Tiny Fairy House Project

Call to Artists

!Attention! Artists at Work Project No. 5

Look Closely: The Tiny Fairy House Project is presented in partnership by Open Space for Arts & Community and Vashon MakerSpace

Call Summary 

!Attention! Artists at Work is a jobs program launched by Open Space for Arts & Community that brings free public art created by Vashon artists to our Vashon Island community and visitors. Open Space for Arts & Community has invited Vashon MakerSpace to join as a partner for The Tiny Fairy House Project.

The fifth project of the !Attention! Artists at Work program invites Vashon artists to create tiny fairy houses that will be tucked among the trees in the Douglas fir grove at Open Space for Arts & Community. This call is a request for applications including examples of your recent or relevant work and a brief statement describing why you want to participate. Each artist can apply to create one or more small fairy houses. The exhibit will feature 10 unique fairy houses total. Previous experience with fairy houses and public art is not necessary.

Artistic theme: Look closely

Visual theme: The woodland of fairy and faerie

Application Deadline: Extended to April 4 from March 31, 2022 

Opening Celebration: Saturday, June 25th

 

Art Goals and Criteria 

The goals of the Tiny Fairy House Project are to provide income for island artists with financial need and create free public art for Vashon and the greater community. The tiny fairy houses will remain in place for several months.

Artist Eligibility 

Artists must live on Vashon Island and must have financial need, such as the loss of a day job or reduction in hours, loss of traditional opportunities for sales, commissions, and/or artistic fees or loss of a job by a partner or spouse within their household. 

Open Space for Arts & Community is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to equal opportunity without regard to age, race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, maternity, marriage, civil partnership, citizenship, disability, or any other basis of discrimination prohibited by applicable law. 

Art Location 

The Tiny Fairy House Project will be located at Open Space for Arts & Community. Fairy houses will be spaced among the Douglas Fir trees in the grove located south of the Open Space buildings at 18870 103rd Avenue SW, Vashon (47.43361405027415, -122.46482834846118).

Each year thousands of people attend art and community events at Open Space for Arts & Community. The tiny fairy houses will inspire guests to explore and to look closely. They will beautify the trees, bringing a little magic to all who walk the grounds, to the groups who have events in the meadow, and to the families that bike or meander through the trees. The Tiny Fairy House Project is always open to the public. 

Take a look at some of the tiny fairy houses we love by visiting our Pinterest Page: https://pin.it/3bAlHrp 

Photo by Heather Harrington of Life and Whim Studio and creator of the Traverse City Fairy Trails. https://www.lifeandwhim.com/fairy-trails/

Budget and Materials

Artists will be paid $500 for the first entry and $350 for each additional tiny fairy house. A small materials stipend will be made available to each artist. In partnering with the Vashon MakerSpace, selected artists will also be provided with individual Tool Library memberships to access an inventory of 1,000+ tools for free. Artists should submit a thorough proposal detailing their media, approach, and plans to make their work moderately weatherproof. Open Space and the Vashon MakerSpace encourage the use of sustainable, recycled, and natural materials (stones, stumps, driftwood, etc.). 

Application Requirements 

Artists should submit the following information for consideration.

  • 5 digital images of recent artwork, preferably 3D art though not required (high-res JPG or PNG format). Please use the following format for naming digital files: 

artist name, artwork title, medium, height x width x depth in inches, year created.file extension

For example, 

Augusta Savage, The Harp, bronze, 10.75×9.625×4,1939.jpg

  • Specify a minimum/maximum number of houses you’d like to create. 
  • An annotated list of images with title, media, size, date, and other relevant information
  • A short statement of interest and a brief description of financial need (Up to 300 words) 
  • A short biography that may be shared publicly  
  • A headshot photo of the artist that may be shared publicly

Please email applications to info@openspacevashon.com. Artists also may use this email to submit questions or request a phone consultation. 

Deadline and Submission Address 

All submissions must be received by midnight on April 4, 2022. Early submissions are encouraged. Please email submissions to info@openspacevashon.com. No mailed submissions will be accepted. 

Selection Process and Criteria 

The selection panel will include members of Open Space, Vashon MakerSpace, and other Island professional artists and community representatives. Selection criteria includes artistic excellence and financial need, and invitation to create a tiny fairy house for the installation is at the sole discretion of the selection panel. 

Project Timeline 

Submission deadline: midnight, April 4th

Artist notification: April 11th

Materials pick up and contract signing:  April 18th

Completed artwork due; payment to artists: May 31st

Curation and installation: June 1st-22nd

Opening: Saturday, June 25th

Organizations Overseeing the Tiny Fairy House Project

Open Space for Arts & Community www.openspacevashon.com

Vashon MakerSpace https://vashonmakerspace.org/