Art Along the Avenue of Technology: Artist Residency Combines Art with Community Engagement

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Innovation along the Avenue of Technology isn’t limited to tech-based startups. Breadboard, a program at the University City Science Center, and the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority’s Percent for Art program are collaborating on a new public art residency program that will change the dynamic along Market Street between 34th and 39th Streets. Art Along the Avenue of Technology (AAAT) will engage a diverse range of community groups in the Greater Philadelphia region around an artist residency program that will explore contemporary themes of public space, place-making, and technology in an urban environment.

AAAT activates the Science Center's campus along a five-block stretch of Market Street Corridor as a 'project zone' for community engagement and place-making activities that will include community engagement, activism and education through diverse applications of 21st century creative technologies.

Through Art Along the Avenue of Technology, Breadboard will host one artist or collective in 2014. Selection criteria for projects will focus on the artist or collective’s creative uses of new media and technology, established record of completed projects, and experience with outreach programming that fosters community and youth engagement. Creative areas of interest will include artists working with any or all of the following: digital and mobile media, rapid prototyping, programmable electronics and interactive technology.

“The role of the artist or collective will transcend art and push into the role of teacher and collaborator,” notes Breadboard Director Dan Schimmel. “Not only are we asking artists to focus on their process of developing art, but also to commit to developing and engaging programming for youth and the community at large.”

“Art Along the Avenue of Technology brings a new dimension to the Science Center’s partnership with the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, as well as aligning with the Science Center’s goal of becoming a place to live, work and play,” says Steve S. Tang, Ph.D., MBA, President & CEO of the Science Center. “The artist’s residency and community programming will combine to ‘activate’ our campus with place-making activities.”

The selected artist or artist collective will be given access to rapid prototyping facility NextFab Studio’s high-tech fabrication equipment and expert staff.

Interested artists can go to http://www.breadboardphilly.org/programs/art-along-the-avenue-of-technology to view an RFQ. The deadline for submission is June 21, 2013. A final selection will be made on October 4, 2013. The selected artist will be on site in January 2014.

About the Science Center

The University City Science Center is a dynamic hub for innovation, and entrepreneurship and technology development in the Greater Philadelphia region. It provides business incubation, programming, lab and office facilities, and support services for entrepreneurs, start-ups, and growing and established companies. The Science Center was the first, and remains the largest, urban research park in the United States. Since it was founded in 1963, graduate organizations and current residents of the University City Science Center’s Port business incubator have created more than 15,000 jobs that remain in the Greater Philadelphia region today and contribute more than $9 billion to the regional economy annually. The Science Center is celebrating its 50^th anniversary in 2013. For more information about the Science Center, go to www.sciencecenter.org.

About Breadboard

Breadboard is a hybrid program of the University City Science Center that explores intersections between contemporary art, design, science and technology. Expanding on 30+ years of Esther Klein Gallery programming, Breadboard's mission is to convene communities around creative applications of technology. Breadboard is the non-profit partner of NextFab Studio, a membership based prototyping center located at 3711 Market St. To learn more about Breadboard, visit www.breadboardphilly.org.

About the Percent for Art Program:

Philadelphia was the first city in the United States to adopt programs for acquiring and commissioning works of contemporary public art for new development in urban renewal areas. The Redevelopment Authority pioneered the Percent for Art Program in March 1959, becoming the first program in the United States to make the commissioning of fine arts an integral part of the urban renewal process. The Percent for Art Program requires that redevelopers who build on land acquired from and assembled by the Redevelopment Authority must budget at least one percent of the total building construction costs toward the commissioning of original, site-specific works of art. The Percent for Art program encourages Redevelopers to conceive of innovative applications for public art, and to create work that engages the public and challenges them to think about their surroundings in new and exciting ways.