Item 05_ NEA Grant_OF35.pdf — original pdf

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Arts Commission June 17, 2024 I-35 TODAY The East/West Divide I-35 AT 5TH STREET I-35 UPPER & LOWER DECKS OUR FUTURE 35 The Opportunity Our Future 35 will provide transformational new infrastructure for Austin that is of regional and national significance • • TxDOT project lowering the main lanes allows the City to deck over the highway • Over 30 acres of new urban real estate Local enhancement can provide an array of community benefits and change the landscape of Austin IMAGE: Klyde Warren Park, Dallas POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF FREEWAY CAPS • Reconnect East and West Austin • Change the landscape of Central Austin • Create marquee public space for citywide use • Support / incubate local businesses • Address local noise and air quality concerns • Create climate resilient public spaces CAP AND STITCH OVERVIEW Potential Cap Locations Potential UT Cap Locations Potential Stitch Location 5 NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS Grant for Art Project Recipient! • How can an artist help support this transformational infrastructure? • Economic Development Department and Transportation Public Works applied in July 2023 • Grant for Arts Project – selected recipient ($75,000) announced by NEA in May 2024 • Our Future 35 Artist-in-Residence Program (modeled after the 2018 COA AIR pilot with Watershed Protection Department) AIR PROGRAM Purpose & Goals Purpose: Goals: The OF35 AIR Program will strive to engage community members who have been impacted by and excluded from past infrastructure decisions, contributing to the desired outcome that future cap and stitch amenities are dynamic, sustainable, and serve communities of all races and identities. Just as importantly, the OF35 AIR Program will celebrate the historical and cultural fabric of past and present communities surrounding I-35 while acknowledging the highway’s history of fracture. The program will collect and amplify these narratives through art, making space for the art sector in the City of Austin and State of Texas government programs and processes. 1. Fostering innovative community engagement through creative expression that results in a meaningful exchange of ideas; 2. Furthering the City’s stated mission to engage with the cultural significance of the neighborhoods surrounding I- 35 early in the project process; and 3. Benefitting the local artistic community by adding depth to the selected artist’s social practice and portfolio. AIR PROGRAM Budget • The selected Artist is allotted a maximum of $70,000 for time spent working on the residency, inclusive of residency-related expenses (supplies, materials, insurance, mileage, transport costs, etc.). • The City will reserve an additional $5,000 for promotion, marketing and outreach associated with the residency (including publication, distribution and translation – if applicable). • The selected artist will be contracted by the City, and paid according to contract milestones that correspond to deliverables, rather than by an hourly rate. • However, it is estimated that the artist will spend roughly 450 total hours on the residency across 18 months or 25-30 hours per month • The number of hours worked, the work location, the number of events attended, and the volume of engagement pieces created will depend on the program’s progress, as the selected artist’s expertise and rates. AIR PROGRAM Performance Reporting City staff will evaluate the performance of the AIR Program by: 2. Monitoring engagement with public surveys; 3. Tracking newsletter sign-ups; 4. Tracking and analyzing social media metrics; artist and City staff). 1. Measuring attendance at events, including public open houses, neighborhood meetings, and partner events; 5. Administering qualitative surveys of the OF35 AIR Program to the public and program participants (including the AIR PROGRAM Artist Selection & Participation The residency is open to professional local artists who are: • From (or familiar) with East Austin, • Experienced in community engagement/ social practice, • Aware of I-35’s history and cultural context, and • Able to produce narrative-forward art Examples of artist participation during the residency could include: • Enhanced civic engagement or increased public understanding of the Our Future 35 Program, • Re-imagination of community cap and stitch spaces, • Creation of an artistic work that explores or underscores Our Future 35’s vision and goals, or • Utilizing data or feedback to inform an artistic work that sheds light on that information or perspective. AIR PROGRAM Eligibility • Professional artists, or artist teams, at least 18 years of age who live and work in any of the following counties are eligible to apply: Williamson, Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Burnet or Blanco. • A professional artist is defined as “a practitioner in the arts with an original self-conceptualized body of work, generally recognized by critics and peers as a professional possessing serious intent and ability.” • Artists must also be able to demonstrate social practice as a component of their professional experience or portfolio as an artist. Artists who are from (or familiar) with East Austin preferred. • All City of Austin employees are ineligible to apply. Artists who currently have one active contract with the City’s Art in Public Places (AIPP) program or who have more than two commissioned permanent projects in the AIPP Collection are ineligible to apply. Applications not meeting all eligibility criteria will not be considered by City. AIR PROGRAM Evaluation & Selection • Application will be on publicartist.org • Selection committee of 5-7 (including stakeholders from community and TPW) • The selection committee will review all applicant qualifications (work sample, resume, letter of interest, references), interview finalists (if applicable), and select one artist (or artist team) and one alternate. • Applications reviewed on a 100-point scale: • Artistic merit and technical expertise – 40 points • Demonstrated Applicable Experience, including any other residencies, collaborations with the public or specific communities, public art commissions, social practice, etc. – 30 points • Ability to execute the residency – 20 points • Expressed interest in creating work within the residency structure – 10 points AIR PROGRAM Program Timeline Mid-July 2024: Artist-in-Residence Open Call goes live Mid-August 2024: Selection Panel End of August 2024: Selected Artist-in-Residence announced September 2024: Artist is onboarded to the OF35 Program. October 2024: Artist begins attending community engagement events to develop a sense of future planning and coordination needs alongside OF35 Program staff and CAD staff. November 2024-March 2026: The artist produces and integrates their art in public engagement opportunities that align with the program goals and timeline. March 2026 – May 2026: Artist and staff co-develop a residency showcase/exhibition/pop-up to document the preceding 1.5 years of OF35 Program engagement and the artist’s work. Residency concluded no later than June 2026.