Boston Calling is gearing up to return this fall for their second festival of the year on September 5 through 7, and this time around, they want to get local artists involved. Of course, local artists have been involved, like Bearstronaut and Bad Rabbits, but they’re now looking for offstage artists to participate this time.
The festival has launched “Blank Canvas,” a search for artists to conceptualize and create 36 x 60′ murals to be displayed during the September festival. Five different winning works will be chosen from the entries, and the winners will be granted a $1,000 cash prize (which includes $250 for supplies) and four 3-day VIP passes to the festival, in addition to the exposure their work will receive over the weekend. The only requirement is that the festival team asks the murals to be inspired in some form by Boston Calling.
As for the inspiration for Blank Canvas, Boston Calling Co-Founder Brian Appel said in an official release:
We are always seeking ways to extend our connection to the community and further celebrate the talents of the people that make Boston, and the entire region, vibrant. At this past May’s festival, every time we saw a blank wall, we were disappointed that we missed an opportunity to have an artist display their work.
Vibrant murals will certainly soften the brutalist architecture that is Boston Calling’s surroundings in City Hall Plaza. This time around, if you plan on heading to September’s festival, which will host artists like The National, Lorde, Nas and The Roots, be sure to look out for inspired murals painted by local artists.
Interested in submitting your work to the Blank Canvas contest? Entries must be submitted by August 5, 2014 via a one-page 8.5 x 11″ digital document emailed to art@bostoncalling.com. With the document, attach your name, contact info and a 100-word description of the mural.
Winning murals will be chosen by a team of festival organizers as well as fans on social media by August 12, 2014. If selected, the artists will have four weeks to complete their mural in City Hall Plaza. Good luck, and may Boston’s best muralists win!
Image credit: Brian MacGregor
