Call for proposals: Banquet for America

CALL FOR ENTRIES/PROPOSALS:

Step right up! Come one! Come all! To the fabulous emporium of delights!

Flux Factory invites you to submit a proposal for Banquet for America, a 3-week long experiment in building a utopian village. We’re looking for builders, chefs, sideshow barkers, and performers to construct and inhabit our town within a gallery, complete with a theater, banquet hall, specialized shops, and more.

Each week the village will celebrate with a banquet. The preparation of food and ritual of communal eating has been enormously formative in shaping American culture. Banquet for America will explore food as a way to gain a deeper awareness of oneself within a larger community. Different chef/artists manage the hall, from the food to servers, performances, and structural installation. Each weekend will revolve around a cohesive theme, determined by the host; ideas include the classic German beer hall, the year 1928, and the ubiquitous American diner.

Banquet for America is a response to the decline of the traditional town structure in the face of box stores, malls, and chain restaurants. These structures attempt to replace the commercial enterprises of the traditional downtown district, and in doing so, subvert the viability of family-owned businesses. These changes are more visible in small towns, where change is more tangible, but are of vital importance to the larger economy and the fabric of the nation.

Selected artists will be requested to build the structures of Banquet for America from reclaimed materials, and occupy their booths for the duration of the project. They will interact with the public and produce an array of inventory, luring in visitors with their handmade goods.

The exhibition will be on display from February 3 – 12, 2012, with the opening reception on Friday, February 3, a special Flux Thursday on Thursday, February 9, and a closing banquet on Sunday, February 12. Installation will be from January 26 – February 2.

Send entries to Georgia@fluxfactory.org by 5 pm EST on November 15. Artists will be notified by December 1.

Interested parties should submit:
I.) A brief letter explaining your motivation for taking part in this project (250 words). Please title your document in this format: LAST NAME_FIRST NAME_LETTER.PDF).

II.) A short project proposal (500 words). Please include any applicable sketches, designs, brief texts describing the project, instructions, etc. in JPG, or PDF format (or as a website).

III) Documentation of previous work that connects directly with the project you are submitting, maximum 2 pages.

-Or- 5 images in JPEG of PDF format only. Maximum 72 dpi. Please title your document in this format: LAST NAME_FIRST NAME_IMAGE#).

-Or- 5 minutes of video. (Please send a URL/link to your video work, no DVDs will be accepted.)

IV) Resumé or bio (Maximum 2 pages. Titled LAST NAME_FIRST NAME_BIO.PDF).

If you have any questions, please email Georgia[at]fluxfactory[dot]org.