Urban Canvas

September 30, 2010

Check out and VOTE for your favorite Urban Canvas design by October 1st.  My favorite is Jen Magathan's My Urban Sky.  Her inspiration for her design, "A road trip from Michigan to Virginia inspired me to bring the Midwestern sky to the urban context. What would it feel like to walk down a crowded street and find yourself next to an open sky? My Urban Sky infuses the cityscape with modular vignettes of open sky."


Here's the explanation of the Urban Canvas Design Competition:

The urbancanvas Design Competition is a unique opportunity to challenge professional artists and designers to create printed artwork for temporary protective structures at construction sites that will beautify New York City's streetscape and promote maintenance of these structures. The competition seeks complementary designs for different types of temporary protective structures located on City-owned property: construction fences, sidewalk sheds, supported scaffolds and cocoon systems.

The urbancanvas Design Competition is an opportunity for eligible artists and designers who are United States residents and 18 and over to generate creative and compelling public art that will enliven construction sites and enhance quality of life while promoting safety. A distinguished jury of world-renowned artists, designers and civic decision makers will select a group of outstanding proposals to recommend to the Public Design Commission of the City of New York.  Following approval from the Design Commission, finalist artwork packages will be exhibited online and the public will choose the winning designs through an online vote. These winning designs will be available through the urbancanvas Pilot Program for property owners and developers to install on temporary protective structures located on City-owned property.

The New York City Department of Buildings and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, have partnered to create this unique competition.