Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – Community Arts Initiative – The Artist Project

The Artist Project is a collaboration between the MFA, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA)and eight after-school community organizations in the Boston area. The selected artist will work with approximately 10-15 children, age seven to twelve, in each organization. No more than 125 children participate over the duration of the project. The artist will design the project and with the children will create a collaborative work of art inspired by the Museum’s encyclopedic collection. This collaborative art project will include the voices and ideas of the participating children by its completion. The role of the lead artist is to be the hand that steers the work into its final, exhibited shape. Strong consideration will be given to artists representing the partnering communities.

The MFA will provide a stipend of $18,000 to the artist(s). A materials budget of $3,000, staff support, and teaching assistants managed by the MFA will also be provided. Projects will begin in September 2011 and must conclude no later than June 2012. For each of the eight organizations, the artist will schedule a minimum of four visits. Each visit is approximately 2 ½ hours of contact time. These visits during out of school time can be both at the Museum and at community centers between the hours of 3:00 and 8:00 p.m. The completed project and/or supporting materials will be exhibited in the MFA’s Community and SMFA gallery in the Linde Family Wing.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

Artists at all stages of their careers, ranging from emerging to established, and working in any range of media are eligible to apply to the program. Artists must be experienced in working with children between the ages of six to twelve. While artists do not need to have an extensive history of exhibiting their work, as the Artist Project’s culmination is an exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, the artist should have a clear vision of how the Project will be exhibited and how to address the practical issues that go along with exhibiting in a museum.

SELECTION PROCESS

A panel composed of a MFA Curator, Art Educator, Artist, and a Community Art Director will recommend no more than 5 final candidates. The panel will look closely at the clarity and feasibility of the proposed project and how it progresses from creation to exhibition, as well as consider the project’s scale and flexibility, which will address the variables of working with children from different sites while also expressing their voices.

The final selection will be made by the MFA Head of Community and Studio Arts, SMFA Manger of Special Projects and the MFA Manager of Community Arts after interviewing all of the recommended candidates.

For additional information please contact The Manager of Community Arts at fmendez-diez@mfa.org.

The Artist Project and the Community Arts Initiative are funded by a generous grant from the Linde Family Foundation.