Artist Qualification Submissions
Request for Proposals: ART on THE MART Guest Curator Program
DEADLINE: 9:00am CT on Monday, March 6, 2023
ART on THE MART seeks to appoint a guest curator specializing in time-based media art to a temporary, 18-month position. The selected curator would be appointed with a view to both contribute to both ART on THE MART’s long-term curatorial strategy and ART on THE MART’s programming through a commission of new work by an artist or artists working in the field of digital video and/or video mapping. The commissioned work will be exhibited on the ART on THE MART platform in the context of its nightly public art program. The guest curator will collaborate closely with the Executive Director (ED) of ART on THE MART and its curatorial advisory board on both objectives. This is the first iteration of a recurring opportunity.
ART on THE MART invites applicants for the 2023-24 guest curator cycle, especially curators experienced with time-based media and artists with a related robust curatorial practice. Candidates based in Chicago and in remote locations are all welcome to apply. There is no preference based on location.
The guest curator will receive an award of $40,000 USD. In addition, ART on THE MART will provide a separate commissioning fee for artwork recommended by the guest curator and confirmed by ART on THE MART. Through the creation of this curatorial prize and the related investment in artists, ART on THE MART intends to actively contribute to cultural diversity through access to opportunities and by bringing new global perspectives to the platform.
ART on THE MART is the largest permanent time-based media art projection system in the world and an innovative platform for public art that covers nearly three acres of the river façade of the iconic MART in downtown Chicago. Its mission is to provide free, public access to site-specific, relevant, non-commercial digital artworks exhibited on THE MART. ART on THE MART amplifies the expressions of the broadest range of artists and partners to realize the power of public art to inspire positive community engagement along the Chicago Riverwalk, throughout Chicago and beyond.
The transformative project, privately funded by Vornado Realty Trust and through the ART on THE MART Foundation (501c3), launched with an inaugural set of projections on September 29, 2018, attracting more than 32,000 people. It has quickly emerged as a major international cultural destination. Artists such as Nick Cave, Barbara Kruger, Charles Atlas, Diana Thater, Petra Cortright and others have exhibited new and site-specific works on the platform. ART on THE MART is active one hour each night, 9 months a year, based on a 30-year agreement with the City of Chicago.
Duties of Guest Curator
- Contribute to ART on THE MART's long-term curatorial strategy
- Attend regular meetings and ongoing collaboration with ED
- Recommend updates to ART on THE MART’s curatorial vision statement and help propose a 2-year exhibition plan for ART on THE MART
- Update selection criteria and evaluation rubrics for artists/artworks and establish revised proposal review process
- Manage any limited or RFP processes as requested by ART on THE MART, as required within 2-year plan
- Implement improvements to content accessibility
- Participate in quarterly curatorial advisory board meetings
- Expand interpretive content and share insights on placement of interpretive content
- Develop content partnerships and facilitate when requested
- Contribute to ART on THE MART development efforts, such as providing supporting copy around curatorial efforts, or as requested by the ED
- On-board next guest curator
- Within the 2-year exhibition plan, curate and manifest one of the projections for the 2024 season
- Make initial site visit, followed by key testing and subsequent event visits
- Research potential artists / content partners and recommend a short list of artists and conceptual framework for an ART on THE MART program season (spring, summer or fall TBD) in 2024. Based on the guest curator’s recommendations, ART on THE MART will select an artist to commission
- Act as principal liaison with the commissioned artist(s), including the following:
- Manage license agreement between ART on THE MART and the artist based on a budget to address artist and production fees determined by ART on THE MART
- Curate the conceptual, formal and technical aspects of the projection throughout the production process
- Manage the production process timeline, with attention to all process milestone and deliverable deadlines, including review of all artist file tests on the building, via ART on THE MARTdocumentation, with at least one on-site testing visit when artist is present
- Manage payment timeline to ensure timely payment of installments to the artist(s) in alignment with production milestones outlined in the artist agreement
- Coordinate with the artist and production partners, including the ED, THE MART’s IT team and external technology and lighting vendors
- Connect the artist(s) with ART on THE MART’s communications agencies and follow-up as needed with artist(s) around collection of assets, curator and artist interviews and other communications needs
- Collaborate as requested with ART on THE MART communications teams, including but not limited to providing content assets, participating in meetings, participating in media interviews or press events as requested by the comms teams and / or the ED
- Co-create programming with the ED and attend interpretive events, including exhibition opening events
Qualifications
The ideal candidate is an experienced visual art/time-based media curator or artist with a robust curatorial practice and a global perspective and has:
- Relevant experience in the commissioning and exhibition of large-scale, time-based media work in the public sphere and other spaces with a high degree of public engagement
- A proven history of multimedia projects, especially site-specific video, video projection mapping and audio components
- A demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and deliver complex art and design projects with many collaborators and stakeholders
- The ability to be in Chicago for key meetings, key test dates of the commissioned work on the building façade and related opening events
- Proficiency in spoken and written English
- Availability and flexibility to dedicate time for projection development, testing and opening events as scheduled by ART on THE MART. Ideally, candidates will not have a concurrent appointment, such as an institutional commitment or other major project-based work, that supersedes ART on THE MART’s processes and needs
Notes on Artist / Artwork Commissions
The selected guest curator should advance artists who bring video-mapping skills and/or a technical team to the commission.
