Earlier this year, The Fresh Milk Art Platform, Future Centre Trust, Environ Ltd (Adopt A Stop Barbados) and The Healing Arts Initiative in partnership with CULTURUNNERS as part of the World Health Organization, welcomed proposals by Barbadian-based contemporary artists for artworks to be installed along the Barbados Trailway.
While we plan for the upcoming launch and unveiling of these pieces to the public, we are thrilled to announce Phase 2 of our collaboration, with our second open call for works. This time around, three Barbadian artists will be selected to have their artwork featured on solar bus shelters, to be installed in rurally located, underserved areas of the island.
IMPORTANT DATES for PHASE 2:
Open Call Announcement: October 4th, 2022
Extended Submission Deadline: December 2nd, 2022
Jury Review of Proposals: December 3rd – December 9th, 2022
Artists Informed: December 12th, 2022
Public announcement of results: December 16th, 2022
Production of new works: December 18th, 2022 – January 27th, 2023
Submission of completed works: January 27th, 2023
Production and installation of works: January-February 2023
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
This project recognises the role of the arts sector in addressing the growing mental health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, followed and further impacted by the La Soufriere volcanic eruption and Category 1 Hurricane Elsa.
The pandemic and occurrence of natural disasters have reminded us of the value of green spaces and the natural environment to enhance our physical, mental and spiritual wellness. It is well known that people, and children in particular, recover better and flourish in the outdoors. While Barbados is blessed with many beaches where locals can recreate, there isn’t enough variety of safe outdoor recreational activities promoting active mobility for young people and families.
The Future Centre Trust has been working for some time to repurpose the historic train line located in the south-central part of the island in the St. George Valley.
With the support of the Healing Arts Initiative, Fresh Milk is pleased to be collaborating with the Future Centre Trust and Environ Ltd (Adopt A Stop Barbados) to work with local artists and to strategically install these artistic interventions on the trailway as a linear outdoor exhibition opportunity, giving artists a chance to contribute to this dynamic and highly anticipated public project. Secondly, we propose the intervention of three additional outreach solar bus shelters to be placed in underserved rural communities.
Healing Arts launched in 2020 under the auspices of the World Health organization as part of The Future is Unwritten, a global initiative calling for urgent cooperation between the Arts Sector and United Nations Agencies in order to amplify and accelerate implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the most ambitious and comprehensive global development plan in human history. With leading UN Agencies describing the recent pandemic as nature’s first ‘warning shot’ to civilizations playing with fire, global cultural action that contributes to the envisioning and shaping of a more resilient, healthy and sustainable future is now more urgent than ever.
Established as part of the United Nations’ 75th Anniversary Programme (UN75) and Decade of Action, Healing Arts 2020-2030 is produced in 2022 by CULTURUNNERS and Arts & Health @ NYU under the secretariat of the World Health Organization’s Arts and Health Program.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
● Must be work from artists living and working in Barbados;
● Must be new work produced for this commission;
● The solar bus shelter dimensions for the back of the bench should be 96″ x 24″, and for the side panel (two-sided) should be 32″ x 48″, both with a ¾” bleed included;
● Artists may submit more than one design idea, however only one commission for a bus shelter will be awarded to each of the three artists.
How to Apply:
● Application forms must be submitted through the Google forms portal here;
● Proposals must be formatted and uploaded to the form as ONE PDF including:
– A description of the proposed work specifically responding to the call (500 words max);
– 2-3 concept sketches/work samples (embedded in the PDF);
– A bio (200 words max);
– A portfolio of 5 previous artworks (fully captioned).
● Submissions should be titled as follows:
– Surname_First Name_Healing_Bus Shelter
Submissions that do not conform to this requirement will not be reviewed. Each separate project proposal must be submitted as a new application form.
CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL!
If selected, final artworks must be submitted as files via WeTransfer, following the below guidelines:
SELECTION PROCESS:
The selection process will be led by Fresh Milk in collaboration with representatives from the three partner entities who will contribute to the review and selection process through a roundtable conversation to select works which align with the project overviews and the mission of the Healing Arts Initiative stated above. A total of three artists will be selected from this open call, one artist for each of the bus shelters.
WHAT THE PROJECT OFFERS:
● The three selected artists for the solar bus shelters will each receive an artist fee of $1,000.00 USD;
● Artists’ work will be showcased and promoted on all partner’s websites;
● Artists’ work will be permanently installed in rurally located, underserved areas of the community;
● The artists’ profile will be permanently housed on the Fresh Milk and partner websites, and their work will be widely promoted throughout Fresh Milk and partners’ networks.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS EXTENDED TO DECEMBER 2nd 2022
About the Partners:
CULTURUNNERS produces cross-cultural campaigns, exhibitions and journeys, promoting peace-building & sustainable development through art. Launching at MIT in 2014, CULTURUNNERS’ first project was a multi-year artists’ road-trip broadcasting between the United States and the Middle East. It has since grown to encompass large-scale cultural exchange and diplomacy projects, an artist-led media platform, artists’ spaces and partnerships with institutions around the world.
Fresh Milk is an artist-led, non-profit organisation founded in 2011 and based in Barbados. It is a platform which supports excellence in the visual arts through residencies and programmes that provide Caribbean artists with opportunities for development, fostering a thriving art community.
Fresh Milk offers professional support to artists from the Caribbean and further afield and seeks to stimulate critical thinking in contemporary visual art. Its goal is to nurture artists, raise regional awareness about contemporary arts and provide Caribbean artists with opportunities for growth, excellence and success.
The Future Centre Trust is a non-governmental organisation focused on raising awareness of environmental impacts to Barbados and the planet with a vision to be “a catalyst for sustainable living today and tomorrow”. It is the main executing entity for the Barbados Trailway Project – a paved bicycle and pedestrian path located primarily on right-of-way lands of the former Barbados Railway.
This network of multi-purpose walking, hiking, running and cycling trails will provide year round recreational access for both locals and visitors, considerably expanding much needed public green space on the island.
For the past 25 years, Adopt A Stop has provided regional and international companies with a unique opportunity to display their products and services on bus shelters and benches in Barbados. The concept for Adopt A Stop was created by Barbadian Barney Gibbs while studying at Cambridge University. The project was then introduced to the island in 1993 as a socially-conscious way to provide a much-needed amenity. The priority was tropical designs constructed with local materials, placed at prime locations to give maximum impact.
The traveling public has embraced the project. The medium provides popular seating and shade for users; while increasing traffic rates mean drivers and passengers are frequently stopped in front of sponsor’s signage.
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