ARTBRIDGE  x  DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE

 

OVERVIEW:

Application Deadline: September 22, 2024, 11:59PM EST

Application Notification: October 22, 2024 (estimated)

 

INTRODUCTION:

ArtBridge is partnering with the Downtown Alliance to turn Lower Manhattan’s construction fencing into large-scale art installations. We seek a minimum of 5 artists to be part of an artwork portfolio for Lower Manhattan site owners to place on their buildings. 

 

What this means for you:

• As part of this RFP, you will draft an artwork concept that is specific to Lower Manhattan.
• If you are selected, you will be paid $2,500 to turn this draft into a finalized design. 
• ArtBridge and the Downtown Alliance will pitch the 5+ selected artists' designs to Lower Manhattan site owners.
• Each time a site owner chooses to utilize your art, ArtBridge will work with you to negotiate an artwork license contract between you and the site owner. Depending on the size/scope of the site, we estimate that each usage will result in a payment to you of between $5,000 and $7,500 (this is in addition to the initial $2,500 paid upon draft selection). If the installation involves hand-painting (as opposed to digital/vinyl reproduction) the payment will likely increase.
• You retain full ownership of the artwork IP and grant a non-exclusive license to ArtBridge, the Downtown Alliance and the site owner to reproduce the artwork at the exhibition site, and distribute photographs and video of your art in all media for all time.  
• Production and installation costs will be fully covered — you will incur no expenses.
• You are fully free to contract with, or decline to contract with, interested site owners as you see fit.   

 

APPLICATION:

• We seek a draft of your work for this RFP — a sketch and a description. We value your time and labor, and are not expecting fully rendered designs.
• You can submit artwork deriving from any medium that can be installed/replicated in 2D: photography, paintings, murals, digital art, etc.
• To comply with the city's guidelines for public art, there cannot be any words within the art itself. The art cannot include any corporate logos or recognizable brands. Depictions of violence and nudity are forbidden, along with other common-sense constraints of public art. If your work includes any representations of real people, you must be able to obtain explicit consent from those people or, if deceased fewer than 40 years, their estates.

 

THEME: 

The art should somehow be specific to Lower Manhattan:

• The Downtown Alliance serves Lower Manhattan south of Chambers Street, roughly from City Hall to the Battery, and from the East River to West Street. It is one of the city’s most historic neighborhoods with a landscape that holds traces of  Lenape, Dutch, British, and free African settlements. Lower Manhattan's history encompasses the broad sweep of New York's story, from the American Revolution to the growth of NYC as a major seaport and global financial center.  The neighborhood's built environment includes many of NYC's most iconic and recognizable sites ranging from the NY Stock Exchange to Trinity Church, the Charging Bull and the World Trade Center. In more recent decades, it has been the site of dynamic cultural, culinary, and financial development. A hub for public art, the built environment and iconic streetscapes frame unique restaurants, small businesses, museums, and galleries. Visit Downtown Alliance to learn more. 

 

ELIGIBILITY: 

• Must be a New York City based artist who lives or works in one of the five boroughs and is at least 18 years old.
• You may submit more than one proposal (up to 3 per person), but each proposal must be its own, wholly separate submission.
• You can submit as an individual, or as a collaboration, or on behalf of an organization or collective. 

ARTIST SELECTION PROCESS: 

Submissions will be reviewed by ArtBridge, the Downtown Alliance, and five jurors. As of 9/5/2024 the jury includes:

• Jessica Lappin is the President of the Alliance for Downtown New York. A lifelong New Yorker, Lappin has a distinguished record in civic life and public service. Prior to her tenure, Lappin was elected to serve two terms in the New York City Council, representing the Upper East Side, East Midtown and Roosevelt Island. She serves on the boards of the FDR Memorial and Four Freedoms Park, International Downtown Association, the NYC BID Association and the American Skin Association.  She sits on the Executive Committee of NYC Tourism + Conventions, the Steering Committee of the Association for a Better New York (ABNY), and is an Ex Officio board member of the “people’s theater” founded in 1943 by Mayor Fiorello Laguardia, New York City Center.
• Sarah Cunningham is the founding director of the Art Gallery at Pace University where she also serves as an associate clinical professor of art. She previously served as the director of the Atkinson Gallery at Santa Barbara City College, director of the College of New Jersey Art Gallery, curator of exhibitions and public programs at the Alice Austen House Museum, and executive director of the Albany Center Galleries. She is also a contributing writer for LUM Art Magazine. She received her BA in American Studies from Tufts University and her MFA in Art Photography from Syracuse University.
• Gabriela López Dena, architect, artist, curator // Associate Curator of Public Practice, Public Art Fund

Applicants will be screened for the following criteria:

• Artist’s own original creative work 
• Theme relevant to the RFP

 

TIMELINE:  

Application Deadline:  September 22, 2024, 11:59PM EST

Application Notification:  October 22, 2024 (estimated)
 

 

QUESTIONS:

Email: info@art-bridge.org with the subject heading Downtown RFP. Or call: 646-450-1463 

 

About ArtBridge

New York City currently has 320 miles of street-level construction. Since 2008, ArtBridge has transformed these underutilized spaces into canvases for local, early-career artists. ArtBridge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Chelsea.     

art-bridge.org 

instagram.com/artbridge 

 

About the Downtown Alliance

The mission of the Alliance for Downtown New York is to provide service, advocacy, research and information to advance Lower Manhattan as a global model of a 21st century Central Business District for businesses, residents and visitors. The Downtown Alliance manages the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Business Improvement District (BID), serving an area roughly from City Hall to the Battery, from the East River to West Street. 

downtownny.com 

instagram.com/downtownnyc

Thanks so much for your interest in volunteering with ArtBridge! We frequently have opportunities for folks to lend a hand, from assisting with mural projects to helping to ensure a smooth fundraising event. Please fill out the form below to sign up for volunteer opportunities!