Purpose – The Lowndes/Valdosta Arts Commission, Valdosta, GA, seeks two artists for the purpose of designing and completing with community involvement, two public artworks in downtown Valdosta, GA. The project is funded from a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (Arts Engagement in American Communities program) and the Price-Campbell Foundation of Valdosta. Artists are expected to be in residence at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts for a period of 6 weeks from mid-May through June 2015. Preliminary work must be completed in early May 2015 prior to the residencies. Artists, while working in residence to complete the public works, will be provided time, space and a budget to complete both their own art, which will result in an exhibition at the Turner Center and the public art pieces. Artists must complete the public artworks with the help of community members and youngsters from the
Valdosta Boys and Girls Club.

Artist Requirements – All artists applying for one of these two residencies should have some experience working on large scale artworks and also demonstrate some experience working on art with community members. Artists must be 18 years of age or older, provide visual examples of large-scale works, and be willing to have a background check. Works may be in any form; however, the budget is limited and must be adhered to without exception.

The Artist’s Vision – Applicants should provide a preliminary plan for the artwork including a brief budget, brief verbal explanation and sketches of the proposed work. Themes for work must relate to Valdosta, Lowndes County, and/or South Georgia and may include, but are not limited to, the following: Arts and Literature in the Valdosta and Lowndes County area; Athletics or Team Sports; the Sporting Life in South Georgia; or the History of Valdosta and Lowndes County. Applicants are expected to research the topic of his/her choice for the preliminary proposal. Finalists for the project will be asked to provide more detailed plans with a complete budget plus an idea of how the artist will approach working with community members. As part of the residency, each artist will be asked to conduct a minimum of one public lecture and several public workshops. The medium or media to be used for the work must be able to stand up to the elements. The project manager, working with each artist, will develop a schedule for each residency including personal studio time, public lectures, workshops and approaches to community involvement for working on the project.

Preliminary Proposal Requirements – Artists must submit: (1) up-to-date resume; (2) letter of intent with a brief narrative and sketches of proposed public artwork; (3) two letters of support testifying to the artists’ ability to carry out a project of this nature; and (4) a minimum of ten (10) visual examples of completed works, with a minimum of two (2) large scale examples.

Time Line – (1) Proposals with brief preliminary plans must be postmarked no later than Friday, March 27, 2015; (2) Notification will be sent to finalists by Friday, April 10, 2015; (3) Final Proposals must be postmarked no later than Friday, April 24, 2015; (4) Preliminary work to be completed no later than Monday, May 11, 2015; (5) Residencies will begin on Monday, May 18, 2015; (6) Completion of the public artwork(s) must be no later than June 31, 2015. Proposals may be sent via email to: slahr@turnercenter.org, subject: RE: A-I-R 2015 or
snail mail with information on a CD, address below.

Directions – Send application with resume, letter of intent with brief narrative and sketches, two letters of support and visual examples to: Dr. J. Stephen Lahr, NEA Project Coordinator,
The Turner Center for the Arts, 527 No. Patterson St., Valdosta, GA 31601.
Email: slahr@turnercenter.org. Phone: 229-242-2787.

This project has been funded through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (Arts Engagement in American Communities) and the Price-Campbell Foundation.

To learn more, visit: http://turnercenter.org/artist-in-residence-program/