2016 Sculpture Program: Call for Proposals

Our heralded Sculpture Program is returning to Governors Island for its 8th year in 2016!

The FIGMENT Summer-Long Sculpture Program has been a huge success over the last seven summers, receiving substantial media attention and over 100,000 visitors a year. Subject to approvals and permitting, FIGMENT’s 2016 Summer-Long Program will again be located at the beautiful south end of the Parade Ground. It is free and open to the public 7 days a week while the island is open, from June 10th-August 26th.

We will select 3-5 large-scale interactive sculptures that are daring and creative. Our team will work closely with artists to bring their ideas to life. The work must survive the elements for the summer months during constant interactivity with the public. Structures should have the potential to be repaired and relocated after the summer to other venues for interactive sculpture. We intend to offer each piece a $3,000-$5,000 budget, however, if your vision exceeds that amount and you are driven to reach your goal we can collaborate with you to help raise more money.

Please follow the instructions below to submit a proposal for the FIGMENT NYC 2016 Summer-Long Sculpture Program!

To Submit a Proposal:

Deadline: 11:59 pm ET on January 15, 2016 ***EXTENDED*** New deadline February 1st, 2016

Download the submission packet.

• Follow this link to download the full submission packet that includes these instructions, a FIGMENT NYC Summer-Long Sculpture Program Artist Tips Guide, and some reference images of previous projects. Submitting artists who do not consider provided guidelines may be disqualified.
• You are also highly encouraged to contact the curators at the email address below to discuss your ideas or submit drafts of sketches or plans for review.
• Email your proposal to [email protected]. Please make sure your proposal follows the guidelines described. After this deadline our curators may request additional information, details on your proposal, or more materials before a final decision is made in February. Applicants should be prepared to submit revisions and/or conduct interviews with the curators, if asked. While we encourage teams of any age or experience level to submit entries, we will be estimating your ability to carry out the project based partially on past experience executing similar work. Attribution of the winner and finalists will be given based on the names of the individuals who design and build the project, rather than to any firm or organization with whom they are affiliated.

Project Timeline for 2016 (all dates are tentative):

• November 1, 2015: Registration and submissions open
• Monday, November 16, 2015: Information session for prospective applicants
• Friday January 15, 2016 (11:59pm ET): Deadline for project submission ***EXTENDED to February 1st, 2016***
• Early February, 2016: Notification of finalists
• Mid-February, 2016: Requested revisions, any supplementary information and clarification of projects, potential studio visits and/or presentations by artists if needed.
• Late February, 2016: Contracts signed and begin work on projects
• Late April: Check-in meeting with artists to review progress of pieces
• June 7, 2016: Installation complete (date to be confirmed)
• June 10, 2016: Project opening, FIGMENT NYC event on Governors Island
• June 10 – August 26, 2016: Summer Season 2016 on Governors Island
• August 27 – 28 2016: De-installation

Additional Information/Requirements:

Community Involvement: FIGMENT is a large-scale participatory arts project that is created by a large community of volunteers. We look forward to your being a part of this community, and volunteering to help make the FIGMENT event and exhibitions happen. We require all artists to volunteer to work a minimum of two eight-hour shifts in our mini-golf kiosk in our summer-long area over the summer.

Proposal Criteria

Projects will be selected based on creativity, interactivity, durability, feasibility, budget, and portability:

• Creativity: Your piece should be visually stunning and wildly innovative.

• Interactivity: Your sculpture must provide for ongoing interactivity from visitors throughout the season. This could be as simple as some way that visitors can move, influence, or play with the sculpture, or it could mean transforming, adding to, or fundamentally altering the sculpture over time.

• Durability: Your piece must be able to withstand 4 months of exposure to the elements and heavy weather on an island in the middle of New York Harbor, including torrential rain, heavy winds, high heat and humidity, and even tornados—as well as unsupervised interaction from visitors (children and adults) throughout the season.

• Feasibility: Please note that you will be responsible for the design, construction, installation, maintenance and de-installation of your piece. Installation days and times will be worked out in advance with the curatorial team.

• Budget: Please include a budget for your costs to build, install, and maintain your project. Take into consideration the costs associated with upkeep of the piece throughout its time on the island. While FIGMENT intends to allocate a budget of $3,000-$5,000 for each selected project, we may partner with you to raise additional funds to make your project successful.

• Portability: We are looking to select projects that can potentially travel to other venues after the summer of 2016. In the design of your project, please consider how it might move, after four months on Governors Island, to other venues. How easy it is to pack up? Is it constructed to come apart into movable pieces and then be put back together? Materials must be able to be transported on the Governors Island Ferry, which has a maximum vertical clearance of 12 feet.

Proposal Instructions:

Your project submission must be submitted by 11:59pm ET on January 15, 2016. ***EXTENDED to Feb 1st, 2016***

Your project submission should include a total of seven (7) 8.5”x11” pages in PDF format, as follows:

Name your submitted PDF file in the following manner:

[artist or group name]_[name of proposed sculpture].pdf  

ie: Lastname_Firstname_MyAmazingSculpture.pdf

Page 1: Cover Sheet (One Page)

• Name of Artist or Collective

• Address

• Email

• Best Phone Number to Reach You

• Name of Project

• Brief (200-500 words) description of the proposed sculpture, detailing the project’s interactive elements. Description of how the piece is enhanced to withstand the elements and visitor interaction.

• Construction/installation plan: Where will you build your piece? What resources do you need, or hope to share, to build and install the piece? How many people and how many days do you think you need to construct your piece?

Page 2-4: Project Renderings (Three Pages)

Please include graphics that will showcase the construction and final presentation of your project. Please emphasize the structural elements that relate to the project’s durability (including but not limited to: connection details, how the project is secured to the ground, weatherproofing elements, etc.) Feel free to use any graphic style that is comfortable for you: hand-drawn, 3D, Illustrator, Sketch-up, and CAD are all perfectly acceptable. Images may be initially hand drawn or computer created, but must be clear and concise and converted to digital format for inclusion in the final PDF. The most important thing is clarity. Feel free to include multiple perspectives so that we get a strong sense of how all the parts work together.

Page 5: Detailed Budget (One Page)

Include a detailed budget that shows your materials and expenses. Please remember to budget for maintenance costs throughout the season (June-August). Artists will be reimbursed for materials and expenses up to a certain amount, agreed-upon in advance by FIGMENT and the artist (we intend to be able to allocate $3,000 - $5,000 per project). Any costs above the agreed-upon amount are the responsibility of the artist. If your project will cost more than this, please outline your plan to fundraise for the balance.

Page 6-7: Artists Bio/Portfolio (Two Pages)

Please tell us about yourself, and show us some images of other projects you've done. Reflect on how your past experiences have prepared you to carry out this project, as well as any possible risks and challenges you expect to face. How will you meet those challenges?

Please email your project submission, and any questions, to [email protected]. Proposals that do not fulfill the above requirements will not be reviewed.

We look forward to seeing your proposal!

Please make a donation to FIGMENT to help us maintain these wonderful works of art this summer!

Main page photo ©2012 Anthony Collins. No place to sit NP2S by Romy Scheroder / Sculpture Program, FIGMENT NYC