Composting Contraption: Request for Proposal

ScrapEden SF: Request for Proposals Composting Contraption $10,000-$15,000
Timeframe:

Proposal Due to BRAF 3/15/10,

Grant Award Announced 4/1/10

Project Completed by 6/1/10

The Black Rock Arts Foundation (BRAF), in partnership with the San Francisco Department of the Environment, is seeking artists to develop another public art project for ScrapEdenSF, an ongoing program pairing artists with community groups to create artworks that are designed to inspire and motivate residents to recycle and compost more effectively. BRAF is currently requesting proposals from San Francisco Bay Area artists for the Composting Contraption.com·post [k?mp?st] is a combination of various decaying organic substances that are being decomposed largely through aerobic decomposition into a rich black soil.

con·trap·tion [kuhn-trap-shuhn] – a mechanical contrivance; gadget; device.

Imagine inventor Rube Goldberg meeting up with biodynamic farming pioneer Rudolf Steiner.

The Composting Contraption will be a human-powered, interactive, kinetic artwork designed to inspire, motivate and educate San Francisco residents to increase the practice of composting at home and to take better advantage of the City’s green bin organics collection programs serving the residential, commercial, and institutional sectors.

This new work of art will travel to local festivals, street fairs, farmers markets and schools to increase awareness of composting (and recycling to some extent) and change the composting behavior of San Francisco artists and residents to divert recoverable resources from being disposed of as solid waste, in keeping with the City’s zero waste goals. The artist is not expected to bring the contraption all around town, but will work with a local community group to train them on its use so they can tour it around in an educational campaign.

Materials used for this new mobile sculpture MUST primarily be made of reclaimed, recycled or reused materials diverted from local landfills.

For more information about how to apply!

About the author: Affinity

Affinity

Affinity, a Burner since 2000, was legally married on the Playa in 2001, was wedding coordinator and then training coordinator at Burning Man, before becoming the Black Rock Arts Foundation (BRAF) Social Media Coordinator and an Advisory Board Member. An attorney, she served on the Board of Directors of the Western Pension and Benefits Conference. She interned with the Human Awareness Institute for 10 years. She writes about how art is envisioned, produced, created, installed and its afterlife.

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