City of Austin

The City of Austin extends an invitation to Austin-area individual creatives and arts organizations to submit proposals for this year’s Austin’s New Year celebration on December 31, 2012. Prospective participants are asked to submit a one-page proposal with contact information, project details, and budget to Kevin Shaw, Austin’s New Year Coordinator, at Kevin Shaw.  Submission deadline is 11:59 pm, September 4, 2012.

Austin’s New Year (A.N.Y.) is a family-friendly, alcohol-free, New Year’s Eve celebration on Auditorium Shores and adjacent areas. Austin’s New Year 2013 will mark the third year of the City-produced New Year’s Eve event.

PROJECT DETAILS:

Theme: Family-friendly, downtown, alcohol-free New Year’s Eve event

Where: Auditorium Shores and adjacent areas

When: December 31, 2012
Program begins at 5:00 p.m. and ends with fireworks shortly after 10:00 p.m.

Who: Any Austin-area creative or arts organization, including visual and performing artists, musicians, performers, interactive entertainment, and others

What: A variety of creative, family-friendly musical and artistic performances, workshops, activities, and visual art installations on the grounds of Auditorium Shores. Possible proposals include, but are not limited to 

1) Organizations that can curate an area of the footprint with artistic environments, performances and visual art, and activities that engage children and families
2) Musical individuals and groups
3) Performing artists, including actors, jugglers, storytellers, dancers, fire dancers, elaborate costumes, and other festive performances
4) Temporary, interactive art installations
5) Large-scale visual art

Anticipated attendance: approximately 20,000+

Website: For more information about Austin’s New Year please visit: http://www.austintexas.gov/department/austins-new-year

SUBMISSION DETAILS:

1) Contact information – Please designate a single point of contact within your group or organization and include that person’s contact information including name, phone number and email address.
2) A written narrative - Describe who you are and the project that you or your arts organization would like to present as part of Austin’s New Year. Be sure to address the important questions of what will be happening; what visuals, musical elements or performances you will incorporate; how many people will be participating; what your technical needs will be; and how your work will engage the community of Austin. Be detailed, be realistic, and keep it short and sweet.  (1 page maximum)
3) A detailed budget – Include everything that you will need for the project. The City is working with limited resources, so we encourage you to be conservative in your proposed project scope ($5,000 maximum). Projects that do not require financial assistance are also welcome.

Please email proposals to Kevin Shaw, Austin’s New Year Coordinator.

All submissions are due no later than September 4, 2012 at 11:59 p.m.

An artist or arts organization may submit more than one proposal for consideration. City staff will review the proposal submissions, and selection of projects will be based on artistic merit, feasibility, compatibility with other selected projects, and budget. The number of submissions will be determined based on City funding available for programming. Once selected, artists may seek additional underwriters for their selected project with approval from the City of Austin.

The City of Austin will hold two artist information meetings to discuss submission details:

First Information Meeting
Date: Thursday, August 16, 2012
Time: 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Location: Cultural Arts Division offices (201 E. 2nd Street)

Second Information Meeting
Date: Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Time: 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Location: Cultural Arts Division offices (201 E. 2nd Street)

For questions about the event or the Request For Proposals, please contact Kevin Shaw at (512) 974-9316 or kevin.shaw@austintexas.gov.        

The City of Austin Cultural Arts Division
The Cultural Arts Division provides leadership and management for the City’s cultural arts programs and for the development of arts and cultural industries. The Cultural Arts Division is responsible for the Cultural Arts Funding Programs, Art in Public Places Program, community-based arts development, and programs to assist the development of film and creative industries in Austin. For more information, visit www.austincreates.com.