Clockwise from left, Stephanie Syjuco, Miguel arzabe, lava Thomas. Photo Credit: David Elliott.
A new Texas-wide open call from Art + Action — a San Francisco’s Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA) initiative with national partnerships — was recently launched. The COME TO YOUR CENSUS open call deadline is next Wednesday, August 19 at 6 PM, and invites artists “whose work will serve to inspire their communities — particularly the hard-to-count — to participate in the 2020 Census, which ends on 9.30.2020.”
Art + Action sees an urgency in this open-call campaign, considering the fast-approaching census deadline, and how vital federal funding and political representation are — not to mention the lasting impact (10 years) accurate numbers will play in accessing funding and representation benefits.
COME TO YOUR CENSUS is also happening in the state of Florida, and both campaigns are supported by the Ford Foundation. For the Texas initiative, five artists will be selected and their works will appear on billboards in Texas, online via Art + Action’s Census Toolkit, as well as social-media platforms.
Artists will be highlighted as Featured Artists in the campaign, and there’s an artist award of $1,000.
The Application process is via email (again: deadline is August 19 at 6PM), and requires the following information to be sent here:
• Artist name
• Email address
• Phone Number
• City of Residence
• Artwork as a .Jpg file (Square format preferred, 300 dpi or higher)
• Artist bio (3-5 sentences about you)
• 3-5 sentences about why this artwork will inspire your community to participate in the 2020 Census.
For more about Art+Action, and additional information on the COME TO YOUR CENSUS open call, please go here.
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Art+Action—a multi-sector coalition for civic participation was founded to educate and inspire people to complete the 2020 Census. Art+Action’s multilingual, arts-driven Come To Your Census campaign positions artists as catalysts to humanize the issues around this bureaucratic, but vital process. The campaign mirrors the ethos of the Census itself and was built on a foundation of equity, parity, and agency. Originally ignited by San Francisco’s Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA)—and launched in partnership with trusted institutions and messengers—the campaign began in San Francisco, with artist commissions, a public media campaign, public programming, and an open-sourced toolkit to galvanize communities to participate in the Census. It has since ignited a national spark, and with the support of Ford Foundation, Art+Action is bringing the campaign to Texas and Florida—so we can make the next 2 months truly count in states where many communities are being left behind—particularly BIPOC, disabled, women, trans, LGBTQIA+, and immigrant.
