Great Park Is Looking for Great Artists

Attention sculptors, poets, performance artists and other creative types.

The Orange County Great Park is seeking artists from all creative arenas to apply for its first artist-in-residence program.

"This program will foster innovative ideas of what a metropolitan park can be, bring the public into the artistic process and help create unique experiences for all park visitors," said Beth Krom, who chairs the Orange County Great Park Corp.

Four artists will receive $7,500 stipends to spend six months working in brand-new studios at the park, developing site-specific projects and interacting with the public during daytime studio hours.

Online applications for the program—open to adult artists worldwide—are due April 8. (Visit ocgp.org for details and selection requirements.)

A panel of arts experts—including Joseph Lewis III, dean of the UCI School of Fine Arts, and choreographer Sylvia Turner—will judge the entrants based on artistic quality, potential community impact, professional development and compliance with selection criteria.

The Orange County Great Park, approved by voters in 2002, has been marred by controversy and accusations of budgetary mismanagement over the years.

Envisioned as a 1,347-acre oasis on the site of the former El Toro military base, it currently encompasses 27.5 acres and features a multimillion-dollar tethered helium balloon that carries passengers 400 feet into the air. A $70-million plan to expand the park to more than 200 acres is under way.