Streetopia Legacy – Invitation to Contribute

UPDATE: The deadline has been extended to Tuesday 14th August 2018

As part of its ongoing legacy project, every year’s Streetopia event leaves some permanent works of art in Observatory – and an opportunity is available for you or anyone else to be involved in making a difference to the civic art landscape in Obs.

About Streetopia

The first Streetopia event took place on November 28th, 2015, in Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa – and the event has grown from strength to strength every year since, thanks to the support of residents, business owners and civic and non-governmental organisations in collaboration with AfrikaBurn. The result is a fantastic day of community and creativity that erupts on the streets of Observatory – and just as quickly disappears after sunset, thanks to a crew of volunteers and event staff who make sure the event area is left cleaner than it was found.

In the process, Obs gains a few more artworks on its walls and streets every year – because Streetopia’s aim is to benefit the community within which it takes place. The 2018 event will take place on Saturday December 1st, from 10am – 6pm. As a non-profit community-based event, it takes a whole village to make Streetopia happen – and a small army of volunteers too.

This year, funds have been specially allocated to leave behind several civic/public art works. To this end, we’re looking for proposals for specific sites (see more detail below) and three categories of works:

2 x Movable Sculptural or installational works
2 x Painted works
2 x Art Lights
2 x Art Boxes

To bring it all together, we’re collaborating with local organisations such as the Observatory Civic Association, OBSID, City of Cape Town and artists and residents from the area.

Application Requirements

1. Your proposal should consider how to get 2-4 underprivileged people involved in your process – exposing them to the whole experience of what it entails to bring a medium- to large-scale public work like this into being. Alternatively you could offer a workshop about public art/making to the broader community.
2. Your proposal should be site specific (see recommended sites). If you have a different space you think work should live in please provide accurate documentation of the site (Photos, map etc) and motivation for installing at that site.
3. Your proposal should include a detailed budget for materials and labour, and if any special equipment like scaffolding is required for the work to be installed.
4. Detailed drawings/renderings of the work on the site. Some indication of the concept of the work.
5. Timeline – a detailed timeline of how you intend to get the work done.
6. Deadline for proposals: 13th August.
7. Submit proposals here: goo.gl/forms/TJwEnWfjzqWKW6KB3
8. Proof of your bank account (letter from the bank with your banking details).
    

Selection

How we will decide how to allocate the funds:

1. Proposals that train and upskill young people will be preferred
2. Proposals that offer value for money will be preferred
3. Proposals that consider and interact with the culture, history, stories and people of Obs will be preferred
4. Local artists will be preferred
5. A sub committee from the AfrikaBurn Art Committee has been set up to evaluate the proposals
6. Deadline for selection: 17 August 2018
    

Service Provider Contracting

1. Once your work has been approved, and an invoice received – 50% will be paid upfront and 50% on completion of the project installation (Once a final site inspection has been completed to determine the work is done to high standard, the final amount will be paid).
2. You will be given a Memorandum of Understanding to sign which includes your budget and timelines for installation.
    

Support

What AfrikaBurn can provide:

1. A tech team that can help you with technical details of the installation, especially if you would like to include some technology on your work
2. All the necessary permissions to install the work from the local community and the City of Cape Town
3. Money to make the work possible
4. Access to information about local NGOs that could be a source of people who would benefit from mentoring and development
5. Pay any third parties directly for their services
6. Do a site inspection on completion of the work to ensure quality standards are met before final payment is made
    

Sites & Specifics:

We are looking for proposals to be installed at the following sites:

Painting sites:

Site 1 – Stanley House
Cnr Trill and Lower Main Rd
Façade facing Trill Road
There is an Art light installed on the left of the entrance already

Site 2 – Lion Corner
Near intersection of St Michael’s Rd and Lower Main Rd. Façade faces the Sasol garage. No work containing a political message may be installed on this particular site.

Site 3 – Observatory Community Centre, Rawson Street
This wall is situated within the playground of an Early Childhood Development Centre which operates from the Community Hall. This work should be appropriate and engaging for children aged 6 months – 6 years old.

Sculpture sites:

A requirement for the sculptural works is that they must be movable and adaptable to different sites.

Site 1 – Park near Observatory Train Station subway on Wrench Road

Please note: this site may also benefit from a mural.

Site 2 – Village Green

Site(s) 3 – A series of small works could be installed on street lamp poles.

Art Light sites:

Existing sites:

Site 1 Station Road Bridge – near the Market site

This is a dark walkway at night and we are looking for an innovative solution to lighting and uplifting this space. This might need a combination of art lights and art works.

Art box sites: 

There are two Art Boxes – the first is near the entrance to Café Ganesh on Trill Road, this is also near Ralph Borland’s Art Light. The second is near the entrance to Munro’s on Lower Main Road. We are looking for proposals to install mini short-term pieces in these boxes – we would like to rotate the works on display every 2-3 months.

The dimensions of the boxes are: 1500 x 100 x 300mm. The boxes are currently black, but the background can be painted a new colour. The boxes contain solar lights.

Munro’s Art Box

Ganesh Art Box:

Remember, the application form can be found here: goo.gl/forms/50HEbVMtpZdUvT1F3

Any questions can be forwarded to: [email protected]

This project was made possible in-part through funding from the National Lotteries Commission

Visit the National Lotteries Commision website to find out about other projects supported by the NLC.