Protecting and improving the community for the people who live and work here

Touch-and-Smell Garden to Serve Blind on Lower East Side

The touch-and-smell garden will be on the north side of Delancey Street near Forsyth Street in front of the BRC Senior Center.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20131206/lower-east-side/touch-and-smell-garden-serve-blind-on-lower-east-side

A 25 story building coming to Chrystie Street….
http://www.boweryboogie.com/2013/12/sperone-westwater-gallery-fails-block-ian-schragers-25-story-hotel-chrystie-street/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/188424530/215-Chrystie-Ruling

Talking Transitions event. New Yorkers for Parks hosted an informative discussion on what to do about income inequity in Parks.
http://new.livestream.com/talkingtransition/NYC

Squadron’s Park plan. This is an article the New Yorker that talks about the Transitions Tent event (above). Squadron proposes to address the inequality in Parks by asking the richer Conservancies to give some % of their funding to a parks fund.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/11/a-radical-proposal-for-parks-worries-philanthropists.html

NY Rising is Governor Coumo’s NY State planning process in the wake of Sandy. Give your input on what you think needs to happen here!
http://nyrisingmap.org/
The idea is that all of these “planning process” (Rebuild by Design – Federally funded) will at some point dovetail so there isn’t duplication….

This is an opportunity for artists to submit proposals to our local Sara Roosevelt Park where the work will be sited.

2014 Application Guidelines

Deadline: January 13, 2014
Installation: July, 2014 (subject to change)

The Award
Clare Weiss (1966-2010) was the Public Art Curator for New York City’s Department of Parks & Recreation. During her tenure she curated more than 100 outdoor public art installations throughout the city and organized complex, thought-provoking and visually compelling thematic exhibitions for the Arsenal Gallery. Clare’s passion, humanity, energy, courage, and collaborative zeal were valued by all who knew her.

The Clare Weiss Emerging Artist Award is granted annually to one emerging artist who submits the most compelling proposal for an outdoor sculpture in a New York City park. The location changes annually and is determined based on the site’s visibility and proximity within a neighborhood underserved by public art.

Location
Sara D. Roosevelt Park, located in Manhattan’s Lower East Side has been selected as the location for the 2014 Award. All proposed artwork must be sited for the plaza between the basketball courts and the stairs located on Houston Street between Chrystie and Forsyth Streets. Please note, there should be ample room allowed between the basketball courts and the sculpture, the proposal should allow for pedestrian flow and objects cannot be attached to trees. If the sculpture is anchored into the pavers, the budget should allow for the cost of replacing damaged pavers.These guidelines should be taken into consideration when drafting proposals for this park. Photographs of the site can be found on the Parks website. The selected sculpture will be exhibited for a maximum of one year.

Artists are strongly encouraged to visit Sara D. Roosevelt Park before submitting a proposal. Applicants must take into account the site’s terrain and submit proposals that will stand up to the park’s particular urban outdoor environment. Sculptures installed in New York City’s Parks must meet the department’s safety requirements and be able to withstand the effects of weather and public interaction.

No proposals for sculptures previously exhibited will be accepted. This award is open to New York City-based emerging artists only.

Details
The chosen recipient will be granted an award in the amount of $10,000.  The recipient is highly encouraged to procure in-kind support and other additional funding necessary to support this installation.

The Award recipient shall be solely responsible for the installation and removal of the artwork and shall provide at his or her sole cost and expense, all labor, services, and supervision necessary.  Additional expenses the artist will be responsible for include fabrication, insurance and maintenance. At the end of the award term, the artist is responsible for returning the park location to its original condition. This project must adhere to Parks’specifications for public art.

The Parks Department will assist the awarded artist with technical logistics such as permitting and site specifications. The artist will be responsible for engineering documents if they are necessary.

The Award recipient will be selected through an open application process. Proposals will be reviewed by a jury comprised of an artist, an independent curator, and a Parks Department representative. Proposals will be judged according to artistic and creative merit and suitability to the site.

Eligibility
Proposals will only be accepted from New York City-based emerging artists— artists who have specialized training in their field (not necessarily gained in an academic institution), who are at an early stage in their career, and who have created a modest independent body of work. Artists who are enrolled in a school, college or university are not eligible for the Clare Weiss Emerging Artist Award.

Timeline (all dates are subject to change)
January 31, 2014: Proposals due. Proposals can be submitted earlier.

February 2014: Award Recipient announced
July 2014: Sculpture installed in Park with dedication ceremony and opening reception

Application Proceedure
Proposals must include:

• Resume with current contact information
• One-page statement describing artist’s work in general
• Proposed sculpture
  • detailed description of no more than 2 written pages
  • representative drawings or renderings if sculpture has not been fabricated
  • images of sculpture if it is already fabricated
  • list of materials proposed/used; dimensions (including weight)
  • installation recommendations
  • maintenance recommendations
• Names and full contact information of two references who are familiar with artist and artist’s work
• 5-6 images of previous work (8×10 color prints or if emailing jpegs no larger than 1 MB each); each image should be labeled and succinctly described
• Self-addressed, stamped postcard if you would like to receive notification that your proposal was received.

Materials will not be returned. All materials must be received by January 31, 2014. Proposals should be sent or emailed to:

Clare Weiss Emerging Artist Award
Art & Antiquities
City of New York Parks & Recreation
The Arsenal
New York, NY 10065
artandantiquities@parks.nyc.gov

Check out parks website: http://www.nycgovparks.org/art-and-antiquities/clare-weiss-award

Download application guidelines

Here is a flyer for the 2013 Halloween celebration for kids, coming up this Thursday. Please feel free to pass it along to friends and print it out to post. Click on a language version below to open a printable PDF file.