West Hollywood brick & mortar retail locations are closing, and property owners are facing unprecedented vacancies. The City of West Hollywood’s Arts Division is seeking qualification submissions from professional artists to establish a pre-qualified list for a Windows of WeHo temporary art exhibition in empty storefronts.
The Windows of WeHo exhibition will include artists who have experience in creating inventive installations or full-scale window installations that engage people in an innovative or dynamic way. The initiative will introduce art installations in empty commercial storefronts to serve artists, businesses, visitors and residents alike.
The City will maintain a pre-qualified list of artists for the Windows of WeHo exhibition. West Hollywood property owners will be invited to engage with artists on the list to display their art work. It is anticipated that artists will be responsible for the cost of creating the art, installation, lighting, and deinstallation. The property owner will be responsible for providing a clean, accessible storefront with electricity and a secure door with a lock, general liability insurance, and access to allow the artist to enter the space as necessary to install their art work. Art works can be available for purchase. An executed exhibition agreement, provided by the city, for the exhibition between artist and property owner is required. It is anticipated that 8-10 artists will be selected through the pre-qualified list established by this application, and each selected artist will receive an award of one thousand dollars ($1,000). Admittance onto the pre-qualified list is not a guarantee that an artist will be selected for an award.
Out of the Closet Window art Exhibit by Edgar Eiotown #Eiotown – Photo by Paulo Murillo for WEHO TIMESWindows of WeHo exhibition is intended to partner artists with property owners to reimagine vacant storefronts as opportunities for safe, socially distanced, outdoor community engagement sites.
Placing art in vacant storefronts is a way to safely energize and activate empty spaces in West Hollywood. The art installations will bring increased attention to vacant commercial properties, will act as a deterrence of graffiti, and will contribute to the preservation of our business community. The collection of the reimagined spaces will become an outdoor gallery exhibition where art will act as a mechanism to keep our city alive while simultaneously showcasing retail spaces to the next wave of paying tenants.
This is an open call to professional artists living in the Southern California region. West Hollywood artists and artists who have not yet exhibited with the City are especially encouraged to apply. A successful applicant will have strong organizational skills, an ability to communicate clearly, possess a proven record of exhibitions, and have demonstrated abilities in art installations. Public art experience is not required. Curators, artist representatives, non-profit art organizations, galleries and/or museums are not eligible for this opportunity.
Applications must be received no later than 5:00PM PST on Wednesday, January 13, 2021. To learn more, click here.
Interesting you are using my art as an example for the weho city idea. #eiotown
Thank you?
Greetings Edgar. We absolutely LOVE your window display art. It’s definitely a WeHo destination. So when the subject of storefront window art came up as a news item, we could not help ourselves. The piece was updated to reflect you are the man behind the vision.