BRONX, N.Y.- As part of its ACTION LAB initiative the Bronx Museum of the Arts is accepting proposals for arts residencies. Projects are to be located in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx, must begin by January 2005, and be completed by June 2005. Funding for residencies will range from $3000 to $7000 depending on the scope of each project.
ACTION LAB aims to promote dialogue through art-making activities. We welcome proposals from artists of all backgrounds, sexual orientation and cultures, sensitive to the diverse communities of the Bronx. A strong proposal will address issues of importance to the residents of Hunts Point and will involve the participation of one or several segments of the community--children, seniors, professionals in the area, students, etc. At the end of the residencies, individual projects will be integrated into a larger community-based outdoor performance: the Hunts Point Fish Parade.
Arts-Residents are expected to keep in close contact with the ACTION LAB Artistic Director who will be in charge of bringing all individual projects together as a cohesive whole for presentation at the Fish Parade. This community-based outdoor event, now in its third year, was originally created as a protest against the Fish Market, which has been relocated in Hunts Point but still do not serve the immediate community. For the next two years, the Bronx Museum will join forces with The Point and expand the scope of the Fish Parade in a celebration of the diversity of the community and the artists that contribute to revitalization of Hunts Point.
An important component of ACTION LAB will involve a series of workshops based on Augusto Boal’s philosophy. Beginning this fall, and throughout the next two years, the Bronx Museum will be offering workshops on Forum Theater techniques in Hunts Point on a regular basis. These workshops are open to Bronx teachers, arts residents and the community in general. THERE WILL BE ONE MANDATORY WORKSHOP FOR ALL ARTS RESIDENTS.
Although residents are not expected to incorporate Boal’s approach into their work, the workshops will play a pivotal role in bringing together the various parts of the project.