We’ve fielded many questions regarding the Community Engagement Opportunity. Below are some of the frequently asked questions and their answers.
The deadline for submissions for this opportunity is Wednesday October 1, 2014.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the timeline for this opportunity so short?
We want to initiate this project as quickly as possible. The reason for the short time frame is that we plan to use what is learned through this project in several communities starting April 1, 2015.
Why is crowdfunding a required component of this project?
The purpose of including a crowdfunding element to this project is to acknowledge the fact that many, if not most, public art programs are challenged by limited financial resources. In order for them to catalog public artworks and connect with community members, they often need to secure funds beyond their operating budgets. The highly public nature of public art creates a nexus that should support crowdfunding. This project seeks to test that theory. Also, crowdfunding for a public art projects initiates the process of educating stakeholders and the public about the costs of maintaining a public art collection.
What can the $10,000 in award funds be used for?
Every community has unique challenges and goals. To support the broad range of issues that this project hopes to address, the awarded funds may be used to purchase anything that is required to accomplish the goal. WESTAF is paying the selected party $10,000 to operate a crowdfunding campaign, manage a crowdsourcing effort related to public art in a defined community, and provide a report that allows the successful efforts to be emulated by others. Examples of potential expenses of this project are: a) paying a project manager to lead the effort, b) purchase of equipment and/or supplies, and c) paying for professional scanning of ephemera such as slides, images, and documents. Using the funds as prizes for participants, to purchase marketing materials or sponsorship support are also appropriate. Retaining unspent monies from the award is also acceptable! Please remember to explain how you intend to use the funds in your application.
Can you offer some examples of community engagement efforts?
The ways in which a public art program might connect with local community members are various and often specific to that locale. Some examples include:
- Develop an after school program for high school students to teach them about public art and photography. The students could create a scavenger hunt for their friends to seek out public art in their neighborhoods.
- Partner with members of a local amateur camera club and provide a guided tour of the public art collection while they photograph the works. The camera club could host a competition to identify and make an award to the club member who takes the best photos of each work.
- Work with a local business district and/or convention and visitors bureau to create a hashtag contest.
- Produce a marketing campaign to collect images from visitors of local public artworks.
