$12K Offered To Greater Boston Artists For Salem Public Parks Project

SALEM, MA — Salem is looking to bring a little creativity and interactivity to its underutilized public park space and is offering $12,000 to the artist who can provide it.

The grant will be given to the candidate commissioned to design and build a temporary public art project that will be on display for four months this coming spring. Artists from throughout Greater Boston are encouraged to apply here by the 4 p.m. deadline on Dec. 15.

The project is part of Salem's Public Art Commission in partnership with the New England Foundation for the Arts and the Massachusetts Area Planning Council's "Making it Public" program. The goal is to bring "activation, playfulness, joy, color and beauty to the city's neighborhood parks and underutilized spaces.

The artist will choose the space where the exhibit is displayed. Artists are encouraged to "get creating and think outside the box."

Those applying should have experience in creating outdoor or site-specific works of art. The commission should cover all services from the development through final completion, including the artist fee, travel, community meetings, materials, creation, fabrication, installation, transportation and project coordination.

The Salem Mayor's Office will lead an "Art Jury" that will select three to five finalists from submissions received who will then be interviewed and asked to present their work. The Mayor's Office will then select the chosen artist.

Full design plans are not needed in the application process but "general rough sketches of ideas" are "highly desirable."

More information on the project can be found here or by calling Senior Planner of Arts & Culture Julie Barry at 978-619-5681.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)