URBAN ANIMATORS: LIVING LABORATORY
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST 2015
“Cities need urban animators that link, weave, stir and stimulate....The urban animator has to
communicate reinvented spaces and solicit participation and complicity”
Raoul Bunschoten Urban Flotsam 2001
The New Academic Street (NAS) project will transform the heart of the City campus into a vibrant,
sustainable, green urban precinct that will enhance the service RMIT provides to students by:
● Opening up the campus to the surrounding city and bringing light, air and inner-city ambience into
the centre of the campus
● Upgrading and expanding the Swanston Library by 40 per cent, providing better access to the fixed
and digital collection and more group and quiet study spaces, and
● Creating a state-of-the-art Student Hall designed to deal with student inquiries efficiently using the
latest technology.
The upgraded facilities provided within this New Academic Street precinct - innovative retail, food and
beverage outlets; gallery and exhibition spaces; industry-standard broadcast facilities, outdoor urban
terraces and spaces for quiet study and relaxation - will improve students’ campus experience and open up
the City campus to the vibrant community surrounding it.
An opportunity exists to contribute to the transformation of RMIT’s iconic City campus. The School of Art
through Art In Public Space and the Centre for Art Society and Transformation (CAST) in association with
the RMIT New Academic Street (NAS) Project Office are calling for expressions of interest in participating
in the production of artworks for construction hoardings and projections on the Swanston street façade of
RMIT Buildings 10 and 12.
The artworks will enrich the pedestrian experience by responding to the transformation of the RMIT City
Campus during the construction of the New Academic Street.
Artists are invited to explore the theme of “transforming the heart of the City campus” within the context of
Environment, Change and Adaptation.
WHO CAN APPLY
Current RMIT students, staff and alumni.
Group work and cross-discipline and vertically integrated scholarship collaboration is encouraged and will
be viewed favourably as part of the selection criteria.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
● 200 words (PDF format) outlining how the artwork responds to the theme:
“transforming the heart of the City campus” within the context of Environment, Change and
Adaptation.
 Nominate if artwork is for the hoarding or digital projection.
● Curriculum vitae (CV) of the individual artists in the group (PDF format)
● 3 x images of existing or previous work. (PDF or JPEG format 1MB each). Images to include title,
dates, materials, dimensions and locations.
Chosen artist groups will be required to supply artwork in digital format only. Printing, installation and
projection will be done by others. Collaboration and advice with the artist will be sought once final artwork
moves into production and installation phases.
HOW TO SUBMIT
Visit the RMIT New Academic Street website and complete the online application form by 5 June 2015.
Prepared By Grace Leone
RMIT Centre for Art, Society and Transformation (CAST). RMIT School of Art.
DATE: 26.03.15
SPECIFICATIONS OF HOARDINGS
Height of Hoardings: 2100mm
Length of Hoarding: Artist groups are required to nominate the extent of hoarding needed to express their
concept.
Materials to print final artwork onto will be determined following artist nomination. End work will be affixed
to the hoardings substructure woven through the NAS project area
LOCATION OF PROJECTIONS
RMIT Buildings 10 and 12 on the Swanston Street façade.
SELECTION PROCESS
Artist groups are invited to submit a written response to the theme for shortlisting by a reference group
consisting of representatives from the NAS Project Group, School of Art, School of Architecture and
Design, School of Fashion and Textiles, School of Media and Communications, College of Science,
Engineering and Health, and the Student Experience Stakeholder committee.
Shortlisted artist groups will be paid an acquisition fee to develop their concepts into images for final
selection by the reference group.
Selected artist groups will be paid an acquisition fee for the realization and commission of their artwork.
Shortlisted artist groups will be able to engage with the curator to identify suitable locations for hoarding
artwork and projection duration.
KEY DATES
Information Briefing session: Wednesday 27 May 2015
Applications close: 5 June 2015
Shortlisted Applicants notified: 10 June 2015
SHORTLISTED ARTIST GROUPS
Workshop Mentoring Session -Projection Artwork: 17 June 2015
Concept Development by Shortlisted Artists due: 3 July 2015
Artist notified: Week of 9 June
LAUNCH OF HOARDING AND PROJECTION ARTWORK: 18 August 2015
ARTIST FEES
Shortlisted artist groups will be paid an acquisition fee of $500 to develop their concept.
Selected artist groups will be paid an acquisition fee of $1500 for the realization and commission of their
artwork.
CONTACT US
Grace Leone, Curator
Enquires: [email protected]
Prepared By Grace Leone
RMIT Centre for Art, Society and Transformation (CAST). RMIT School of Art.
DATE: 26.03.15