CALL FOR ENTRY:
LIGHT CITY BALTIMORE
Baltimore’s newest festival of art, music and innovation seeks
visual, music and performing artists
The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts seeks participants for Light City Baltimore, a festival of light and ideas. Premiering March 28-April 3, 2016, the inaugural Light City Baltimore will be the first large-scale light festival in the United States featuring art, music and innovation programming and will be a platform to shine a light on Baltimore’s innovation and creative communities. Installed in the Inner Harbor area, Light City Baltimore seeks illuminated visual artworks, live performances with a light component, and musical performances and concerts that enhance and complement the light displays and sculptures.
“In some of Baltimore City’s darkest days in recent memory, our spirit was tested. But Baltimore has always been a resilient city. To truly move our city forward, we will need a broad, representative, and inclusive selection of projects, programs and events; and Light City Baltimore offers artists across our city an opportunity to celebrate Baltimore’s rich, diverse heritage, while creating a shared outlet to help us grow, heal, and facilitate social change,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
Calls for entry are open to artists and artist collaborative groups working in all media and genres of both the visual and performing arts. Artists are strongly encouraged to consider one or more of the following anchor values of the festival as they conceive their artwork proposal.
ANCHOR VALUES OF THE FESTIVAL:
Collaboration
Pioneering collaborations between artists working in all types of media and performance as well as collaborations between artists and technological innovators are important.
Innovation
The art installations will be a part of a larger festival ecosystem of innovation programming featuring local, national and international technological innovators.
Sustainability
Environmental impact is an important consideration and should be thought about when designing artworks. Opportunities to power exhibits with alternative energy sources are encouraged.
Audience Engagement
Proposed projects and performances should actively engage the audience and provide a unique and memorable experience for the festival-goer.
Transformation
Artworks that cause attendees to see situations in new ways, to rethink their deeply held beliefs and to reflect on key societal issues of justice and equality are encouraged.
CALLS FOR ENTRY CATEGORIES:
Visual Art & Visual Art/Performing Art Hybrid Projects
These projects are primarily visual or a hybrid of visual and performing art based. They will be installed prior to the beginning of the festival and remain onsite until the festival closes.
Music Performances & Concerts
Music is a key element of Light City. Artists are encouraged to consider how light can transform their performance. Artists should include in their proposal any work intended in collaboration with any visual art components of the festival or performances that include light elements.
Most musical performances will be scheduled during the evening hours of the festival.
Performing Arts
These applications could include, but are not limited to, proposals for dance performances, street theater, stilt walkers, jugglers, magic shows, and other types of artistic performances. These performances should be ephemeral or “pop-up” in nature; Light City will not be able to provide traditional staging. All applicants in this category must factor one or more light elements into their proposal.
Jury panels will be commenced for each of the three application types made up of professionals working in the corresponding field. The deadline for proposals is Monday, August 31, 2015. To apply, participants should follow the directions outlined at www.lightcitybaltimore.org.
Light City Baltimore is produced by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts in partnership with Visit Baltimore and What Works Studio. The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving as Baltimore’s arts council, event center and film office. For details, visit www.promotionandarts.org.
For more information on participating in Light City Baltimore, visit www.lightcitybaltimore.org or call 410-752-8632 or connect via Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #LightCity.