public art opportunity: tempeary play

The City of Tempe invites professional artists to submit qualifications and proposals to weave creative play throughout the city. We are looking to commission artists who will create interactive artworks, imaginative games, or creative engagements that can travel throughout the Tempe community during the 2023-24 season of events. This opportunity requires an artist who can create a work of art that will enliven the imaginations of all who encounter it and actively encourage their participation.

The selected artist(s) will be asked to create an artwork that is able to move to new locations (think pop up art experiences). The focus of the artwork should be on providing the audience with the opportunity to engage directly and imaginatively with a work of art. The goal is to create an original, visually distinctive, and thoughtful execution of some form of play that can be accessed at events such as Arts in the Park, opening celebrations, festivals, performances, or other related arts and cultural events in the City of Tempe. The specific months of these events take place from September 2023 through May of 2024 and range in scale. Selected artists will work with the Public Art staff to determine the exact events and dates for their artworks to be showcased. Possible approaches could utilize artist made objects, physical game structures, augmented reality, new media/projections, ephemeral interactions, participant generated content, printed/manufactured games that can be reproduced for distribution, and the list goes on! You might also like to think about how creative play can deepen a sense of belonging and connection, explore human and environmental relationships, enable participants to engage with a distinctive aesthetic practice, or bring expression to multiple participant voices.