Through a third-party vendor, ART on THE MART will provide minimal technical consulting around video mapping capabilities, in addition to the 2D and 3D models and templates that are provided below.
Audio files provided by the selected artist(s) to accompany the video files will be played through permanent audio speakers located on the Riverwalk Jetty. Accompanying audio is required and artists are responsible for securing any required permissions to rights for any images and sound.
The building features LED lights at the crown that will be coordinated with commission.
The system does not currently support live data feed, but THE MART is open to discussing projects that include interactive elements that would maintain the integrity of the platform and security of the system.
More information about artist and artwork guidelines, technical specifications and some technical support will be provided to the selected guest curator during onboarding.
Budget/Fees
ART on THE MART will award an award of $40,000 USD to the selected guest curator for the duties described above. If the guest curator is remote, ART on THE MART will reimburse approved travel expenses, to attend an initial site visit, at least one in-person visit for testing and the launch.
Additionally, artist commission and production fees, equipment, installation, maintenance and publicity costs will be addressed separately by ART on THE MART.
How to Apply
Please send application materials combined into one PDF document to info@artonthemart.com, with Guest Curator 2023 Application as the subject line.
- Contact information
- Letter of motivation including a brief description of current practice, statement of intent and goal for the guest curatorship and relevant experience. (500 words max.)
- Bio and CV
- Portfolio (links preferred of recent relevant projections, 5 max.)
- A short description of the curatorial aim (150-300 words)
- Optional: letters of recommendation (3 max.)
Questions in advance of deadline may be sent to info@artonthemart.com with Guest Curator 2023 Questionas the subject line.
Selection Process
Applications will be evaluated by ART on THE MART and its Curatorial Advisory Board based on the following criteria:
- Clarity and articulation of motivation, intent and relevant experience
- Alignment with ART on THE MART’s mission, with attention to the voice of the project, which is inspirational and hopeful, delightfully surprising and experimental yet also challenging, ambitious and bold
- Alignment with ART on THE MART’s spirit of welcome and accessibility for all audiences as well as expert discernment around the conceptual, technical and aesthetic approaches that will contribute to contemporary discourse
- Attention to Chicago’s diversity and its situation as a global city
- Quality of innovative thematic approaches and transdisciplinary viewpoints
- Potential to engage Chicago audiences and domestic and international visitors
- Potential for the guest curator’s approach to convene people onsite and online, catalyzing civic and civil dialogue
- Availability of curator to play an integral role in the execution of exhibitions and associated events/programming, i.e., concurrent appointments are acceptable but cannot supersede the responsibilities of the guest curatorship
Selection timeline:
Timeline– based on 18-month appointment (April 2023 – September 2024)
October 2022 – Public announcement of the initiative, along with other headlines
January 16 until March 3, 2023, Applications accepted
Late March/early April 2023 Announcement of selected curator
April – October 2023: Research around proposed artist short-list, initial artist commissioning for manifestation of a specific 2024 project and ongoing development of 2-year plan
October 2023 Guest curator’s recommended artist that will be installed in 2024 announced
November 2023 Begin development of curator specific 2024 projection
April 2024 On-boarding of second guest curator (terms of first and second guest curators overlap)
June 2024 Opening of first guest curator-developed work
September 30, 2024 First Guest curatorship concludes
Questions/Proposal Submissions:
Questions in advance of deadline may be sent to info@artonthemart.com with Guest Curator 2023 Questionas the subject line.
Please send application materials combined into one PDF document to info@artonthemart.com, with Guest Curator 2023 Application as the subject line by 9:00am CT on Monday, March 6, 2023.