Call for Artists: 2021 Salem Arts Festival Mural Slam

From The City of Salem

The City of Salem’s Public Art Commission and the Salem Arts Festival are teaming up to present the 6th annual Salem Arts Festival Mural Slam (SAF Mural Slam).

This dynamic live painting event engages the public with creative producers and contributes to downtown Salem’s cultural vitality. Salem Arts Festival is a project of Salem Main Streets and Creative Collective.

In the interest of visually enlivening this creative hub for residents and visitors alike, the City of Salem and Salem Arts Festival are inviting artists to contribute downtown Salem’s reputation as a destination for world-class, inspiring, and engaging public art.

The site for the 2021 SAF Mural Slam is Artists’ Row, a historic marketplace that has evolved into a vibrant corridor of galleries and public art at the heart of downtown, located at 24 New Derby Street. Selected SAF Mural Slam artists will have the opportunity to present their work alongside the skilled artisans of Artists’ Row and will benefit from sharing their work with the roughly one million visitors who come to Salem each year. Live painting is subject to COVID regulations; in the event that painting cannot be done in person, the City will allow the selected artists to create in more distanced private and/or public locations.

Deadline for Applications:  May 14, 2021
Notification of Selection: May 20, 2021
Salem Arts Festival Mural Slam: June 5 & 6, 2021

Please apply through the online portal here:  2021 Application 

Scroll down for more information.

Details

Who can apply?: Anyone may apply, either solo or in small teams. Students are also encouraged to apply. Artists may come from anywhere, but preference will be given to local artists and to artists who have not participated in previous Mural Slams.

Timeframe: Saturday, June 5 and Sunday, June 6, 8:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. It is anticipated that artists will complete the mural in this timeframe. Depending on weather artists may begin work on Friday, June 4. Live painting is subject to COVID regulations; in the event that painting cannot be done in person, the City will allow the selected artists to create in more distanced private and/or public locations.

Painting Surface: There will be 10 walls available for the 2021 Salem Mural Slam. They will be primed plywood sheets mounted to the existing brick walls. The format will be 8’ wide by 4’ tall.

Materials/Supplies:  Due to the close proximity to other artists and local businesses during the event, along with practical considerations for drying time, acrylic paints will be the only media permitted for use during the 2019 Salem Mural Slam. Acrylic paint in basic colors and the individual painting surface will be provided. Any special colors, supplemental materials, and tools must be provided by the artist.

Finished Murals: Murals will be hung in the Artists’ Row location for up to a year. All murals not claimed by the artist at the end of the year’s display become the property of the City of Salem and Salem Arts Festival.

Stipend and awards: Each artist will receive a $400.00 stipend for their participation. Artists will also be eligible to compete for a $400.00 prize for the People’s Choice Award. Payment of the stipend and, to the winner, of the award will be within four weeks after the Mural Slam.

Artwork Restrictions:  All artwork must be suitable for a family-friendly environment. Applications will be considered ineligible if they involve:
– A breach of intellectual property rights (i.e., somebody else’s ideas or imagery).
– Trademarks, brand or business names, logos or copyrighted images.
– Anything that is harmful to a third party .
– Anything containing nudity or overtly Halloween themed.

City Ordinance: The City of Salem Code of Ordinances provides that no individual should be denied equal treatment or opportunity as a result of his or her age, ancestry, color, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, military status, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation. Any activities which denies or tends to deny to an individual equal access on the basis of: age, ancestry, color, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, military status, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, is hereby prohibited.

Please apply through the online portal here:  2021 Application 

For questions about program guidelines or submissions please contact:

Arielle Kaplan, Director of Operations, Creative Collective
arielle@creativecollectivema.com

Creative Collective is celebrating the ways we can get outside this Spring with their #SpringOnTheNorthShore campaign, an initiative created to highlight the best that springtime North of Boston has to offer on the longer, warmer days. 

Area businesses can participate in the event by using the hashtag #SpringOnTheNorthShore and tagging @creativecollectivema  and @creativenorthshore in posts on social media highlighting ways their businesses are encouraging people to get out and explore the best of the region this Spring.