Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Art(ists) On the Verge

Deadline: September 8, 2008 (RECEIVE)

Art(ists) On the Verge

Call for Proposals


The Jerome Foundation and Northern Lights, a new Twin Cities-based arts agency, with fiscal sponsor Forecast Public Art, announce Art(ists) on the Verge (AOV), a new two-track fellowship and mentoring program for Minnesota based, emerging artists working experimentally at the intersection art and technology, with a focus on practices that are social, collaborative and/or participatory.

Purpose of Art(ists) on the Verge
The Jerome Foundation supports several world-leading organizations such as Rhizome and Turbulence, who foster new media art practice and are important champions of such work. The ultimate goal of the AOV Fellowship and Mentorship programs is to create sustainable habitat for the local ecology of experimental art practice with the following key elements: critical support and evaluation, monetary and technical resources, audience development, and institutional recognition.

Selection Criteria for the AOV Fellowship and Mentorship Programs
All applicants must be Minnesota residents and considered emerging artists. Evidence of some professional achievement is expected, but not an extensive record of accomplishment. Fulltime students are not eligible, with one exception. If an artist enrolls in an undergraduate or graduate degree program or takes classes while maintaining a current and active professional practice of creating and presenting work to the public, she/he is eligible. Artists may be supported as individuals or as equal collaborators.

Applicants should:



  1. Exhibit talent and interest in work produced at the intersection of art,
    media, technology, and social practice, particularly in ways that are social,
    collaborative and/or participatory. The quality of past work as
    demonstrated through work samples will be considered.


  2. Demonstrate a commitment as reflected in the Project Proposal and/ or
    Artist Statement in experimenting with the boundaries of one’s art practice.


  3. Demonstrate the ability to artistically accomplish in a timely manner an
    artwork for public presentation.


  4. Present a compelling Project Proposal (a less critical selection criterion for
    Mentorship Program)Please email AOV@northern.lights.mn if you have questions about eligibility.


Twin Tracks: Fellowships and Mentorships
A total of six commissions will be awarded. Three of the six commissions are outright fellowships for the production of new work and a joint exhibition in the spring/summer of 2009. The other three commissions are part of a 9-month, experimental mentoring program for the development, production and exhibition of new work. The Mentorship program begins in fall 2008 with an intensive 3-day “Boot-Up” Camp, October 10-12, co-presented with MCAD. Over the ensuing 9 months, artists will have bi-weekly individual and group mentoring sessions and critical workshops by visiting curators and artists on multiple occasions followed by a joint exhibition in the spring/summer of 2009 at a venue to be determined.

The call for submissions is open and available here.


For more information about Art(ists) on the Verge see http://northern.lights.mn/.