donors throughout Northern and Central New Mexico who have supported this project. And thank you to Joan Vorderbruggen, Director of Hennepin Theatre District Engagement, Hennepin Theatre Trust in Minneapolis, Minnesota for all of her generous guidance.

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