The Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture is reaching out to local artists to continue a series started earlier this year and create a work of interactive art.
The series that brought last year’s “Intersection” will return again in 2017, this time in a new location and with a new artist. The piece will be a temporary installation on display during Art Detour, projected onto the side of a downtown building.
Public Art Program Director Ed Lebow said the job of creating this interactive projection is open to any local artist with confidence in their skills and a creative approach.
To qualify to work on the project, artists must complete an application by Nov. 28. The artist will be chosen by a panel and will have a $5000 budget for the work. He or she will collaborate with a pre-selected digital design team to integrate technologies such as projection and laser mapping into the piece.
Lebow said the goal of the project is to combine digital technology with an artist’s direction to create a work of art that creates an experience for the community it occupies.
Project manager Estrella Payton said she hopes to make this project an avenue for local artists to be a part of downtown’s artistic image on all levels.
“Our goal is to always make sure that we’re highlighting the excellent work and culture that’s right here in our city,” she said. “We want to be nationally recognized for what we’re producing.”
She said the challenge posed in this project is to use all of the chosen building by taking advantage of the exterior’s textural aspects and architecture.
Adam Wheeler, a project director and member of the digital team, saw the previous work done in this series with the city.
“People are a part of the event just by being there,” Wheeler said. He said he found it remarkable that people were able to enjoy and appreciate the art in a new way.
“It can get very experimental,” Payton said, reminiscing on last year’s project.
The artist that will be directing next year’s project will be announced in December. The installation will be on display on March 17 and 18 during Art Detour.
The building the projection will occupy is yet to be announced.
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