RedLine Contemporary Art Center

About 48 Hours

48 Hours of Socially Engaged Art & Conversation is a free, two day summit and exhibition engaging cultural organizations, individuals, artists, activists and community members to promote positive social change through creativity. 48 Hours provides the opportunity to engage in dialogue about the growing role of SEA in the fields of art, equity, activism, and community engagement.

This year, RedLine is seeking proposals for our annual summit held on August 12 & 13, 2022. This event will be a hybrid of virtual and in-person with the following components: 1) a live screening of the  48 Hours of Socially Engaged Art & Conversation Summit as a framework for conversation and inquiry; 2) In person and hybrid breakout sessions, talks, and workshops 3) In person Exhibition Opening 4) In person Block Party with SEA projects

2022-2023 RedLine Annual Theme: Roots Radical

At RedLine, we acknowledge the land on which we reside is the traditional territory of the Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe Peoples. We recognize the 48 contemporary tribal nations that are historically tied to the lands that make up the state of Colorado. We honor Elders past, present, and future, and those who have stewarded this land throughout generations. We recognize that government, academic and cultural institutions were founded upon and continue to enact exclusions and erasures of Indigenous Peoples. May this acknowledgment demonstrate a commitment to working to dismantle ongoing legacies of oppression, inequities as we recognize the current and future contributions of Indigenous communities in Denver.

Roots Radical, launching in August of 2022, is a program and exhibition series that explores the often dislocation of Indigenous identities from Indigenous persons, and how perceptions of Indigeneity is formed by dominant, or white-supremacist narratives and/or perceptions vs realities and experiences of thriving, living cultures. Roots Radical, supports Native-led organizations and artists and the deeper exploration of our communities collective ancestry and indigenous histories.

What does it mean to be deeply connected to ancestral roots? As a community, how do we go beyond honoring, recognizing a space for voice and leadership?

We are seeking visual artists, performers, writers, musicians, poets, and other creators and change-makers inspired by ‘Roots Radical’ who have ideas for:

• Interactive Workshops: Engage participants in intensive discussions, activities, and/or knowledge sharing.
• 10-minute Talks: TedTalk style that can be in-person or pre-recorded
• Performances: May include music, dance, performance art, spoken word, etc.
• Socially Engaged Art Projects: SEA projects that are new or in the works that allow participants to witness and experience projects that model art as a framework for social change.  Documentation of  completed socially engaged artworks will not be accepted.
• Social Media Takeover/Blog Submissions: These can include short essays, poems, comics, short stories, etc. They will be published in RedLine’s blog or social media if selected.

The INSITE Fund is a grant program administered by RedLine and made possible by the The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Regional Regranting program. This fund responds to the gap in funding support for artist-driven projects on Colorado’s Front Range. INSITE is a 2-year, $60,000.00 per year, grant program, adding to and reinforcing the importance of funding opportunities that are accessible directly to artists working in an expansive field of ideas, audiences and visual arts practices.

Visual Arts

INSITE Fund awards grants to public facing visual arts projects that take place beyond the studio, museum, art center or traditional gallery setting.

INSITE Fund specifically seeks to support projects that expand the public’s understanding of the visual arts. The intended outcome of the funding is to make visible often unseen and under-supported artistic activity, and to cultivate engaged communities around the work.

Location

Projects must take place within an 80 mile radius of Denver. Geographic boundaries for the grant funding area are Fort Collins to the North, Colorado Springs to the South, Limon to the East, and Frisco/HWY 9 to the West.

Funding Amounts:

In 2022 INSITE Fund will award 10-15 grants of $2,500-$5,000 each for a total $60,000 in grant funding. We encourage applicants to consider all expenses related to their project, including production, marketing, reception, and documentation.
Eligibility requirements:

1. All projects must be anchored in a visual arts practice.

2. Grant funds are intended for individual artists and artist collectives.

3. The fund does not support 501(c)3 (non profit) organizations. The fund is meant to support short-term initiatives, events, and new collaborations.

4. Funded projects must take place within a 80 mile radius of Denver.

5. Lead artist/organizer must reside within a 80 mile radius of Denver.

6. Funded projects should take place outside of the traditional gallery, art center, studio, or museum location.

7. The fund does not support an individual’s ongoing studio practice, underwrite exhibitions in existing program schedules, or works of traditional theater.

8. Projects must be completed within a 12-month grant cycle.

9. Projects must be presented in publicly accessible spaces, with covid precautions taken into consideration as needed.

Jury Considerations:

● Location (Is the project within the geographic region?)

● Audience engagement (Does the project take place in a publicly accessible space?)

● Innovation / Authenticity (Does the project add to and expand definitions/understandings of the visual arts?)

● Collaboration (How does the project leverage collaboration in service of audience engagement?)

● Professional Presentation / Performance / Execution (Does the concept and presentation of the concept demonstrate artistic strength and merit?)

