Surreal House call for LEAD artists

Do you have a vision (and perhaps a team) for an immersive, weird room in a fancy old house? We're looking for Installation Artists/Teams for our annual Surreal House installation (the environment in which our annual party Dada Prom takes place)!

**Are you interested in helping but not being a lead artist? Do you have a small idea you’d like to realize as part of Surreal House? Please register your interest as a volunteer here instead!

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First, take a look at some of what’s been done in prior years! You can think of Surreal House as psychedelic, over-the-top, made-up-holiday decoration project made by artists. In past years there have been 14’ papier-mache lobsters, a butter cow shrine, Victorian arthropods, and human-sized cereal bowls, to name just a few!

For this call, we are seeking one artists or artist team for each of the 2 Main Hall rooms. These floorplans and wall renderings show these rooms at PS1 Close House. These are templates that can be used for your proposal as to what you'd like to do in the space. We also encourage you to visit the space if you can! **But please note: we will assign the selected lead artists one of the two rooms, so please don’t design something really specific for only one of the rooms. We’re just looking to see what ideas you have!

In addition, we'd like to see evidence or proof of concept that you can pull off a large-scale installation. Other things to consider: what is the theme of the room? What materials and/objects will you use? Will you need any technology or support with specific installation methods?

TIMELINE
Deadline for applications: August 15

Notifications: by August 22

There will be regular check-ins in October and November, until install happens (between Nov 25-Dec. 6). Surreal House opens with Dada Prom on Saturday, December 7.

Installation on view Dec. 6, 2025 - Jan. 3, 2026

Deinstall: Jan. 4-11, 2026

CONSIDERATIONS

The environment you create should be safe to inhabit and enjoyable (and durable) for people of all ages. (This isn't to say you can't get weird… quite the opposite!) We're looking for progressive, boundary-pushing work that celebrates joy and questions reality!

Also- during Dada Prom people become other!! Some of the costumes are quite ridiculous, big, and/or awkward. Consider how entities of all sizes may interact with your environs.

There are some limitations to how objects can be installed. We will work through these details with you and help problem solve as needed!

COMPENSATION

Surreal House & Dada Prom are much needed PS1 fundraisers, so our budget is frugal. That being said, we want to compensate artists for their creative work. It will also be fun!

Each lead artist team will receive a $500 and up to $250 in reimbursed materials costs. In addition, we have up to 5 free tickets per team for Dada Prom, our zany winter art costume party (Dec 6 this year). We can also support with use of PS1’s art materials stash and equipment library.

Questions? Email info@publicspaceone.com

Apply!