During the pandemic, SPACE began making other kinds of artist commissions in our building to put artists to work during our closure. One of those was inviting temporary art into our public restrooms inspired by permanent art center and museum projects like the New Museum’s iconic Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa/ SANAA-designed tiled restrooms in NYC, and the dazzling bespoke bathrooms by various contemporaries at the Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, among others. We hope this temporary initiative of bringing original art commissions throughout our facilities adds a sense of wonder and surprise to each audience member’s visit, provides more opportunities for working artists in our community, and continues to inspire bringing art into everyday life.
We are so grateful to the artists who have already created installations and murals: last year we hosted Brian Doody and Isaac Atkins (still currently on view), and inaugurated this initiative with work by SPACE Studio Artists Candice Gosta and Kimberly Convery.
2024 kicks off with a fresh mural by Quey Lewis installed in December (pictured in this post). However, that leaves one restroom in our venue ready for a new installation.
Want to takeover a SPACE restroom with your artwork? We are open to murals and wall drawings, photographic works we can get printed as adhesive stickers, and other ideas you may have that work within the functional use of the room. The stipend for SPACE’s restroom art commission is currently a $750 artist fee and SPACE will assist with base-coat painting in colors you direct.
Submit your work for consideration through Wednesday, January 31st by sharing 5 portfolio pieces (as email attachments or in a public shared folder) to hello@space538.org with the subject line “Work Samples” or send us a link (or links) to your website and point us to your art online. Please do not send work via download sites or in private folders. You are welcome (but not required) to submit a pitch of a couple of sentences for ideas of what you would create, or point us to a particular past work/drawing/sketch that would be related to (or included in) the installation you create.
This opportunity is available for artists of all career levels, genres, and mediums. Artists rooted in graffiti, design, and illustration are especially encouraged to apply. For submitting artists who are not selected, we will consider your work throughout the year for other emergent occasions. Formal decision emails will not be sent as we put your work on file for future opportunities. We hope to have the artist create their work in February of 2024. Please stay tuned for other open calls and project grants throughout 2024.
