CURATORIAL AND ARTWORKS CALL FOR INFECTING THE CITY 2016

A project of the Africa Centre, Infecting The City unfolds on the streets and various other public spaces in the Central Business District (CBD) of Cape Town. The Festival provides an unusual opportunity for visual art, music, dance and performance to leave the confines of theatres and galleries to engage with or disrupt Cape Town's daily movements.  The Festival's programme challenges audiences, shifts perspectives and helps to make sense of the public spaces we occupy.
 
Infecting The City experienced another successful year in 2015 with 53 artworks, 290 participating artists, and over 38,000 audience members.  64% of the artists who created these productions were from Cape Town, 17% were from other parts of South Africa and 19% were international.  This kind of balance provides for a broad range of both approaches and perspectives, which makes the Festival a dynamic place for creative expression.
 
The Festival generally has daytime and evening performances.   Much of the programme is designed as a route, which allows for audiences to move from one work to the next as a group.  There are however artworks, which run throughout the Festival, on and off the route, that can be experienced at multiple times beyond those scheduled on the route.
 
The daytime programme captures audiences that have specifically come to watch the Festival and those who happen upon it by accident.   The evening programme however, is attended principally by audiences who have come to watch the Festival.
 
The Festival programme typically runs between 13:00-17:00 and 18:00-22:00.
 
This call is for both curators and public artists for the 2016 Festival, which will be held 7th – 12th of March.
 
 
 
CURATORS – Deadline: 30th June 2015
 
We are seeking proposals from established curators/artistic directors to develop programmes within the Festival. This could be conceived of as a route during the Festival or a grouping of work that is not well suited for a route.   These programmes within the Festival could be a:
 
Programme of works related to a particular idea;
Series of works in a specific area of the CBD (areas outside the CBD will be considered, but how it links back to the main area of the Festival must be considered and articulated);
Concept beyond the constraints of how the Festival has previously been experienced.
Note that the call for art works below will be one source for the Festival and any idea proposed by the curators. Successful curatorial applicants will form part of the Selection Team for these works. Successful curatorial applicants will also be able to suggest works or artists that may fit with their vision that are outside this call.
 
Basic Principles of Engagement
 
Successful curatorial applicants will form part of the Selection Team, and then be part of the collaboration with artists, determining of programmes, input on spaces and final realization of the work. Engagement is sporadic between June and September and then intensifies up until March. Note that acquisition of spaces, permissions, funding, overall administration and technical management will not form part of the curator's brief.
 
Application Process
 
This stage of the curatorial application process is merely the idea phase and thus is not overly onerous at this stage.   Please submit the following related to your ideas, do not exceed the word limit for each section:
 
Overall idea/Vision: 200 words
An outline of a series of works that reflects the overarching idea: 400 words
Experiences in the field of curation and/or public art: 200 words
Send your application to: info@infectingthecity.com
 
 
ARTISTS – Deadline: 15th July 2015
 
We are seeking artworks from two categories: New Works and Restaged Works.  Visual, performing artists and practitioners from other disciplines (such as medicine, architecture, economics) are invited to submit.  The work can be a performance, intervention, installation, video, totally interactive or some other form newly imagined. All works should translate to or work within a public environment, and actively engage intentional and incidental audiences alike.
 
Artworks
 
New Works: The Infecting the City Festival 2016 is seeking artworks within the following parameters:
 
Works should ideally be proposed for specific spaces in the CBD of Cape Town;
Ideas tried out in other sites and reformulated for Cape Town are also welcome;
Works that seek to engage with the public through participation strategies are encouraged; and
Works that are innovative, cost effective yet complex and unique will be favoured in this category.
Restaged Works: These are works that have been already made and/or performed and have appeared in theatres, galleries or other spaces. Candidates are encouraged to cite actual spaces where they wish the work to be restaged and provide reasons why they wish to stage their work in the said space.
 
Application Process
 
The Infecting the City Festival 2016 application process has been set up in two stages. The first is designed to understand the idea and intentions behind the proposal. As such, the application for this phase is very short and easy to complete.  For those works that are shortlisted, an additional round of information will be required to ensure the curatorial team and artist are clear about what is planned at what cost. Applications will not be considered if the online form is not submitted. Use the online form at the bottom of this page to apply.
 
The key dates related to the application process are:
 
Curators
 
Idea proposals deadline – 30 June
Shortlist – 15 July
Appointment – 15 August
Artworks
 
Submissions deadline – 15 July
Shortlist – 15 August
Final Selection – 15 October