Travois First Fridays
Exhibition Prospectus

NEW--CALL FOR ARTISTS!
Theme:  Multi-Artist Exhibition featuring Indigenous/Native Art

DEADLINE TO APPLY (EXTENDED!): Nov. 30, 2017

Travois is seeking six artists to participate in an art exhibition series featuring North American indigenous artists in 2017 and 2018 at our headquarters in the heart of metro Kansas City. Each artist’s exhibition will be on display for two months.

The Crossroads Arts District hosts one of the country’s strongest First Friday events and attracts up to 10,000 people from across the heartland.

Our mission is to support and promote American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian artists through juried exhibition. Our vision is to see Native artists more prominently featured and powerfully supported in metropolitan Kansas City.

Our goals:

• Further promote the achievement of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian artists, supporting their role as culture bearers today.
• Stimulate local art economies one artist at a time by spotlighting artists in one of the nation’s leading art scenes.
• Open the Travois headquarters to partnering Native organizations and the Kansas City metropolitan community.
• Continue to build Travois’ connection with contemporary artists and our permanent art collection.

For each artist selected by our jury, Travois will offer a $2,500 honorarium plus support with expenses. For more information, please contact eva@travois.com. Learn more: http://travois.com/news-events/first-fridays 

 TRAVOIS FIRST FRIDAYS

Travois announces a juried exhibition series featuring North American indigenous artists at our headquarters in the heart of metro Kansas City. The Crossroads Arts District hosts one of the country’s strongest first Friday events and attracts up to 10,000 people from across the heartland. Travois is located at the epicenter of this community gathering space where Kansas City’s art scene thrives. Founded in 1995, Travois is a mission-driven consulting firm focused exclusively on promoting housing and economic development for American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian communities.

 TRAVOIS FIRST FRIDAYS’ MISSION, VISION and GOALS

Our mission is to support and promote American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian artists through juried exhibition.

Our vision is to see Native artists more prominently featured and powerfully supported in metropolitan Kansas City.

Our goals are four-fold:

1. to stimulate Native art economies on a micro level, one artist at a time, within one of the nation’s leading art scenes: Kansas City,
2. to further promote the achievement of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian artists, supporting their role as culture bearers today,
3. to continue to build the Travois connection with contemporary artists and permanent art collection and,
4. to open the Travois headquarters to partnering Native organizations and the Kansas City metropolitan community. 

TIME-LIMITED PROMOTION OF INDIGENOUS ARTISTS

Travois wil feature North American indigenous artists in 2017 and 2018 to highlight their achievements and promote the modern-day vitality of Native American communities.

ABOUT TRAVOIS

Travois supports American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities and tribes in achieving their vision. Since 1995, Travois has helped create housing and economic development for Indian Country with a value of over $1 billion for developments of affordable housing, early education, health services, water infrastructure, and climate adaptation. Travois recognizes art as a vibrant contributor to Native economies and a culture bearer for Native people. A large percentage of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian members are known or emerging artists. Too often, artists live below the poverty line despite their home-based enterprises, talent, and mastery. 

LOCATION & EXHIBITION TIMELINE

Travois First Fridays will occur on the first Friday of the month.

(Parking and doors open at 4:45 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis.)

5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.           VIP Art Opening and Artist Talk

6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.           Doors Open for Public Reception

Featured artworks will be displayed for one to two months depending on other shows and jury selections in Travois' redesigned brick warehouse. This beautifully designed space actively houses 50 Travois employees during the workday who work closely with 90 Native organizations to support their housing, economic, resilience, and advocacy goals and vision throughout Indian Country. The evenings and weekends at Travois are regularly designated for community events, progressive causes, and charitable endeavors. See an exterior photo of the Travois space.

The opening of the exhibition will be on the first Friday of the selected month. The closing will be arranged between Travois and artist, but will the exhibition will be on view a minimum of one month and ideally two months.

INSTALLATION

Travois First Friday exhibition organizers will arrange for the curation and installation of art works on the Thursday before the exhibition opening, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Special accommodation requests, within reason, can be made with the call for artists submission regarding dates, installation, and/or curation support.

Travois will book a hotel for artists for two nights and pay for all meals during these days. Travois will arrange for transportation for the artist to and from airport and to and from exhibition opening.

Artists are requested to coordinate packaging and shipping to Travois, providing preferred shipping containers. Travois will support installation on request and provide return shipping. Travois will cover the shipping costs for returning artwork and will use the packing materials the art was sent in. 

When artwork is purchased at Travois First Fridays, the artist is encouraged to work directly with the purchasing patron or the person commissioning art works. Any transit costs of purchased art should be covered by the patron.

