Sweet Pass Sculpture School
Application Due: Feb 20, 2021
Selection Notification: April 2021
Site Intensive: June 1 - 14, 2021
Final Exhibition Date: June 2022
Sweet Pass Sculpture Park announces its new education based exhibition program, Sweet Pass Sculpture School (SPSS). The program consists of a two week intensive in Dallas, TX, a year long remote mentorship for research and project development, and a concluding exhibition centered at Sweet Pass Sculpture Park.
Artists invited to participate will engage in site visits, lectures, screenings, readings, and dinners - meeting with local cultural producers, thinkers, and experts to collectively explore the city of Dallas and the surrounding region. After the site intensive, SPSS will organize periodic virtual studio visits and critiques to help participating artists develop their final projects over the following year. This program will conclude in a group exhibition at Sweet Pass Sculpture Park, with an emphasis on site-responsiveness, the speculative, and reflecting connections to the surrounding region and communities. This program is offered free of charge, and a $1000 base stipend will be presented to each artist after the completion of the program to support their final projects.
The Texas Blackland Prairie, the ecoregion where Dallas is located, is the most endangered large ecosystem in North America (currently less than 1% remaining). SPSS will guide participants on a broad survey of this lost prairie, while exploring the embedded histories, hidden natures, and infrastructures in the region. Like decoding stratum in sedimentary rocks, we will examine how the past has shaped the city's construction and look at the resulting impact upon the ecology.
Sweet Pass began on an empty lot but was conceived in the vacancy for contemporary outdoor projects in Dallas. To date, we have worked with over 100 international and local artists, as well as students from local universities, schools, and youth organizations. Our programming highlights emerging and mid-career artists in an outdoor setting on a rotating basis with a focus on project-based exhibitions. Sweet Pass is dedicated to experimentation, community engagement, and creating systems that exist in the gaps between ideas of gardens, green spaces, and public spaces while supporting contemporary art. Through these pursuits, we’ve identified another deficit in the city; education initiatives that foster and facilitate site-responsive art projects. To address this need, we propose Sweet Pass Sculpture School (SPSS).
As COVID-19 and the economic downturn force the rapid development of new modes of education, we believe it is crucial to reimagine arts education and creative production able to sustain, inspire, and support a young and diverse set of contemporary voices. We hope that this program can expand arts education outside of the traditional studio and use the city as a space for practice.
Artists will be selected for Sweet Pass Sculpture School by jury - based on a competitive, open application process. Completed applications must be submitted by the deadline (Feb 20, 2021, By 11:59pm). Artists will be selected based on the quality of their application materials, past experience, and clarity of vision in their statement of interest.
Following the recommendations of the jury, Sweet Pass Sculpture Park staff will conduct individual interviews and make final decisions by March 31, 2021.