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 for our annual Surreal House installation (the environment in which our annual fundraiser party Dada Prom takes place) at PS1 Close House!

***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 in person if you can! **Please note: we will assign the selected lead artists one of the two rooms, so please don’t design something that will only work for 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 shows us 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 31

Notifications: by September 15

There will be regular check-ins in October and November, leading up to install (between Nov. 22–Dec. 1). Surreal House opens with Dada Prom on Saturday, December 5.

Installation on view: Dec. 4–19

Deinstall: Jan. 3–10, 2027

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 shapes and sizes may interact with your environs.

The Close House is a historic building with some limitations to how objects can be installed. We will work through these details with you and help problem solve as needed!

COMPENSATION

Each lead artist team will receive a stipend of $500. In addition, we offer up to 5 free tickets per team for Dada Prom, our zany winter art costume party fundraiser. We can also support your installation with the use of PS1’s free art materials stash and equipment library.

Questions? Email info@publicspaceone.com!

Apply!