SUBMISSION OVERVIEW

Most Travois art exhibit placement locations allow for larger works and several are in-set with special lighting, allowing for a series. There is no minimum size depending on mounting. Maximum sizes range and are based on location. The majority of mounting backgrounds are white wall plaster that allow up to 130 inches wide and 94 inches in height.

There are two video art locations in separate rooms that have Wi-Fi capability along with repeat play. A detailed description on dimensions and space considerations is available through Appendix A on the Travois First Fridays web page.

TRAVOIS COLLECTION

The Travois permanent collection currently features the following artists. Travois anticipates growing the collection through new Travois First Friday partnerships.

• Wendy Red Star’s “Four Seasons,” “The Last Thanks,” and “Apsaalooke Roses” (Apsaalooke/Crow)
• Dean Hunt’s “Time Will Tell” (Heiltsuk)
• Kevin Red Star’s “Buffalo Bulltail” and Travois-commissioned “Going Home” (Apsaalooke/Crow)
• Puti Hauraki’s “Whakatau” (Katimamoe and Ngapuhi)
• Darryl Growing Thunder’s “Living as One” (Assiniboine/Sioux)

ARTIST REQUESTS AND HONORARIUM

Travois will provide a $2,500 honorarium to six featured artists selected by the Travois First Friday jury. Travois requests receipts for any extra transit or meals that are not already provided. Travois also requests the artists book their own flight, and Travois will support the booking.

Travois will pay for all event food, a security team experienced at securing art, and publicity for the opening of the exhibition. Stockyards Brewing Company is co-sponsoring Travois First Fridays and will provide beer, wine, and music entertainment for the VIP reception and Opening Artist talk. Travois First Fridays will feature a local Kansas City restaurant for catering. Travois will support installation on request and provide return shipping.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Include and upload the following information to https://www.callforentry.org/ to be considered by the Travois First Fridays jury. There is an $18 fee to the artist to submit works via Café-Call for Entry for Travois First Fridays.

1.    Professional resume, artist profile, and artist statement for inclusion in Travois First Friday exhibition publicity. 

2.    Brief description of how your heritage as a Native artist, i.e. an American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian. For enrolled members of a U.S. or Canadian-recognized tribe or Alaska Corporation, please provide documentation in the form of a Certificate of Indian Blood Card (CIB/CDIB), tribal enrollment number and/or Secured Certificate of Indian Status Card (CIS/SCIS). For Native Hawaiians, please provide an ancestry verification card from the OHA Hawaiian Registry Program. Artists may also present documentation that they are certified as an Indian artisan by an Indian tribe.

Occasional consideration may be given for Native and indigenous artists outside of the United States and state-recognized tribal affiliation or other indigenous ancestry.

In order to comply with the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, participating artists should be willing to provide for patrons: a written guarantee or verification of authenticity and receipts that include the price, artist name and tribal affiliation.

3.    Digital images of work for submission to Travois First Friday jury (30 images maximum). See the Call for Entry instructions on media preparation: https://www.callforentry.org/image_prep.phtml 

Please include the following with each individual art piece.

  Title:

Ø  Medium:

Ø  Date of Completion:

Ø  Size in inches for width and height:

Ø  Special considerations:

i.e. Preferred months in 2017 and 2018: the jury will select the timing for the exhibition. If there is a time period that will not work please specify this up front.

Visit https://travois.com/news-events/first-fridays/ for more details and to learn about Travois.

INSURANCE, CONTRACT & SECURITY

A.    Wholesale value of work will be insured by Travois. The artist is responsible for all shipping related insurance to Travois. Travois First Fridays will assume responsibility for insurance once the work is delivered to the exhibition space and is unpackaged with no damage. 

B.    Travois First Fridays will provide security guards and exhibition monitors for the first Friday event. There are after-hour alarm systems securing the exhibition space as well as entrance/exit security cameras. There are currently no secure exhibition cases for small three-dimensional art.

EXHIBITION PROMOTION AND ARTIST PUBLICITY

Travois First Fridays will support Native artist promotion, reaching out to venues such as First American Art Magazine, Indian Country Today Media Network, and Western Art Collector, as well as over 25 Kansas City and regional art and culture magazines, newspapers and blogs. 

Travois First Fridays will send electronic invitations to the VIP Art Opening and Artist Talk if the artist provides a list of contacts. These contacts will be added to the Travois First Friday friends list. 

