City of Asheville seeks applications for Visiting Artist Program

The City of Asheville’s Public Art and Cultural Commission is excited to announce a call for entries to support a new partnership: the Visiting Artist Program.

This first year of the program will engage a visiting artist that can support the community’s creation of memorable places, the promotion of Asheville’s African American history, and participation by the local community in diverse acts of cultural expression.

“We are wide open to what the final artwork actual looks like — as long as the proposed process meets the goals of the program,” said Public Art and Cultural Commission (PACC) Chairman Jay Miller. “We are encouraging proposals from qualified artists that focus on anything from performing arts, digital media, ephemeral work, painting — you name it.”

The 2018 partnership is funded by the City’s Percent for Public Art Policy, sponsored by the Public Art and Cultural Commission, and being guided by a local leadership team of artists, arts and culture educators, activists, and promoters. This leadership team will serve as the selection committee and work throughout the term of the project to ensure it reflects the community’s authentic character, works with existing community assets and institutions, and brings people together.
Next steps for the project include identifying potential community partnerships and project locations.

We’d like to connect with others that have similar projects underway, and enhance their efforts,” said Advisory Team member Darin Waters. “There are already several community organizations telling the story of African American heritage in places like The Block and the East End, Southside and Burton Street. We need to ask ourselves: ‘Can we use the Visiting Artist Program to add to the engagement of the community and our local artists in these projects?’ ”

The program’s leadership team is seeking additional partnerships with the community. We’d like to connect with others that have similar projects underway, and we are interested in talking to potential sponsors who can help increase the quality of the community’s involvement in this project.

How to apply
The Visiting Artist will be chosen through a competitive process. Artists who are interested in the program should note that the deadline to apply is 5 p.m. April 27. The call for entries is currently up on the City of Asheville’s bid page and on the Call for Entry (CaFE) website.

For more information contact Asheville Strategic Development Director Steph Monson Dahl at smonson@ashevillenc.gov or 828-337-4111.

April 3, 2018

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