Artist Call: Tacony LAB Community Art Center Artist Residency

Background 

In Summer 2017, The Tacony CDC and Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Tacony LAB selected artist  Mat Tomezko as a resident artist to work with the community to develop imagery for a series of  banners which were installed along the Torresdale Avenue commercial corridor in Tacony.  These banners are past the end of their functional life and both organizations are taking this  opportunity to update the designs with a new community and resident artist vision. The goal of  this project is to create the graphics for a new series of banners while engaging the community i n the process. 

A history of the community of Tacony is summarized by the  Tacony Historical Society at this link.  The neighborhood of Tacony can trace its most recent history to Henry Disston, an industrialist  who moved his Disston Saw Works from West Philadelphia to Tacony on the Delaware River.  He helped to structure the neighborhood for the workers in his factory with plans for churches,  schools and varied housing stock. 

The residency will take place for three months and will be based at Mural Arts Philadelphia  Tacony LAB Community Arts Center, where the artist/s selected for the residency will have  access to the Tacony LAB studio space for both personal practice and project creation as well  as community engagement events. Artists are expected to be in Tacony approximately 8 hours  per week. 

Some of this time will be devoted to engaging the community through activities with families and  adults. These activities will be developed in collaboration with the Tacony LAB staff who will  assist with scheduling, assembling supplies and publicizing the events. The artist will also be  expected to take part in open houses, relevant community meetings, and similar events. 

The residency will culminate in an exhibition/public event and dedication featuring the  banners/public art project, but may feature other work completed during the residency, either by  the artist or work made by the community in engagement with the resident artist. 

Studio/Resources

The Tacony LAB Community Arts Center is located in the lower Northeast neighborhood of Tacony at 6918 Torresdale Avenue, Philadelphia, PA and has a number of resources and space available to prepare and work on projects. Any additional questions about the location or to arrange a site visit contact Barb Baur, Tacony LAB Project Manager by email to  barb.baur@muralarts.org

Resident Artist Responsibilities: 

• Engage the community in a collaborative process to develop artwork. Each artists’ process may  be different and often the act of community engagement will guide this process and its  outcomes. 
• Work with Mural Arts’ Tacony LAB staff to schedule community engagement workshops and  events. These events can be classes, open studio times or directed activities. 
• Spend approximately 8 hours per week locally at the Tacony LAB and the Tacony neighborhood,  sometimes at community events off site from the Tacony LAB. 
• Create the graphics for the banner series before the end of the residency period. 

Mural Arts Philadelphia Tacony LAB Staff Responsibilities 

• Support the resident artist in scheduling events and studio time, monitoring registration and  advertising to community participants. 
• Ensuring materials are available and costs for materials remain within budget. 
• Assisting and training with any of the Tacony LAB maker space resources the resident artist  may use for their project, workshops or events. 
• Schedule events to introduce the artist to the community and stakeholders. 
• Assistance as needed for graphics files for banner production. 
• Project management including budget monitoring,  processing artist payments and paperwork. 

 Tacony Community Development Corporation (CDC) Responsibilities 

•  Assist in the artist selection process. 
•  Assist in hosting and advertising artist and community engagement events. 

Artist Fee and Budget

• $6,000 stipend
• Additional $500 funding for the project materials and associated workshop costs
• Support from Mural Arts Philadelphia administrative, marketing and production resources
• Housing and transportation are not provided

Schedule/Timeline

• May 1, 2024:  Call for applications released
• June 17, 2024:  Application deadline
• July 1- 8, 2024:  Interviews with short-listed candidates
• July 15, 2024:  Applicants will be notified of decisions. 
• July 20, 2024 - Announcement
• Residency begins August, 2024
• Project unveiling Fall 2023- tbd

Applicants will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• The artist’s experience and skill, bodies of work
• The artist’s ability to engage community members in a reciprocal creative process

Artist Selection Process

Eligibility

The residency is open to artists based in the Philadelphia area with preference to those in the

local vicinity of Lower Northeast Philadelphia. Both established and emerging artists are

encouraged to apply.

Collaborative groups may apply, but please note that we cannot offer additional funding to

groups with multiple members. Artists must be citizens of the U.S. or have U.S. work

authorization.

Mural Arts Philadelphia encourages applications from artists of diverse experiences and

attributes, including but not limited to age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation,

gender expression, ability, language, citizenship status, family circumstances, and cultural

background.

Process

As part of the application, artists should write a short statement of no more than 500 words

about their interest in this residency and their artistic process. While applicants are welcome to

use this section to suggest possible subjects or imagery for the project, it is not required.

Applicants are encouraged to discuss why this project is of interest to them, how it may fit with

their work, and how they intend to engage the community.

Applicants should keep in mind that the residency itself and connections to the neighborhood is

a valued part of the process and will shape the project details. The term public art in context of

this residency is meant to be suggestive and should be explained by the applicant. Although

one outcome of the project, graphics for banners, is determined, this residency encourages

different forms of exploration, research, and engagement that can be of any medium. For

example, a fiber artist may create quilt blocks that could be photographed with images of these

blocks used on the banners.

After the close of application period, June 15, 2024, each eligible application will be reviewed by

a panel composed of persons from Mural Arts Philadelphia, the Tacony Community

Development Corporation and Tacony LAB staff and community members. Next a short list of

candidates will be interviewed before the decision is made with interviews taking place in early

July. The decision will be announced on July 15, 2024. A meet-the-artist event is planned for

August 2 at the Tacony LAB monthly First Friday event.

Review Criteria

Applications will be reviewed based on:

• The content of the artists’ statement of interest.
• Experience in engaging the community in a reciprocal creative process.
• The quality of work samples/body of work submitted/craftsmanship.
• The artist’s general experience and skill.