TRAVOIS FIRST FRIDAYS LAUNCH OCTOBER 6TH 

Travois First Fridays will launch Friday, Oct. 6. We are finalizing details to feature artist Matika Wilbur and her photographic documentary of Indian Country today, her "Seeds of Culture" collection. Matika has documented the modern day vitality of federally recognized tribes in her ongoing Project 562.

 QUESTIONS

If you have questions please contact one of the following members of the Travois team:

vExhibition Organizer: eva kathleen schulte, eva@travois.com

vCommunications Team: comm@travois.com, including Beth Kapp, Eden Rensing and Shannon McGraw

vAdministration, Travel Arrangements, and Shipping: Katie Dosenbach, Katie@travois.com

For additional information about Travois First Fridays, visit https://travois.com/news-events/first-fridays/

This Call for Artists prospectus draws from the Professional Guidelines, 2002, 2010 by Hariete Estel Berman and the Professional Guidelines Committee.

 _________________________________________________________________________

TRAVOIS FIRST FRIDAY HOSTS

 Elizabeth Bland Glynn, Travois, CEO   

 Phil Glynn, Travois, president    

 Travois  and  Stockyards Brewing Company   

  _________________________________________________________________________

APPENDIX A

Please see https://travois.com/news-events/first-fridays/ 

 PRIMARY EXHIBITION ART PLACEMENTS

1.    FRONT BRICK WALL

Dimensions: 52-inch max width; 8 feet max height

Space considerations:  Sits between fire alarm and Exit sign on brick wall between

two large front windows with three large hanging bulbs 4-6 feet away.

 2.    LOBBY FACING ENTRANCE-EAST  (potentially 2 pieces)

Dimensions: Right side- 106 inch max wide; 94 max height

Space considerations: Covered light designed specifically for art display, potential for color staging on walls. Prime location as people enter exhibition, good for wide single or two in series; could connect to lobby facing entrance-east.

 3.    LOBBY FACING ENTRANCE-EAST (potentially 2 pieces)

Dimensions: Left side- 110 inch max wide; 94 max height

Space considerations: Covered light designed specifically for art display, potential for color staging on walls. Prime location as people enter exhibition, good for wide single or two in series; could connect to lobby facing entrance-east.

 4.    LOBBY FACING ENTRACE-WEST  (potentially 2 pieces)

Dimensions: Right side-141 inch wide; 74 max height

Space considerations: Covered light designed specifically for art display. Good location as people enter exhibition, good for large works and series.

 5.    LOBBY FACING ENTRANCE-WEST

Dimensions: Left side-84 inch max wide; 74 max height

Spacing considerations: Covered light designed specifically for art display. Good location as people enter exhibition, good for large works and series.

 6.    SOUTHERN WALL 

Dimensions: 56 inch max width; 76 inch max height

Spacing considerations: This plaster wall is between two glass/metal sliding doors with no direct light.   

8.    SOUTH WEST CORNER WALL BY KANZA

Dimensions: 72 inch wide; 60 max height

Spacing considerations: Located on spacious wall below exit sign next to conference room. No specific lighting. 

9.    KANZA CONFERENCE ROOM PLASTER WALL

Dimensions: 118 max wide; 84 inch max height

Spacing considerations: Large prominent wall for a feature piece. Could be shared on perpendicular wall (recessed) with video exhibit. Special track spot lighting (4 light canisters)

 10. VIDEO EXHIBIT- KANZA CONFERENCE ROOM

Dimensions: 74 inch new flat screen. 

Spacing considerations: This video exhibit is mounted on a recessed wall facing the conference room table. There is a window with shade perpendicular to the video.

11. LARGE DISPLAY WALL-CEO HALL

Dimensions: 130 inch max wide; 36 max height

Spacing considerations: Could display several pieces or one very large on white plaster wall. Good upper lighting.

12. VIDEO ART EXHIBIT--WYANDOTTE CONFERENCE ROOM

Dimensions:  75 inch new flat screen

Spacing considerations: This placement is a conference room to the left of the featured front hall that will house main exhibition. The video exhibit is mounted on an interior garage door wall behind a yellow curtain. This video exhibit could creatively pop from behind the curtain, with control of how it opens around the screen. Requires a special piece.

13. WYANDOTTE CENTER BRICK WALL

Dimensions: 84 inches wide; 70 inch max height

Spacing considerations: A feature location. While in a conference room, it is intriguingly seen from the entrance and beautifully displayed on a brick wall with strong natural lighting and spot lights. There is a potential for a video exhibit behind a yellow curtain, potentially coordinated if desired. Note that this room was re-created from a garage space so combines the warmth of brick with the bright lighting of an all glass Southern wall. 

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria