Frist Center Reveals 2014 Artober Nashville Bollard Decoration Project

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is pleased to announce a call to artists to decorate the ornamental bollards at the Center's Turner Courtyard entrance as part of Artober Nashville, a month-long celebration of arts and culture in Nashville. "Visitors often ask about those large, dark, gray spheres standing 'guard' around the Frist Center entryways," says Community Relations Manager Emily Harper Beard. "The architectural term is 'bollard,' and we are inviting Middle Tennessee artists to adorn them with designs inspired by two exhibitions, Real/Surreal: Selections from the Whitney Museum of American Art (June 27-October 13, 2014) and by the work of Wassily Kandinsky whose work will be on view in Kandinsky: A Retrospective (September 26, 2014-January 4, 2015)."

Artists or artist teams are invited to propose an artistic decoration for a single bollard, one of five, which are located on the Demonbreun St. side of the building. Selected artists will receive $50 to cover the cost of materials and will be invited to adorn the bollards on site at the Frist Center on Saturday, October 11, 2014.

Selection Process: A panel of Frist Center staff members will review all submissions and select the artists by September 15.

Medium: The bollards are cast concrete and painted dark gray during the year with the following dimensions: 3'6" high with a circumference of 9'6." The bollards are currently painted with water-based latex paint. As the bollards are considered an important element of the Frist Center property, it is assumed all participating artists must not harm or irreparably alter the bollards or the areas surrounding them.

Day of Adornment: The adornment of the bollards by artists is scheduled to take place Saturday, October 11, 2014, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. In the case of inclement weather, the date will be Saturday, October 18, 2014. If it is necessary to move to a third day, that day will be Sunday, October 19, 2014. If a selected artist is not able to participate on the day of adornment (or on the alternate dates), the Frist Center reserves the right to select an artist that is able to take part on the given date.

Subject: The theme of the 2014 Bollard Call to Artists is Surreal Abstraction at the Frist. Submissions should be influenced by the exhibitions Real/Surreal: Selections from the Whitney Museum of American Art and Kandinsky: A Retrospective.

Eligibility: Artists living or working in Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Cheatham, Robertson, Wilson, Maury, Dickson, Bedford, Montgomery or Sumner counties are eligible.

Exhibit: The adorned bollards will remain on display at the Frist Center until January 4, 2015, at which time the bollards will be stripped of any dimensional elements, prepared and primed and repainted their original color.

Parameters: Artist must use water-based latex paint. Dimensional adornment of the bollards is acceptable but must not compromise the structural integrity of the bollards in any way. The bollards may not be sanded, chiseled or sculpted in any way or to any degree. All submissions must be the artist's original work. Entries shall be in the form of original drawings, 2- or 3-D maquettes, digital images and/or three-dimensional submissions. The designs must be capable of execution in a single, nine-hour time period.

No adornment to the bollards may in any way restrict entry to the Frist Center.

Artists whose work is not selected for the project will be notified. The 2014 Frist Center Artober Nashville Bollard Art Project reserves the right to reproduce, for the benefit of the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, any work executed as a part of this project.

Entry Delivery: Entries may be hand-delivered to Security Post One (near the Frist Center Cafe?) addressed to Emily Harper Beard, Community Relations Manager, Frist Center for the Visual Arts on Friday, September 12, 2014, between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. ONLY.

Entries may be mailed to Emily Harper Beard, Community Relations Manager, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, 919 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203. Digital entries may be emailed to ebeard@fristcenter.org. Entries must arrive at the Frist Center on or before Friday, September 12, 2014.

Please include name, address, phone number and email address with all entries.

If you wish to retrieve your submission, please clearly note your desire in your submission. Designs not selected must be picked up at the Frist Center on or before January 9, 2015. Work not picked up by that date will become the property of the Frist Center and may be discarded.