Museum Exhibit Collaboration - Flight and Culture: Launching Community Stories

Location: MN — Twin Cities Metro
Type: Call for Submissions
Categories:
Any discipline

Deadline: 11/01/2024

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Background:
The Works Museum is a hands-on engineering and design museum. Our exhibits, programs, and design challenges engage kids in science, technology, and engineering and make learning memorable and fun.
This exhibit is an interactive art experience that explores the intersection of flight, culture, and community. Artists are invited to create works that reflect their unique perspectives on flying objects, launching mechanisms, and the cultural narratives surrounding these themes. The exhibit seeks to connect the idea of flight with the identity of local communities by drawing upon cultural symbols, objects, and games.

The STEM concepts being reinforced through this exhibit center around forces and the pattern of motion, including gravity and the trajectory of objects in flight.

Project Goals:
The exhibit seeks to fuse technology, culture, and imagination through the lens of flight. By participating, artists will help to reshape the narrative around flight and community, turning something as simple as launching into a meaningful expression of cultural pride. We are excited to see how each artist reinterprets flight as it pertains to their cultural and community experience.

Response Questions and Opportunities:
Please consider the following questions and opportunities as you develop your submission.

1. What types of flying objects do you see in your community?
(Artists are invited to consider the types of flying objects commonly found in their community. These can range from airplanes and drones to birds or cultural objects like kites. Think about how these flying objects connect to the daily life, history, or spirit of your community. How can these objects, whether natural or man-made, serve as symbols or representations of your community’s identity?)

2. How would you design the paint, color, and graphics on the exterior of a plane to represent your community, and have you seen any planes before that do so?
(Imagine the exterior of a plane as a canvas to express your community’s cultural identity, using symbols, colors, and graphics that reflect important aspects of your culture and evoke pride. Think of the plane as a flying ambassador for your community, resonating with people in the air and on the ground. For example, Alaska Airlines incorporates native Alaskan imagery into their designs. Have you ever seen an airplane that represents your culture? If so, what stood out? If not, what would you design to bring your community’s story to the skies?)

3. Are there toys or games in your culture or community that involve launching objects, and what mechanisms are used?
(Many communities have traditional or contemporary toys and games that involve launching objects, such as kites, slingshots, or paper airplanes. Artists are encouraged to think about what is being launched and its significance. What launching mechanisms—like slingshots, catapults, or paper folding—are rooted in your cultural heritage? How can these mechanisms be transformed into artistic expressions, either through interactive designs or symbolic representations, while reflecting the cultural meaning of launching objects?)

4. What graphics can be added to bring in a place setting?
(Envision the back wall of the exhibit as the inside of an airplane, where visitors are looking out the windows at different locations. What kind of landscapes, cities, or cultural landmarks would your community or other regions want to showcase? Artists are encouraged to create graphics that capture views from above, showcasing community-specific or culturally significant places. Consider how these window scenes can reflect the diversity and beauty of your community, inviting viewers to explore different parts of the world from a unique vantage point.)

Submission Guidelines:
● Artist Statement and/or Concept (500 words max)
● Sketches or Visual Representations (optional – up to 5 images)
● Portfolio of Past Works (up to 5 images)
● Artist Biography (250 words max)

Please submit all materials via email to Emily Kinny (she/her) at emily@theworks.org with the subject line: “Flight and Culture Exhibit Artist Submission – [Your Name]”

All materials should be submitted as PDFs, with images included as JPEGs or PNG files (emails should be no larger than 25MB).

We are seeking collaboration and consultation from artists and the community for this exhibit, which is being fabricated and installed by exhibit design firm Process Curiosity in May 2025. This opportunity could be in the format of an artist consultation, or the creation of physical or digital works for the exhibit. Budget and compensation will be determined in consultation with the artist based on the scope and complexity of the proposed work.