Guidelines for Artists' Proposals, Eastern State Penitentiary- 2004 Season
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Proposals Due:
Thursday, November 6, 2003, 5:00 p.m. at the E.S.P. Offices, 2027 Fairmount Ave.

Exhibition Conditions:
Eastern State Penitentiary is a National Historic Landmark, the highest designation for an historic property under Federal Law. It is also a ruin, abandoned in 1971, and stands today as an architectural shell. The building has no running water, no heat, no air conditioning, and extremely limited electrical service. These conditions can be destructive to many types of materials. Most artists working at Eastern State build their work for the space and incorporate the inevitable deterioration into the piece.

Because of the building's condition, neither the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, Inc. (the organization that administers the historic site) nor the City of Philadelphia (which owns the site) can be responsible for damage to art work inside Eastern State Penitentiary. The historic site carries insurance for the safety of the public while in the complex, and of the artists during the installation process, but not for the value of the art installations on display.

Electricity is available in several places, and artists may wish to include electrical installation to other areas of the Penitentiary as part of their proposal and budget. Please contact us about soliciting cost estimates for this work. Electrical installation must meet strict guidelines and be completed by a licensed electrician. Extension cords are limited to one 9 foot cord from the outlet to the unit requiring power.

Because of Eastern State's historic designation, art installations may not permanently damage or alter the building or any artifacts inside the Penitentiary Complex in any way without approval from the City of Philadelphia Historical Commission. This approval process must include what might seem to be relatively minor damage, such as nailing into plaster, taping or painting surfaces, brushing paint from the walls, or removing debris.

Installation / Maintenance
Artists are responsible for the installation and removal of their work. Very limited maintenance (turning power on and off, sweeping, monitoring the condition of the work) can be performed by the staff at the site. Artists should assume, however, that the staff at the historic site will not be able to monitor the spaces with art work during all public hours.

Funding:
A maximum of $1,500 is available from the historic site's exhibition budget for any given artist. Some artists may be invited to exhibit, but funded at a lower level. This funding is generally used to off-set the expense of installing work at Eastern. Most funding is provided, indirectly, by foundations and funding organizations to support programming at Eastern. We may ask artists to recognize these funders in any printed materials or wall texts associated with their exhibition.

Many artists are able to secure additional funding for their project at Eastern State. Sometimes the historic site has acted as the fiscal agent for an artist who has received additional funding from an outside foundation.

The historic site produces up to two exhibit signs for each artist, press photographs and mails press releases regarding all events; it is not necessary to include these expenses in the exhibition budget.

Application Process
Please see the Dates and Times Section (below) for the deadlines associated with the project.

Artists should begin the application process by making an appointment with Brett Bertolino, Assistant Program Director of the historic site, during one of the orientation times listed below. This will give the artists a chance to walk through the space, discuss possible locations throughout the building in which art can be displayed and observe visitor’s viewing the current art exhibits. All applicants must attend an orientation session unless other arrangements have been made with the Assistant Program Director .

Arts Review Committee:
Applications for exhibition will be reviewed by the Arts Review Committee, a committee consisting of art professionals and historic site staff.

Brett Bertolino – Assistant Program Director , Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site.

Julie Courtney - Independent Curator, Co-Curator of Prison Sentences, Eastern State Penitentiary, 1995.

Sally Elk - Executive Director, Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site.

Sean Kelley - Program Director, Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site.

Jennifer Lawrence - Former Site Manager, Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, PhD. Candidate, Temple University, History Department.

Winifred Lutz, Sculptor; Professor, Tyler College of Art. Exhibited at Eastern State Penitentiary, 1995.

Jennie Shanker, Sculptor; Installation Designer; Installation Team for Prison Sentences, Eastern State Penitentiary, 1995.

Richard Torchia, Sculptor; Curator, Arcadia Art Gallery. Exhibited at Eastern State Penitentiary, 1996-2001.

Proposal Requirements: Only one proposal can be submitted by an artist per year.
Format:
Proposals must be typed, inch and a half spaced, with at least one inch margins. Font must be 10 point or larger. The artists name should appear on every page and attachment in the proposal. Proposals should be no more than five pages long, excluding visuals and slide lists.

Successful Proposals Must Include:
• A Physical Project Summary – A three sentence physical description of your piece.
• One - to two page narrative, including:

	• Project Description, including a literal explanation of the project (materials involved, installation techniques, amount of space required, etc)
	• "Why Eastern State Penitentiary?"
	• List of the types of maintenance the piece will require

• Requested Funding/Budget ($1,500 max)
• A two page Resume / Vita / Exhibition list
• Illustrations of Proposed Work showing how your piece will look/be presented at the Penitentiary. These visuals should clearly depict how the art will be displayed in the space you have chosen, and will need to be able to be photocopied.
• Slides / Photos of Previous Work (12 max) – please clearly label all slides with your name, number in loading sequence, and loading instructions/arrows.
• Slide list or Video (3 min. max)
• Self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of materials

Proposals Should NOT Include:
• Artist Statements
• Letters of Support

Please do not submit any additional materials as they will not be forwarded to the committee. Cover letters will not be forwarded to the committee.

Dates and Times:
• Orientation: Advanced registration is required. Attendance is required to apply unless other arrangements have been made. Contact Brett Bertolino to register.

Sunday, August 3 at 1:30 p.m.,
Wednesday, August 27 at 3:30 p.m.,
Saturday, September 20 at 11:00 a.m.,
Wednesday, October 15 at 3:30 p.m. (Or by appointment.)

• Proposals Due: Thursday, November 6, 2003, 5 p.m.
At Eastern State Penitentiary Offices
2027 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130

• Artists Notified By: Monday, December 1, 2003
• Installation Completed by: Monday, March 22, 2004
• Removal of Work: To be completed by January 1, 2004

Contact:
Brett Bertolino, Assistant Program Director • Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site Offices.
2027 Fairmount Avenue • Philadelphia, PA 19130
Office: (215) 236-5111 ex. 12 • Fax: (215) 236-5289
E-mail: bb@easternstate.org

Helpful Hints to keep in mind when applying.

• Although your proposal must be site specific, it is not necessary to incorporate Eastern State’s history into your proposal. Many successful proposals, including Nick Cassway’s Portraits of Inmates in the Death Row Population Sentenced as Juveniles and Ilan Sandler’s Arrest, do not focus on Eastern State’s history.

• Some of our best proposals did address Eastern State’s history. If you are going to include historical information about Eastern State’s history, please be accurate. Do not include incorrect or irrelevant historical information. Artists should be sensitive to the history of the space and only include historical information if it is relevant to their piece.

• Don’t romanticize prison, make assumptions or sweeping generalizations.

• Overt political content can be good.

• Don’t use Eastern State solely for architectural environment.

• If you are applying for a specific area, please identify this area by its correct historical name (i.e. Cellblock 2) and not by a map symbol (i.e. A2) as these may change from year to year.

• Be realistic. How much will you be able to accomplish with available funding and installation time.

• Avoid using materials that will not hold up in Eastern State’s environment. Assume your installation will be outdoors for eight months.

• To see descriptions and photos of our 2003 Artist Installations, please visit our Exhibits Page.