Call For Proposals
2013 Hidden City Philadelphia Festival
Philadelphia, PA
May 23 – June 30, 2013
In 2013, Hidden City Philadelphia presents an international festival featuring site-specific visual and performance art in lesser-known but remarkable heritage sites throughout the city.
Hidden City Philadelphia invites project proposals for the 2013 Hidden City Philadelphia Festival, which is currently scheduled to run from May 23 – June 30, 2013.
Building upon the success of the 2009 Hidden City festival, which featured art installations and performances in obscured or inaccessible heritage sites, the next Hidden City Festival will encompass roughly twelve heritage sites that will be open to the public for six weeks. Every site is staffed by a site manager and volunteer docents with training in interpreting both the art installations and history of the site and its community. A central hub provides visitor support.
Who We’re Looking For
We accept proposals from artists, collectives, curators, organizers, producers, and leaders of organizations, businesses, and historic sites. Proposals don’t need to come from an artist or in an arts/design-related organization as long as they address our criteria. We are looking for a mix of local, national, and international participants.
What We’re Looking For (truncated)
We are looking for project proposals representing all disciplines, including the visual arts, performance, architecture, and design. We will be presenting one project per site. Collaborative projects or projects with multiple elements or components may count as one project, if based in and around one site. We’re interested in ideas that animate space and illuminate the memory and future of our remarkable sites and the people who care for them. To that end, we are looking for projects that meet the following core criteria:
- You demonstrate a passionate interest in the place you’ve chosen and a willingness to collaborate with us and the site’s stakeholders.
- Projects must be wholly site-specific and engage with the history of the place, not just its formal demands. We will accept “re-visionist” approaches to pre-existing work or artistic ideas, if they can authentically engage with the site and its past, present, and future.
- Your idea has the potential to communicate to a broad spectrum of audiences. We welcome all aesthetic leanings, from conceptual to representational, but keep in mind that our audiences are tremendously diverse, with many new to the artistic experience.
- You have a creative background that evidences the capability to realize your project. We are interested foremost in the power of your ideas, recognizing that there are many kinds of artists and approaches to developing a creative practice.
Our Process
This Call for Proposals is a means to begin conversations about your ideas for these sites. Proposals are understood to represent ideas-in-development. Hidden City works with an Artistic Advisory Committee, Philadelphia Curatorial Steering Committee, site partners, and members of the community to evaluate proposals. This is not a juried show or competition. After the close of this initial call, we may continue to develop additional sites and proposals.
The Artistic Advisory Committee serves to connect Hidden City with artists and other collaborators worldwide. The Philadelphia Curatorial Steering Committee is made up of local leaders in the artistic, heritage, and urban studies fields. Both groups will help evaluate proposals and in some cases may offer technical or advisory assistance for projects.
Complete Call details on website: http://hiddencityphila.org/2013festival/callforproposals/
Online Submission Form
