We are accepting applications from Colorado based artists for an art / science collaboration. Selected Colorado Art + Science + Environment (CASE) Collaboration Fellows will work with CU Boulder scientists and others to explore social and environmental issues related to drought, fire and air quality in their Colorado communities. 

Please contact us if you need application fee support (lisa.h.schwartz@colorado.edu) or have any questions. 

Four artist-scientist teams will produce eight 2D artworks to be exhibited at the Colorado State Capitol in late Spring 2023. A component of each team’s art must represent collaboration with community partners (from youth and families, to local leaders and organizations). 

Visual artists, artists based in performance, dance, social practice etc. are highly encouraged to apply. Note: 2D documentation is needed for the exhibit. 

Artists committed to inclusively and equitably addressing Colorado environmental issues; BIPOC artists; and artists based in rural Colorado are also highly encouraged to apply.  

Meetings will be held on Zoom with in-person options.

Artists will receive:

•  $1,000 stipend with a project completion deadline of April 30th 2023
• Up to $1,000 for materials
• Funding for printing two pieces

The exhibition statement is as follows: 

This exhibit will tell the story of how Coloradans are experiencing challenges of fire, drought, and air quality in their communities. Works will explore our water, from rivers to snow; earth and air, from the alpine mountains to the plains and high desert, and fire; from forests to towns and suburbs. The narrative moves beyond debates about climate change to confront, amplify and make visible the connection all Coloradans have to our state’s natural landscape and through our connection to place, to each other.  Artwork will reflect a dialogue between the perspectives of artists, scientists and Colorado communities. 

Starting in October 2022 artists and scientist teams will work together to support the creation of new work that is inspired by research and understanding of Colorado-specific climate issues. 

• Each artist and scientist team will have a partner from a Colorado community in order to gain site-specific perspective and engage with local residents (artists do not need to have a scientist or community partner in advance of applying)
• Scientists with specialties related to air quality, fire and water/drought from the Institute for Alpine and Arctic Research and other CU units will be paired with artists.

Timeline

• Oct. 2022 - Jan. 2023 Monthly (1x) virtual meetings held to facilitate 1) dialogue and relationship development between other cohort members and scientists, 2) to support connections to and processes with community partners and 3) a shared vision for the final exhibit.
• Feb. 2023 teams are required to meet independently with each other at least 1x.
• March (end of the Month) we will meet to share our work with each other
• April 30th 2023 project completion

Additional interaction and requirements: Selected artists will need to meet with their scientist collaborator at least 2 times apart from group meetings, gain an entry level understanding about the research and be able to explain it to others at a popular science communication level. Teams will need to meet with their community partners at least twice during the project period and include them in some part of the art-making process (can be ideas and discussion, or art-making and more). A brief artwork proposal will need to reflect input from all team members. 

Meetings will provide opportunities for conversation with experts in areas such as environmental policy and history in CO regions; art / science / community collaborations*; community-engaged art-making; environmental education and policy change. 

This call is an opportunity to build community around Colorado environmental issues beyond divisiveness and for the artists and scientists to co-ideate the work together with input from communities.  A key goal is the development of mutually beneficial relationships that draw upon the perspectives, expertise and knowledge of each team member and their communities in order to tell the story of how Coloradans are experiencing issues related to air quality, water and fire.

Proposals and art works will be reviewed by a committee comprised of members of the Creative Capitol team, Boulder County Arts Alliance, the co-organizers and other invited reviewers to make sure they fit within the guidelines for exhibits at the state capitol (e.g. no nudity, no overtly political statements and no offensive material.

Upon project completion, we ask for a short artist statement of the project (2-3 paragraphs) and image documentation to print for the exhibition. 

The exhibition and fellowship is co-organized by Lisa Schwartz, CU Boulder Office for Outreach and Engagement and Amy Hoagland, MFA.

*Examples of art + science + community engaged art-making related to environmental issues: Artists Amy Hoagland and Dennis Doyle and others will share about their art + science + community collaborations related to fire and air quality. Doyle works with a doctoral student in a CU Boulder Chemistry Lab and Hoagland has collaborations with Calwood Environmental Education Center. 

Application Requirements

Application requirements include an artist statement, up to 3 artworks and additional questions listed within this call. 

Eligibility Criteria

All applicants must reside in Colorado. 

The artists must have the skills and ability to collaborate and work with others. This fellowship is open to all artists regardless of race, color, creed, gender, gender variance, national origin, age, religion, marital status, political opinion or affiliation, or mental or physical handicap. 

Artists must commit to the meetings and interactions discussed in this call and to producing 2D work for the exhibit at the state capitol (deadline April 30, 2023).