EAF13: 2013 Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition

On Sunday, September 8, 2013, more than 1,000 people attended the opening of EAF13, the most recent exhibition of the park’s Emerging Artist Fellowship program.

Through March 31, 2014, Socrates Sculpture Park presented an exhibition featuring the latest works of artists to watch. In EAF13: 2013 Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition, 15 new commissions on view responded very specifically to the park’s unique waterfront, urban environment with conceptual and formal artworks that are visually compelling, subtly mysterious and, at times, provocative. Local and global subjects were presented along side one and other, with topics such as the history, ecology, and panorama of the park confronting broader topics of international politics, militarization, and culture. Rather than being a zeitgeist or thematic exhibition, each artist had a distinct artwork (and in some cases performance) that embodied his or her innovative exploration of sculpture in the public sphere.

ABOUT THE EMERGING ARTIST FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

The “Emerging Artist Fellowship” (EAF) Program is one of the most important visual arts programs at Socrates Sculpture Park and reflects our founding commitment to give artists a platform to take creative risks, rethink the scale of their work, and realize ambitious projects. Through the EAF, at least 15 artists annually work within the park’s outdoor studio facilities and engage a community that is supportive and thought provoking.

Each year, EAF artists are selected through an open, competitive application process. For 2013, we launched an open call in January and received nearly 300 applications for 15 commissions. These were reviewed by a committee that included Yasmil Raymond, curator of Dia Art Foundation, and Meredith Johnson, curator at Creative Time.  As part of the program, fellows are awarded a $5,000 grant; a five-month residency in the park’s outdoor studio; and access to the space, facilities, materials, equipment, and on-site staff expertise to create original public art for a September to March exhibition at Socrates.

SUPPORT

EAF13 is made possible by the generosity of the Jerome Foundation, Lambent Foundation Fund of Tides Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York Community Trust. The Exhibition Program at Socrates Sculpture Park is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Charina Endowment Fund, Mark di Suvero, Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation, Agnes Gund, the Henry Luce Foundation, Ivana Mestrovic, and the Thomas W. Smith Foundation.

Socrates Sculpture Park’s Exhibition Program is also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and by public funds from the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. Special thanks to the City of New York, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Queens Borough President Helen M. Marshall, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, City Council Members Jimmy Van Bramer and Peter F. Vallone Jr., and the Department of Parks & Recreation, Commissioner Veronica White.