FEMA ArtWorks South Platte River Mobile Art Project - Call for Artists 

Project Amount: $45,000 (This amount must cover all artist/artist team project expenses.)

Description: The Project seeks an artist, or artist group, to develop a mobile art experience for use at outdoor, publicly accessible, community events in the Overland Park, Rosedale and Ruby Hill neighborhoods of Denver, Colorado.

Vision: We want community members to gain a greater understanding of their place within the South Platte River floodplain and to take action to mitigate their flood risk. The mobile art experience should be interactive and accessible to the broad range of people living and working in these specific neighborhoods. It should reflect the local character, including ages and languages.

Medium: Any variety of media/artwork that can be transported to multiple community events. It must include an element(s) that will be developed by community members. The community events are expected to be 1-day events, with set up and take down required. Between events the experience must be kept secure and stored by the artist/artist team. Events are expected to be outdoors. However, if the experience is also feasible for indoor display, these events can be considered as well, as long as they are free and available to the public. The events have not yet been selected.

Audience: General public including children and adults of all ages and mobility.

Flood Mitigation
Flood mitigation reduces a person’s and/or property’s risk to future flooding events. Mitigation allows residents to return home more quickly, with less damage, and less expense. It focuses on thinking about how to reduce risk before a disaster happens, so that when it does, the impacts are reduced. Flood mitigation examples include:

• Protecting your investment in your home by purchasing flood insurance.
• Elevating your home above the floodwaters. 
• Elevating or floodproofing mechanical units, ductwork, electrical systems and other utilities to protect against damage and reduce repair costs. 
• Installing flood vents in foundation walls, garages and other enclosed areas. 
• Using flood-resistant building materials. 
• Keeping the natural wetland/overflow areas adjacent to waterways open and vegetated.

Entry Requirements

• Artists and/or art collaboratives should live, work, or have a connection to  the Overland Park, Rosedale, or Ruby Hill neighborhoods. 
• The art may not include political messages, copyrighted materials, or brands. 
• The art should connect to local communities and their stories. 
• The art should have a positive tone.
• The art must incorporate flood mitigation in a meaningful way. 
• The art must be mobile and present for at least three community events within or near the communities of Rosedale, Ruby Hill and Overland Park in the 2023 timeline. The artist must plan for storage of the experience between events. 
• The art must involve the community, either in the creation of the art and/or during community events. 
• Events must be approved by FEMA, and may be suggested at the time of submission, or identified later in the process. Events should not have a political focus, should be free to attend and follow the laws and regulations of the City and County of Denver.

FEMA Support 

• There is no entry fee. 
• FEMA will provide documentation support (video and/or photography) for the project development process and at public events. The artist will have usage rights for products along with FEMA. 
• FEMA will support with guidance, information, data, and education on flood mitigation throughout the process as needed. This may include meetings with the artist or artist group to clarify flood risk and mitigation, developing information and language on flood mitigation and risk to support the project, and/or reviewing materials that reference flood mitigation and risk. 
• FEMA will conduct and support outreach to the communities, and advertising and promotion of the experience at evens in partnership with the artist or artist group, to involve them in the project and/or help support participation at the public events. 

Review Metrics

• Community Involvement – a clear plan for how the process and/or outcome will involve the community and invite them to contribute to the art concept. 
• Interactive – Some portion of the art should be built and/or experienced by the participants of the community event.
• Climate Change – The art should carry the message that although climate change is expected to make flooding events more costly to recover from, you can protect your family and investments. 
• Equity – The increase and severity of disasters disproportionately impact historically underserved communities. The art should include the cultural perspectives of the underserved population that lives and works within the identified neighborhoods.

Informational Session Information:
June 21st at 11am on Zoom
This will provide more information on what mitigation is, examples of the mobile projects that inspired this call for art, and cover any questions you have about the content, process or logistics. If you are unable to attend, you can see the slide deck and the Q and A on the submittable page following this session.  
Please direct questions or comments to FEMA-ArtWorks@fema.dhs.gov

Application Checklist: 

1. Project Title
2. Lead Contact Information (name, e-mail, and partners/collaborators on the project that are connected to the specific neighborhoods)
3. Budget
4. Timeline
5. Collaborator’s Information
6. Project Description
7. Desired Medium
8. Description of how the art will be presented at community events in the specific neighborhoods
9. Work samples (5-7)
10. Project references (3)
11. Artist statement

Project Timeline

• Opportunity Posted: May 16, 2022
• Application Deadline: June 27, 2022
• Selection Process Complete: July 18, 2022
• Notification Sent: July 29, 2022
• Project Award(s) and Agreement(s): August 22, 2022
• Project Creation: September 2022 through April 2023
• Community Event Participation: April 2023 through September 2023 

Reporting will coincide with major project milestones and will be defined in the agreement(s). A minimum of three project update meetings will occur where milestones will be reported.