Call to Artists Now Available!!
Posted January 8th, 2009
Easthampton, Massachusetts – Starting next summer and continuing through the fall of 2009, Easthampton will be the setting for a premier art event, Easthampton Bear Fest! From June through mid-October 2009, downtown Easthampton will host an exhibit of life sized, fiberglass bears that are creatively painted, decorated, and festooned by artisans from Easthampton and the region and placed in various public spaces within an easy walking tour. A total of 30 bears, 20 life-size and 10 smaller, will be displayed.
This is a call to you, area Artists, to let your imagination get the better of you and create an amazing work of art that will be seen by thousands of visitors who will come just to see your and your fellow artists’ creations. Imagine what you could do with a life sized sculpture of a bear!
Each bear will be sponsored by businesses and individuals, and will be auctioned off at the end of the Easthampton Bear Fest, to benefit Riverside Industries Art Program, Easthampton Public Schools Art Programs, the Artists who decorate them and Easthampton City Arts. Artists will be paid for their work, supplied with the bear sculpture, and have approximately three months to prepare their bear for display. The artists’ and sponsors’ names will be highly visible with their bear.
We anticipate many visitors interested in seeing and tracking the bears, including art lovers, kids and families, and unsuspecting people just traveling through. We will be publicizing this event far and wide in an effort to get the word out. Be part of this amazing public art event culminating in a Week Long Celebration of the Arts in October 2009 here in Easthampton, Massachusetts!
You may download the package by clicking on “Call to Artists” tab at the top of this page, or for a paper copy write to Easthampton Bear Fest, c/o Easthampton City Arts, 43 Main Street, Suite 4, Easthampton, MA 01027; call Briana Taylor at (413) 527-8278; or email info@easthamptoncityarts.com Businesses or individuals interested in sponsoring a bear may also use the same contact information listed above. The Easthampton Bear Fest is sponsored by Easthampton City Arts. For more information visit our websites at EasthamptonBearFest.com and EasthamptonCityArts.com
The deadline for application is February 18, 2009; participating artists will be selected in a juried competition and notified of the results no later than February 27th, 2009.
If you are submitting a proposal, please email ECA with your intention to do so and contact information so that we may add you to a proposal list; this is not required but will be helpful. Thanks for your interest and we look forward to seeing your ideas!
Also, if you do not work or live in Easthampton you will have to pick up your naked bear and then be able to deliver it back to Easthampton City Arts by June 10, 2009!
