Thursday, December 29, 2011
Calling All Artists! Decorate Our Newsstands!
Posted by Ashley Johnston on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 6:22 PM
We are now accepting submissions to transform a Flyer box into art (without disassembling please)!
A group of artists will be selected and notified around February 8th, and each will have one month with their box to decorate as they see fit within certain stipulations, outlined below. A materials stipend will be provided for all selected artists courtesy of our sponsor, The Art Center supply store and frame shop.
A photo shoot of the artists with their work will take place once all boxes are completed and returned. The boxes will be unveiled within the March 29th, 2012 edition of The Memphis Flyer, and artists will be honored at an event on Wednesday, March 28th, with further details to come.
Boxes will then be put into commission around the city of Memphis as working public art throughout 2012. Flyer readers will also vote on "Best in Show," the winner of which will receive a $500 cash prize.
Rules:
The box must say "Memphis Flyer" and "Free" in a visible and obvious way.
All paints and other materials must be weather resistant.
No puncturing the box.
No painting over the see-through "window" on the front side.
No disrupting the door.
No offensive language or symbols.
The Memphis Flyer Art Box Project is open to the public, regardless of background or training, but to give us more insight into what you can do, we request simple information such as name, email, daytime phone, occupation, artistic interests, and examples of previous work via website, jpg or gif image. Submissions will be accepted through Monday, January 16th.
Go here to enter the contest!
For a little inspiration, check out what Creative Loafing, an Atlanta alternative weekly newspaper, came up with when making its mark around the Georgia town, here.
Comments (14)
Showing 1-14 of 14
I would like a chance to decorate one of your flyer boxes. I am a Memphis artist and have some design ideas in mind.
Name is ; BOB X - bob_x_@hotmail.com daytime phone is 901 458 2047
You can check out my website : mysteryhearsay.com/bob_x
Sorry if this isn't the real submission form,but I'm not on twitter,facebook,mysapce,etc.
Arts Memphis did a short feature on me and my art last year.Also some links and work are on the Live from Memphis website.Thanks.
like
dislike(The submission link doesn't work.)
I commend you for paying for the artists' materials for this project. However, the artists selected to decorate the boxes will not be compensated for their time. The most they can expect to receive is $500 for being voted "Best in Show." Some artists might like to do this for fun, and to get an opportunity to work in different materials or to see something that they made out in a public space. But other artists think their time is worth something, and aren't going to spend time working on a piece for someone else that will take time away from their own work, without consideration of their time.
Projects that enhance the public realm are good and are welcome, but adding to the misconception that artists need only work for exposure, and that the time that artists put into their work does not have the same value as the time that others put into their work, harms the arts community in Memphis.
How about in 2012 we as a city start showing artists that they matter for more than just decoration.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Alley, Artist
The submission link does indeed work! But in case you need the actual url, http://posting.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Ar….
Also, "Sorry if this isn't the real submission form,but I'm not on twitter,facebook,mysapce,etc." hmm... you need not have any of those social networking profiles to enter the contest. Please find the submission link above for the appropriate form. Thanks!
I'm curious - the materials stipend - is that something that can only be used at The Art Center? If so, what would be the attraction for an artist who works in a medium (metal, glass, etc.) that the AC does not carry supplies for? Are there any provisions for non-painter artists who need to procure supplies from other sources?
Many of us are just scraping by these days and simply cannot squeeze blood from a stone (or turnip or whatever.)
What about riveting things to the box? Puncture, but resealed.
So you get a winner.. will you decorate all the boxes to look that way?
Danzo
I agree with Elizabeth!
Shame on you Flyer.
Once again visual artists are treated as second class citizens.
If you needed your office painted, would you put out a call to all the professional painters out there to paint them for free, oh, but we'll buy the paint?
If all your copy machines needed repair would you put out a call to all repairmen and ask them to submit proposals on how well they could fix it in promise of one lucky person out of hundreds might get payed and get his picture in the paper?
Of course not!
Why I do love this paper..fair is fair guys. Hopefully this is misguided and they will perhaps trade free advertising for free advertising. Or flat out pay the artists for their work and time.
Public art is great! It makes a city better.
Here are some thoughts:
Perhaps do not do all the boxes at once, and just hire the number of artists that you can afford to pay..
Perhaps get businesses to sponsor the boxes.
You will be happy Flyer, because you will have awesome beautiful pieces of art and advertisement to promote your paper! You pay, and you get great quality.
And you can feel good about yourself and what I thought this paper believed in.
I would rethink this whole thing.
There has to be a better solution.
And artists, I encourage you to be selective. If you let businesses take advantage of you it hurts all of us.
You are valuable. You are talented.
And Flyer, I feel like you are going to do the right thing.
Mary Cour Burrows
visual artist
It's supposed to be a fun contest. Our boxes don't "need" to be painted or repaired. We thought it would be fun to allow some artists to play with 10 of our boxes. Materials are being provided. The winner gets $500. No one is being forced to enter. If you feel this fluffy little contest "exploits" you in some manner, I'd suggest you simply ignore it and continue painting and creating and making people happy with your art.
Looks like the graffiti artists are going to get the majority of the boxes.
Hey Bruce,
The flyer is a fun paper and I love it!
I am all about fun and I am all about fluffy. I've done tons of free stuff, just for the joy of doing it.
And one reason I love the Flyer is because of it's great support of the arts in this city.
Elizabeth(in a much nicer way) and I were just pointing out a view point that perhaps you guys didn't realize.
Hopefully the point was taken, or at least it perhaps made you pause and think.
And maybe with me, you struck a bit more of a nerve...and I could not ignore it. Sorry 'bout that.
Good luck with your boxes . Hope you get some box-o-riffic ones!
And you continue the great editorials, good writing, and yes, striking some nerves, with your paper.
Happy New Year.
I was able to submit the entry form, but my images would not load (although in the correct format). Please advise how I can get them submitted. Thanks.
Sorry about that. If you're having any problems at all submitting images, please send them or any other inquiries to boxcontest@memphisflyer.com.
I would like to respond to Elizabeth and all of those who agreed with her.
Get A Grip People!
As an artist myself, and fiance to of one of the contestants, painting a flyer box, I think your bickering and self-righteous attitude is insulting. Since when is it shameful to promote art? No one was forced to participate in this contest. Why is it exactly, that the flyer should pay artists to be a part of thier contest? I mean giving them little to no rules, and letting them put their own art, which I would hope they enjoy making, thier own ideas and concepts out there for all to see. To me, not participating in this competition, beacuse "time is money," is the equvilant of telling all graffiti artist, or any artist for that matter, they should just give up if they are not going to get paid. I have done work both for pay and not, but to say that the flyer is taking advantage of artist, by giving them an opportunity to drive by thier work out on a street corner, day after day, is ridiculous! I personally want to thank the flyer for letting us vandalize public, community, property, i hopes of winning some cash. And thanks to the art center for some new free supplies! I hope they do it again, maybe for other boxes next year, same rules, same guidelines, so that i can enter in hopes of making the cut and having a box of my own. I guess what I'm trying to say is... how dare they Memphis Flyer have the audacity to support local artist? I mean where do they get off, trying to offer something fun and public, to the little guy? and offering a prize? Shameful, simply shameful!
So just to reitterate Thanks Memphis Flyer, ya'll are awesome.
Sicerely, Little Guy Laura
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