Zeum - Call for Proposal

Zeum, a children's creativity center located in the heart of San Francisco, is offering a *new* opportunity for artists to develop an interactive installation for children, with children, over an eight-week period. Designing for children is a challenge allowing artists to re-evaluate their current approach to communication. The Creative Prototyping Lab (CPL) program will not only provide artist(s) with exposure to Zeum’s diverse young audience, but it will also extend an opportunity to develop professional exhibit design skills with real-time feedback from the San Francisco Bay Area community.

Proposal Deadlines– January 31
Residency – March 14-May 7 (8 weeks)
Official Opening –April 23
Test Period- April 24-May 7
Duration of Show – April-September / March

Artist Budget:
Fabrication/Materials/Install Labor & Artist Stipend
Total: $15K

To apply, click here and, please download the Creative Prototyping Lab RFP and Roundabout Map. All interested applicants must submit their materials to exhibits@zeum.org by January, 31, 2010.

Zeum promotes a collaborative design process, continuously prototyping site specific exhibits.

The CPL program is designed as an open platform to articulate the artistic process to our visitors and to solicit feedback throughout the residency. Each weekend (over a six week period), a new iteration of the design, or an element thereof, should be introduced to the public for critique and prototyping. The exhibit will launch at the end of the six week period, at which time the artist will have an extra two weeks of trouble shooting. As such, the exhibit will be created in tandem with public feedback in a continuously evolving and collaborative process.

Our goal is to make the entire exhibit design process transparent, combining public feedback with prototyping and open studios. The artist(s) should be present on-site Tuesday-Saturday. Tuesday is closed to the public and may be used for development, while Wednesday-Saturday is open to the public and should include open studio time. (This schedule is negotiable.) The open studio time during the week is designed to expose the public to the artist’s practice, while the weekend open studios are designed for interaction, idea exchange and prototyping. This may take place in the Roundabout, the Artist Annex, or as an activity in the Main Gallery.

The exhibit will be developed for Zeum’s unique, cylindrical three-story Roundabout exhibit space, with surround video and sound, internal balconies, and a sun roof.
The exhibit will occupy this space for a six to twelve month exhibit period, with the goal of teaching the artist about the necessary durability and maintenance of long-term professional interactive exhibits.

The CPL residency is a unique professional opportunity for the artist to not only design collaboratively, but also to create with a new audience in mind. The Experience and Programs team at Zeum will be on-hand to share their experience and skills upon request. In collaboration with the exhibits staff, the artist(s) should devise an evaluation of the exhibit at the end of the residency, including an informal survey with visitors.