AMP: Artists' Meeting Place and Resource Collective

MADRID ABIERTO
CALL FOR ARTISTS
APPLICATIONS 2009-2010

Limit Date: 10th September 2008

For more information:
Web: http://www.madridabierto.com
E-mail: abierto@madridabierto.com

Direction: Jorge Díez
Curator: Cecilia Andersson
Adviser Committee: Cecilia Andersson, Democracia, Guillaume Dèsanges, Jorge Díez, Ramon Parramon, Fito Rodríguez and Mª Inés Rodríguez
Coordinator: RMS La Asociación
Graphic Design: 451
Organize: Asociación Cultural Madrid Abierto
Sponsors: Fundación Altadis, Comunidad de Madrid and Ayuntamiento de Madrid Collaborators: Fundación Telefónica, ARCO, La Casa Encendida, Ministerio de Cultura, RNE3, Canal Metro, Círculo de Bellas Artes and Casa de América

The Cultural Association, MADRID ABIERTO, announces the start of the presentation of projects period for the 6th edition of its international public art programme ( http://www.madridabierto.com ), which will be held in 2009 and 2010. The programme will hold debate sessions on public art and will generate a series of interventions of an ephemeral or temporary nature in the centre of Madrid, whose authors will mainly be selected through this open call for presentations. A specific call for presentations of sonorous work, which includes collaboration in the audiovisual TV Interventions project, is also announced.

PARTICIPATION BASES:
1. Reflecting from the stance of contemporary art practice on cultural, social and political environment, the purpose of this call for applications is to select artists to produce interventions of a temporary or ephemeral nature aimed at contributing to activate the public space. The initiative includes two specific projects for the Casa de América and Círculo de Bellas Artes buildings, which will be incorporated into Madrid Abierto with other invited projects and selected sonorous and audiovisual works.

This edition of Madrid Abierto will be dedicated to emerging practices that critically engage with the urban environment. Madrid Abierto 2009-2010 aim to include a wide variety of practitioners and art forms that establish their strengths in an expanded role, and that work in the social realm of art practice and audience participation. The idea is to produce and show work that connect various disciplines and that opens up for collaborations between, for example, artists, architects, designers, computer programmers, social scientists and urban planners.

For cities to thrive, to be communicative and alive, and to function as catalysers of public life, it is necessary to stimulate civic participation and community involvement. Given the current framework, where society often fail to negotiate some of the most immediate challenges, how can pooling resources such as the ones found in interdisciplinary groups, develop alternative work methods? How can inertia and nostalgia be substituted by visionary and inspiring tools that act as catalysts for change?

2. The programme schedule is as follows:

- Application deadline: until September 10th 2008.
- Selection of artists: until October 31st 2008.
- Preparatory meetings and seminars: February 2009.
- Elaboration of final projects: until April 30th 2009.
- Assessment of projects and installation permits: until June 30th 2009.
- Execution of artistic interventions and transmission of sound and audiovisual works: February 2010.

3. Coinciding with ARCO, the interventions will be take place in February 2010 in Madrid, with some form of presence or reference in the junctions Paseo de la Castellana-Recoletos-Prado and Calle de Alcalá-Gran Vía.

The sound works will be transmitted by Radio 3, Radio Nacional de España in February 2010. Audiovisual works will be presented during this time too.

4. Artists of all nationalities are encouraged to present their applications (except for the Casa de América project, which is open to Latin American artists only), either individually or as a team. In the case of team application, one representative must be appointed.

5. A) Artistic interventions.-Each participant must include:

* Curriculum of no more than 2000 characters with a photocopy of the author or
authors' National Identity Document (or equivalent).

* Description of a project already executed and the draft of a project for Madrid. In
both cases no more than 4000 characters.

* A maximum of six sketches or images of the project or draft project in jpg format
with a maximum resolution of 72 dpi.

* Description of the technical set up and needs of the draft project.

* Estimated and broken down budget of the draft project, including details of items
that could possibly be self-financed.

* All the files must be PC compatible. Files sent from an Apple computer must have
adequate extensions (doc, xls, pdf, jpg, tif, etc.).

* Should the above-mentioned information fail to be received in full, the participation
will be rejected.

* The maximum budget for each selected artist is 15,000 euros. In all cases this sum
includes expenses derived from the preparatory meeting in February 2009, as well
as travel, accommodation, production, transport and set up of the intervention in
February 2010, the author or authors fees (up to a maximum of 2000 euros) and any
applicable taxes.

B) Sound Art.- Each participant must include:

* Curriculum of no more than 2000 characters and a photocopy of the author or
authors' National Identity Document (or equivalent).

* Description of the proposed piece, not exceeding 4000 characters.

* Maximum length of work is10 minutes per author and must be sent on a CD.

* Selected artists will receive 500 euros. A direct master copy of the work will form part of the documentary collection and public archives of Madrid Abierto. The work may possibly be placed on the website http://www.madridabierto.com, for non-profitable purposes and with prior consent of the authors.

C) Audiovisual work.- The audiovisual work selected in the 2008 and 2009 calls for applications for TV Interventions ( http://www.intervenciones.tv , http://www.fundacionrdz.com ) will form part of the Madrid Abierto 2009-2010 programme in collaboration with Fundación Rodríguez and Centro Cultural Montehermoso (and may be transmitted by Canal Metro). Those selected will receive 500 euros and a direct master copy of the work will form part of the documentary collection and public archives of Madrid Abierto. The work may possibly be placed on the website http://www.madridabierto.com, for non-profitable purposes and with prior consent of the authors.

Audiovisual applications will not be accepted through the Madrid Abierto application procedure.

6. All the proposals must be sent by electronic mail to abierto@madridabierto.com prior to September 10th 2008.

7. The advisory committee of Madrid Abierto, presided by Programme Director Jorge Díez and comprised of Cecilia Andersson, Guillaume Dèsanges, Ramon Parramon, Mª Inés Rodríguez, Fito Rodríguez and artist group Democracia, participates in the various phases of this edition. Casa de América and Círculo de Bellas Artes will appoint a representative for the task of selecting each institution's intervention.

Cecilia Andersson will be this edition's curator. In collaboration with the advisory committee of Madrid Abierto, she selects the participating artists on the basis of their track record, the quality and viability of the proposals and the total reversibility of the interventions. The organiser may round off the selection with invited artists, up to a maximum of 50% of the total number of selected artists in the open invitation. Since these projects will occupy public spaces, Madrid Abierto will obtain the necessary municipal permits to the set up the interventions.

Should the selected artists use images or elements belonging to third parties, they must provide authorisation of the proprietors for the use of images or extracts in the project.

8. Madrid Abierto reserves the right to publish and reproduce the selected artistic interventions for all purposes associated with the promotion of the programme, and shall incorporate all generated documentation into its documentary collection and public archives. The selected projects and works are the property of the authors and, as the case may be, the promoting institutions shall have a preferential right to purchase them.

9. Participation in this call for applications entails full acceptance of the conditions of entry.

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