call for art recognizing enslavement

Yale’s Committee for Art Recognizing Enslavement (CARE) is seeking artists with experience in public art, socially engaged art, or participatory art to create artistic interventions, permanent and ephemeral, and related programming in New Haven to address Yale’s historical roles and associations with slavery and the slave trade as well as the legacy of that history.

Inclusive programming that fosters reflection, remembrance, discussion, learning, and healing will be essential for each project. The Committee encourages artists to consider the monumental nature of this work and the projected timeline as part of their process in determining interest.

Selection criteria

How does the selection committee decide on awarding projects?

Artistic merit

• Proposed artwork demonstrates art or design rigor, excellence, or research
• Appropriate for the public realm
• Artist’s past work shows experience with the proposed medium and approach to community participation

Site consideration

• Proposed artwork is suitable for the site based on size, scale, and medium
• Artwork envisions how different audiences will interact at the site
• Artwork connects to and considers the social, historical, architectural, geographical, and/or cultural context of the site
• Artwork illustrates community involvement during design, fabrication, and installation

Public safety

• Proposed artwork considers public safety hazards
• Artwork considers the flow of pedestrian traffic as well as how the site is used

FAQs

What is the timeline?

• December 2024: Artist(s) are selected and begin intake of logistics through planning meetings
• Spring / Summer 2025: Artist(s) in residency in New Haven: site discovery, design planning, conceptual model delivered to the Committee
• June 2025 - Spring 2026: Projected fabrication and install (pending City agreements and permits). Note: A large-scale sculpture may take six months or more at the fabricator.

Open to other timelines. These dates are aspirational not fixed.

What are the prospective sites for the long-term or permanent works?

• Artists are invited to submit proposals in response to the list of priority sites that the Committee has identified as important prospective sites of historical events, public accessibility, and current use. A full list will be provided upon artist selection but research of the sites is not required for this stage of the selection process.