Here are answers to the most commonly asked questions about applying for a Parks Poster commission. If you have others, please reach out to Leslie Holzman at leslie@supportparks.org.
- Can artists who live outside the specified Bay Area counties but who spend time in the region still apply? We will only consider artists from the Bay Area counties specified in the Call for Artists. There is quite a bit of in-person and on-site time required – to familiarize yourself with the park, meet with staff and stakeholders, review and approve proofs, attend a launch event, etc – so it is highly challenging for everyone involved if artists need to be traveling from outside the area.
- Is the Parks Foundation wanting the posters to be done in a particular style? We intentionally created this program to work with different artists for each park because we don’t want to just have one style across all the posters. We want to see what artists come up with! We have created unifying details that will tie the collection together – the font, layout and saturated colors – and otherwise, we are looking for artwork that is recognizable as the park it’s portraying but we are not dictating a particular style and we are actively seeking to make it a varied collection.
- Do the 3 references all have to be professional art references? References can be professional or personal – anyone that the artist feels can speak about their artwork, interests and working style. For example, that might be a friend who can speak to their love of a certain park, an art teacher or professional who can talk about their art experience, or a client who they’ve worked with who can tell us about their working style.
- Can applications be submitted in another way besides CaFÉ? We are not accepting applications outside of CaFÉ because we use this platform for our jurying process. If support is needed with CaFÉ, they offer good customer support or we can also be of assistance. The application period should allow plenty of time to work through any technical issues.
- Can artists apply to be considered for all 3 parks? Yes, the application allows applicants to either choose one park to be considered for or they can apply for all 3.
- If the artist isn’t familiar with a park, can they still apply for it? Yes, but it would be important to explain how the artist would go about becoming familiar with the park. This should be conveyed in the application and if invited, in the interview process.
- Do you accept AI generated artwork? No, we will not consider artwork that is AI generated.
- Should artists include mock-ups or preliminary concept drawings as well as previous work samples? We are asking that artists submit 6-8 examples of their work that best gives us a sense of artistic style and help us envision how their style might fit with the poster project. We are not requiring artists to submit actual designs or mock-ups but if they would like to include that as part of the 6-8 images, that is also fine. Artists should consider what best represents their work, style and possible approach to the project.
- How will the commissioned artists get to know the parks? We expect that the process for developing the artwork will be very collaborative. Each artist will be able to talk with staff, park rangers, docents and knowledgeable community members, so that they can really understand more about the parks and what makes them special. We will facilitate this process and make introductions as needed.
- Where are the posters displayed or sold? Currently the posters are available for sale on our website through our Shopify store. We are also selling small stickers of each park poster. We promote the posters at various community events and on-site at the parks as much as possible. Several visitor centers in the system display the framed posters. We have held public artist events for the release of the first 6 posters where we displayed the original artwork and had artists sign posters for attendees. We plan to do a similar event for this group. In the future, we might hold a larger event or exhibition of all the artwork at another location.
- Will the artwork be on other products besides posters? Currently, we sell the artwork as posters and small stickers. In the future, we will possibly reproduce the artwork in other formats – postcards, mugs, calendars, etc. Our contract reserves the right to reproduce in other ways.
- If the artist works in digital format or, for example, watercolor that is enhanced and altered digitally, what would be the deliverable as a final artwork? We can work out the appropriate deliverable based on the specific circumstances. Two of the previously commissioned artists worked digitally and the final artwork deliverable was a high-quality print.
- How would large format artworks be scanned to create digital files? We can advise on the best way to scan the final artwork and we will provide the required specifications. To date, the artists working on the first 6 artworks have approached it differently. Some used professional services – such as Scale Up in San Francisco – to get a digital file. Some artists have their own flatbed scanners. Another artist had a photography setup to create the digital file.