Artists Working in Community
“We are currently seeking artists to participate in the 2016 Artists Working in Community professional development course. View the call to artists on our Opportunities for Artists page for details. Submissions are due by Monday, Feb. 22, 2016 at 10 a.m. MST.
As a part of its commitment to provide a variety of opportunities for artists, The City of Calgary Public Art program offers this extensive professional development course each winter/spring.
The Artists Working in Community course is designed to provide professional development for artists interested in pursuing public art projects with a community focus, and is intended for professional artists wishing to:
- Explore and develop a community based public art practice.
- Understand the opportunities and the challenges of community based work.
- Discover the breadth of possibilities within a community based public art practice.
Through engagement with guest speakers, group discussions and course work, participants are provided with an in-depth understanding of community-based public art and how they can develop a practice in this area. Participants learn about some of the types of public art that can benefit from involving community members in the process, and the important artistic and cultural changes that can result from such an interactive approach.
As a part of the course, participating artists are asked to design a public art project that will address specific needs and concerns of a community organization while incorporating community members in a participatory way.
At the completion of the course, a public selection panel chooses one of the proposed projects and the community partner will receive that artwork at their site.
The artwork may be temporary or permanent in nature. The total budget for the artwork is varies per year, and is funded by the Public Art Program.
2016 Course Info
Dates: February 24 – April 13, 2016
Session topics:
February 24 – Overview of Artists working in community course
March 2 - Community cultural development
March 9 – Community-initiated public art projects
March 16 – Social and economic justice – How it applies
March 23 – Social practice – artist-initiated projects
March 30 – Site visit and tour
April 6 – Resources for community-based projects
April 13 – Tools and tips for working with the public
April 30 – Final presentations and community selection panel”
For more information about the course and to apply, please visit the Artists Working in Community’s website.
-posted with permission from The City of Calgary’s Public Art Program
