The city of Orlando’s project “Art Pollination: Building Food Justice through Creativity” considers public art's viability and value in relation to crisis in food ecology, nature’s pollinators, and labor specific to the nuances our diverse communities and their immediate concerns. In partnership with six significant food partners, global possibilities exist at the confluence of art, activism, and advocacy through a cross-pollination of actions, rooted in generosity, to improve life.

“Art Pollination” is a collaborative public art project in partnership with various local non-profits including, Black Bee Honey, 4Roots, Hebni Nutrition Consultants, Ideas for Us-Fleet Farming, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, and the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Orange County (UF/IFAS). The grant will further support local artists’ initiatives and programs such as the Downtown Arts District, FusionFest and Snap! Orlando. As part of the project, the city will work with nationally renowned artist Juan William Chávez, a second juried artists, and feature several specialized areas, including food cultivation, beekeeping and pollinator education, food waste exploration, Augmented Reality [AR] activations and more.

The selected artist will work alongside interdisciplinary lead artist Juan William Chávez and several community partners and citizens in coming together to conduct workshops, community breaking bread gatherings, and cultural happenings in the creation of new public art works that brings awareness to the greater food insecurity in our community in acts of creative and experimental public engagement. 

“Art Pollination: Building Food Justice through Creativity” promotes spontaneous public realm engagement and include pollinator plantings, urban trail and billboard artist projects, interactive heritage food sign postings, Augmented Reality [AR] activation stations, and mobile kitchen preservation sessions, strategically placed at public transportation stops, bike paths, and in green networks and parks, all of which creates opportunity for artistic and didactic experience, but also creative wayfinding and placemaking that is anticipated to attract guests from across the state.

The selected artist will conduct site visits with community tours and introductions to food and art partners. Community gatherings and breaking bread events will include ten-twenty regional artists selected by an artist selection committee of art professionals, neighborhood representatives, and food partners. The artists will create new work for participation along the Urban Trail, Community Centers, Food Event Sites, Project Wayfinding, in Urban Billboards, and in two exhibitions, one at Downtown Arts District and a complementary exhibition at Terrace Gallery, City Hall, Downtown Orlando.

Application Requirements

Approaches & Artistic Vision

While considering the artwork goals, artists are encouraged to engage with and approach projects creatively through their artistic media of choice, whether place-based or not. Approaches and strategies could include art as advocacy, social practice, policy engagement, documentation and witnessing, collaboration and community engagement, critical reflection and dialogue, educational initiatives, creative artistic interventions, and intersectional and cross-disciplinary collaborations.

Topics

Project must be temporary and address the issue of food insecurity and relate to the city of Orlando’s project “Art Pollination: Building Food Justice through Creativity” directly or indirectly. Projects will be structured around and could include, but are not limited to: 

• Nature’s pollinators
• Food and the economy
• Food, gardens, wayfinding, ecology and ecosystems
• Farming, gleaning, distribution

Artist Selection

This second lead artist will be selected through a public call for artist and selected by a Curatorial Selections Committee art comprised of nationally recognized curators. Curators are Amy Galpin, Ph.D., Executive Director and Chief Curator, Museum of Art and Design, Miami Dade College, Miami; Joanna Robotham, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Tampa Museum of Art; Azela Santana, Director of Advancement in Arts, College of Arts & Humanities, University of Central Florida; and Keri Watson, Ph.D., Assistant Director, Associate Professor of Art History: Modern and Contemporary Art, American Studies, Museum Studies, Higher Education in Prisons, University of Central Florida, Orlando.

Additionally, nearly one-hundred artists from diverse backgrounds, culture, and communities that comprise FusionFest artists and performance team will be invited to participate in event launchings and happenings in celebration of the Arts, Cultures & Foods of the World in Central Florida.

Mayor Dyer Statement

“In Orlando, we prioritize arts and culture because of the unique way it unties us and defines us. That’s why we are so excited to be selected for this grant opportunity and utilize art to shed light on a local issue and transcend a community challenge into a community conversation to help create and inspire change,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “Our hope is that these new art installations further our sustainability goals to increase access to local foods and our vision to continue to grow and support our vibrant arts and cultural offerings.”

All works will be presented as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge grant Orlando received in October 2023.

Bloomberg Philanthropies announced the City of Orlando is one of eight recipients nationwide to be awarded a one-million-dollar grant as part of its Public Art Challenge to support temporary public art projects that address important local civic issues across the country. Orlando will utilize this funding to implement its art installation project entitled, “Art Pollination: Building Food Justice through Creativity,” as a way to engage artists and farmers to raise awareness about how to access healthy food and reduce food insecurity.

Additional Information:

Orlando is the #1 most traveled to destination in the United States, with 74 million visitors in 2022. Of that, only 45% went to our renowned theme parks. The perception of being one of 'the most magical places on earth' is a dream many in our community cannot realize due to the seriousness of food injustice. The statistics are surprising, and “Art Pollination” project provides an opportunity not only to the residents of Central Florida, but also to leverage the millions of visitors that we have access to who come to our community. As we lead in tourism, we want to lead in food justice as a human right. There is a significant need to educate people about the issues related to food insecurity, and this project would be a dynamite friendly way to do it; especially noting the statistics attached. Food insecurity affects Central Florida residents more than it does the rest of the state, on average and is income-based in Orlando. Art Pollination puts forth art and action that is about generosity as a catalyst with the power to effectively transform our community and neighbors knowing that food justice is an essential ingredient in building human justice.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible Disciplines & Media

This funding opportunity is available to artists across all disciplines but must be temporary in nature. Examples include but are not limited to: visual art, new media and technology (audio, visual, digital; web based, gaming, time-based media, etc.); socially engaged practice/community based art; performance art; land/installation art; film/video; experimental art forms; conceptual art; and architecture.