art in public space funding: turn of eras

2022 seems to be something of a watershed year. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows the range of geopolitical and global economic implications an apparently regional war on European soil can have. The relative security in which the societies of Europe have weighed themselves in the past decades now appears to be approaching an end. In our interconnected world, it is evident that local conflicts inevitably have global consequences that are difficult to control. The famous metaphor of butterflies flapping their wings and so generating effects on the other side of the world is proving more relevant than ever. So, what can be done in the face of impending turmoil? And how can art respond to the current sociopolitical issues?

Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Tirol 2023 invites artists to propose projects that deal with the current turn of eras and its possible effects on the region of Tyrol as a living space, but also convey developmental perspectives beyond the mainstream, so offering unusual food for thought for a better future.

Since 2008, the funding program Art in Public Space has been carried out in cooperation between the State of Tyrol and the Tiroler Künstler:innenschaft (Tyrolean Artists’ Association), and financed by the State of Tyrol. The aim of the funding is to promote contemporary art and cultural projects in public space, so making the discussion of current social issues accessible to a broad public and opening up a dialogue on cultural, social and political issues.

In this context the conceivable artistic formats are unconstrained: permanent sculptural art projects, temporary interventions as well as participatory, performative and dialogical formats in public rural and urban spaces may be funded. Special attention will be paid to project submissions that are site-specific and explicitly consider mediation formats, as well as being inherently sustainable in their implementation. In order to reach the most diverse audience possible, the projects should enable synergies between artistic practice and everyday culture. In this sense, the venues of the projects may be as diverse as the projects themselves, offering opportunities to make art experienceable beyond the boundaries of cultural institutions.

The call is open to international artists, artist collectives, and curators working in the field of contemporary visual art. Selected projects must be realised within the period March to November 2023.