Musagetes is an international organization that strives to make the arts a more central and meaningful reality in peoples’ lives, in our communities and societies. Guelph is our home—this is where we live and work. Musagetes established its offices here in 2009 because the city has rich and nuanced cultural and socio-political conditions that make it an exciting location for cultural experimentation. We are also actively working in Rijeka on the coast of Croatia, Lecce in the south of Italy, and Sudbury, in northern Ontario to demonstrate how art can be participatory and socially engaged, to establish a greater sense of belonging in communities.
Musagetes invites proposals from the Guelph community for new artistic interventions in St. George’s Square in September and October 2013. Selected artistic interventions will receive a fee of $1500 and production budget of $3500, as well as promotion and production support from Musagetes.
The interventions in St. George’s Square might be re-situations, reminders or recognitions of this heart of the city at a time when the centre of social activities in Guelph’s downtown has recently moved to the nearby Market Square. The buses are now close to the VIA Rail/GO Transit station, and there is a new ice rink and splash pad in front of City Hall. People who previously used St. George’s Square as their favorite outdoor meeting place are attracted to these new downtown features. Is St. George’s Square still a public space for gathering or has it become just another traffic artery through the centre of the city? What makes public space useable or defunct? At its most productive, public space is democratic: a place where multiple groups, perspectives, and voices converge, discuss, disagree and learn from each other. We encourage interventions that foster conversations and critical thinking about the conflicting perspectives of public space—in Guelph in particular, and as an idea in general. Applicants are encouraged to consider experimental forms of and approaches to working in public space including but not limited to: live performance, dance, music, public debate, participatory practice and temporary sculpture.
Please see the attached document to find out what to include in your proposal!