Projecting Our Stories, Projecting Our Future
Projecting Our Stories Open Call for Images
With Projecting Our Stories, we intend to highlight the Upham’s Corner community and nearby artists by projecting their work high onto the side of the Strand Theatre. Even while our lives are transformed by the social, economic and emotional challenges of Covid-19, we want a collective embodiment of who we are. We want Projecting Our Stories to help people see each other and see ourselves, in ways that help us all feel our collective strength.
In some ways, we imagine Projecting Our Stories to be like turning the Strand inside out. A dance that might have been performed on stage will be projected larger-than-life above Columbia Road, now set to the sounds of Upham’s, and attended by all who pass by. A photo exhibit that might have nestled into the Strand’s gallery space will now star humans practically touching the sky.
Process:
Selection: We will include as many images as we can, emphasizing ones that are high resolution and high contrast. In order to highlight and project onto the Strand Theatre as many images as possible, there is no stipend attached to this call. All participating artists will be recognized both with their projection and in promotional literature.
What and how to Submit: Please submit up to 3 high resolution, high contrast, landscape orientation (horizontal) images or short video clips (up to 3 minutes, understanding that no sound will be played). Remember that images should either 1) reflect something about the Upham’s community at large or 2) be by an artist who lives and/or works along the Fairmount Cultural Corridor. Images must be original art, and can be photos, performances, animations, drawings, paintings, collages, etc.
Images can be submitted via email to: submissions@ds4si.org. Please also include:
Full name
Email address
Where you work or live along the Fairmount Cultural Corridor (Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan or Hyde Park).
Timeline:
We will be accepting images/clips until September 18th, at 11:59pm.
The Projecting Our Stories Art Show will be featured on the Strand Theater on evenings of Friday, September 25th and Saturday, September 26th.
Many thanks to our partners: the Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture, the Strand Theatre, Masary Studios, Boston Design Week, Downtown Boston BID, and the Fairmount Cultural Corridor!
Projecting Our Future Art Commission
Note: this commission is now closed.
This current moment—with both Covid-19 and the Movement for Black Lives—is creating a powerful opportunity to examine and re-imagine the arrangements of daily life. As many of us are removed from our normal routines of work, school, activism, art, social life, etc., we have the distance to imagine new ways of being in the world. We assert that now is the time to question and reinvent what’s normal. We believe that artists can lead the way in imagining and proposing new arrangements, ones that are more just, creative and joyful.
For this art commission, we invite artists along the Fairmount Cultural Corridor to map, draw, animate, dance or otherwise represent their response to this prompt:
Has this moment of pause and reflection stirred or opened your imagination in some unexpected way? Has this moment allowed for you to dream or imagine new ways you’d like to arrange life? It could be a re-arrangement of your day or your home, your school or work life, your neighborhood, city or region, or it could not center you at all, but rather be about time, or food, or water…
Process:
Selection and Stipend: We will be selecting 10-12 pieces of work that represent a wide variety of art approaches and new arrangements of life. If your work is selected, you will receive a $300 commission.
What and how to Submit: Please submit up to 5 high resolution, high contrast and landscape orientation (horizontal) images or short video clips (up to 3 minutes, understanding that no sound will be played during the show) that capture your idea for rearranging life.
Images can be submitted via email to: submissions@ds4si.org. Please also include:
Full name
Email address
Where you work or live along the Fairmount Cultural Corridor (Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan or Hyde Park).
Timeline:
We will be accepting images/clips until September 11th, at 11:59pm.
The Projecting Our Future Art Show will be featured on the Strand Theater on the evenings of Friday, October 2nd and Saturday, October 3rd. We are also in conversation with the Downtown Business Improvement District to have this show projected onto a storefront in Downtown Crossing in October. Date TBD.
It will also be featured in Boston Design Week.