March 15, 2007
CITYSOL 2007
OPEN CALL TO ARTISTS!
Solar One's CITYSOL 2007 - OPEN CALL TO ARTISTS! :: July 12-15, 2007 :: DEADLINE: May 22 :: Citysol is a carbon neutral, 100% clean energy powered festival that aims to inspire interest and support for local sustainability initiatives through music, collaborative artistic installations, and numerous other elements meant to both entertain and educate. Held over a weekend in Manhattan’s Stuyvesant Cove Park, the festival will attract thousands of New Yorkers in search of innovative art, music and activism.
Solar One, Citysol’s lead organizer, is accepting project proposals related to contemporary environmental and sustainability issues. All visual and performing arts media will be considered including sitespecific performance, installation, sculpture, film and video, as well as experimental practices. We especially encourage installation proposal subjects to be chosen from a field of 5 policy/technical solutions that address different environmental challenges specifically affecting New York City’s quality of life:
CONGESTION PRICING: A market-based means of reducing traffic congestion, improving air quality, revitalizing pedestrian street life, increasing safety and saving the city billions of dollars annually, this policy levies a fee on vehicles that enter Manhattan’s central business district.
PLASTIC BAG TAX (or ‘PLASTAX’): This policy adds an additional cost to disposable plastic bags, thereby encouraging consumers to use reusable bags for their shopping needs. Ireland’s plastax has cut plastic bag use by 90%, decreased waste and pollution, and has diverted millions of liters of oil.
PHOTOVOLTAICS: Photovoltaic (aka PV or Solar) power is a promising clean energy application for the New York City area that could help mitigate our serious air quality, climate change and system reliability challenges. Yet today numerous incentives which could encourage greater implementation are lacking in our City and State.
GREEN ENERGY POWER PURCHASING: All New Yorkers who pay their own electricity bill can purchase green energy credits for a small premium from select providers. “Green-E” purchasing adds clean electricity to the grid from wind and hydropower sources, and encourages further investment in renewable technologies.
CARBON TAX: Charging American businesses and individuals a price to emit CO2 is essential for reducing U.S. emissions quickly and steeply enough to avoid the most severe consequences of climate change.
Installations will be featured at Stuyvesant Cove Park for the duration of the festival, July 12th-15th. A number of selected artists will receive project-based stipends from Solar One for their participation. Solar One is a young, but growing 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to increasing energy and environmental awareness and inspiring action through public education and cultural programming.
*PLEASE NOTE that Citysol is a 100% renewable energy powered event and can offer a limited electrical capacity for artistic support and use. We encourage artists to explore self-sustained power methods for their works.
Proposals must be submitted by mail or in person by no later than May 22, 2007 to:
CITYSOL ART FESTIVAL PROPOSAL
Solar One
24-20 FDR Drive,
Service Road East
New York, NY 10010
Proposals must include all of the following to be considered:
1. Artist CV with current contact information (address, phone number
and e-mail)
2. Brief project description and statement of the project’s critical objectives
3. Visual support materials
4. Technical diagram (including dimensions, materials, installation requirements, power/electrical requirements and all other technical information).
5. List of 3 preferred locations at our site
6. SASE if you would like materials returned
ABOUT THE SITE
Winding along nearly two acres of the East River greenway between 18th and 23rd Streets, Stuyesant Cove Park is home to the only sustainably designed and managed park in the city. Occupying a former brown field site, Stuy Cove now supports all native plant gardens, approximately 13,000 square feet of outdoor blacktop space used for various recreational purposes, and a 500 square-foot solar-powered education and arts center.
*Works may be proposed for installation on blacktop area or in Stuyvesant Cove Park (provided no structural damage to the park occurs).
FURTHER INFORMATION
For further information about each installation subject area, artists are strongly encouraged to contact Solar One for resources (including sustainable building materials and power-generating ideas) and guidance. The festival coordinators are available to meet with artists up to May 22, 2007. During the second half of March, information sessions will be presented on each subject at Solar One’s office in Stuyvesant Cove Park (which is also the venue for Citysol). Sessions are free and open to all prospective submitters of proposals (Contact Chris Neidl for the scheduling of these events).
Tours of the site can be scheduled with Solar One staff on an ongoing basis throughout the spring. Artists residing outside of the NYC area should email Citysol’s organizers for further information.
CONTACT
Stephen Lichty, Curatorial Advisor
stephen.lichty[at]gmail.com
917.902.6347
Jenn Su, Project Coordinator
jenn[at]solar1.org
510.378.0628
Chris Neidl, Outreach Coordinator
neidl[at]solar1.org
917.660.2609
Please visit www.solar1.org or call 212.505.6050 for more information about Solar One.
Posted by jo at March 15, 2007 11:40 AM
