The Blue Night Art Competition 2014, Open cal for projects

The Blue Night Art Competition 2014
deadline: 16 December, 2013 (date of postal stamp or email)
1. Topic of Invitation
In 2000, the year after Nuremberg’s 950th anniversary, the first Blue Night invited Nuremberg citizens to see and experience art and culture in an unusual setting and at an unusual time of day. Since then, the Blue Night has become Germany’s biggest and most varied Long Night of Art and Culture, with about 140,000 visitors annually, coming from Nuremberg, the surrounding region, the entire Federal Republic and abroad. On offer are more than 250 performances, exhibitions and installations in over 70 institutions, courtyards, on squares and in the streets of Nuremberg’s Old Town.
The Blue Night Art Competition
Since 2005, with its annual art competition, the Blue Night has offered artists the opportunity to present their works (works and projects from the fields of visual arts, such as light installations, movement/performance, interactive activities, new media etc.) to a larger public for one night (maximum 7 hours) in the participating institutions, in courtyards, in enclosed public spaces, and on squares and streets in Nuremberg’s inner city.
N-ERGIE Audience Award
The N-ERGIE Audience Award, including prize money of 5,000 Euros, will be presented for the fourth time at the 2014 Blue Night. It will honor an art project chosen by the Blue Night visitors.
Important information about the Blue Night and the Blue Night Art Competition
Presentation of art projects during Blue Night differs from that in a museum or gallery. The Blue Night is not a “white cube”: “hanging something on the wall” or “putting something in a room” isn’t appropriate for the Blue Night. So, please, no submissions of paintings or sculptures suitable for a traditional exhibition!
- It should be kept in mind that an art project has to work for six hours (important, for example, for performances which might have to be shown several times). Breaks might be possible, but should be relatively short.
- It should also be taken into consideration in the project design and planning that on 3 May, 2014, the sun does not set until 20:37, so it will only be completely dark after 21:00. Projects which only achieve their full impact in complete darkness will either only be shown to advantage for a very short time, or appropriate measures will have to be taken to ensure darkness (e.g. using rooms without windows or windows with blackout), and this should be taken into consideration in the project concept /design and calculation..
Each year there is a different topic for the Blue Night Art Competition as well as for the entire Blue Night programme. For the Blue Night on 3 May, 2014, the topic is “Longing”.
2. Inviting Body / Organiser
City of Nuremberg Department of Culture /Project Office
3. Type of Competition
The competition is an open art competition. An expert jury (see point 4 below) will select a maximum of 12 artists from the entries by mid-January 2014, to implement their projects in the Blue Night on 3 May, 2014.
4. Jury
Pirko Julia Schröder, artist and competition curator
Jochen Flinzer, Professor of Liberal Arts and Art Education, Faculty Director at the Nuremberg Academy of Visual Arts
Verena Waffek, artist and art communicator
Petra Weigle, Institute of Modern Art
Christian Mückl, cultural editor of the newspaper Nürnberger Zeitung
Andreas Wissen, graduate engineer (University of Applied Sciences) and Lecturer at the Nuremberg Academy of Visual Arts
Manfred Krebs, exhibition technician
Andreas Radlmaier, Christel Paßmann and N.N. (City of Nuremberg Department for Culture, Project Office)
5. Advice/Information about all Competition Issues:
Christel Paßmann (project director Blue Night)
Tel: +49 911 231 68 54
Fax: +49 911 231 20 01
E-Mail: christel.passmann (at) stadt.nuernberg.de

Pirko Julia Schröder (curator)
Tel: +49 171-8131663
E-Mail: pirksch (at) t-online.de
6. Competition Address
Kulturreferat der Stadt Nürnberg
Projektbüro
Christel Paßmann
Hauptmarkt 18
90403 Nürnberg
or by email: blauenacht-kunstwettbewerb (at) gmx.de

7. Obligations of Organizers / Artist
The participants or participating groups selected by the jury will receive a fee of 1000 € each (plus applicable VAT, if they are liable to VAT). The fee covers the entire work/performance by the artist/artists’ group (preparation, implementation, set-up and dismantling, as well as presence during Blue Night).
In addition to the fee, costs incurred in the implementation of the work of art up to a maximum of 3000 Euros (inclusive of VAT) will be reimbursed on receipt of an invoice, and after accounts have been inspected. This sum should be understood to include all costs incurred in the preparation before and presentation during the Blue Night (e.g. technicians, transport, infrastructure, electricity, barriers, set-up assistants, possibly security personnel on site etc.).

NB: Neither fee nor implementation costs will be increased to take account of the number of people involved in the project.

A detailed and reliable budget is a vital element of the entry and must be submitted together with the artistic concept. The same applies to the technical design and planning of the concept.
Any material and personnel costs will only be reimbursed within the agreed budget as stated above and upon presentation of proof of payment (receipts, invoices).

When the competition entry is submitted, it should list any technical costs which a sponsor has committed to cover, over and above the agreed budget to be reimbursed by the organizer as stated above. This list should include both additional finance and sponsorship in kind. Before approaching local or regional sponsors (in Nuremberg or the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region respectively), please contact the organizer.

Sponsors may be issued with a donation receipt (and then claim their donation as tax-deductible advertising costs) or they can conclude a sponsorship contract with the organizer.
Sponsorship (both money and sponsorship in kind) collected by the artist will be added to the project budget.
Sponsorship (both money and sponsorship in kind) collected by the organizer will not be added to the project budget of a particular project, but to the overall Blue Night budget.

Expenses for overnight stays and travel as well as other expenses (excluding food) for the artist (and possibly any assistants) must be included in the implementation budget and in the overall budget. (The City of Nuremberg does not reimburse travel expenses and overnight expenses for third parties). The number of assistants requested by the artist must be justified.
All other expenses beyond this must be borne by the artist.

On request, payment of an advance (maximum 500 Euros) may be paid from the implementation cost budget. If any of this advance is unspent, the artist is obliged to pay it back. Expenditure from the advance must be documented with invoices and receipts.

After the project, the organiser will expect to receive a detailed invoice with original receipts attached as proof of payment and use for the project). The Artist’s Contract between organiser and artist will contain information about the form of the invoice and essential information which the invoice should provide. The artist must present an invoice for the entire fee (1000 Euros, plus VAT, if liable to VAT, see above) and the cost of implementation, including his/her tax number and specifying the amount of VAT paid.

The artist is responsible for setting up and dismantling the work of art / art project. On request, the organizer can provide assistance. The cost of auxiliary personnel (currently 7.88 Euros/hour, plus VAT, if liable for VAT) must be part of the cost calculation. If artists have their own auxiliary staff, the same rate (7.88 €) must apply. The cost of their own personnel must also be included in the calculation.
The art works will be exhibited on 3 May, 2014, in the context of the Blue Night from about 7 p.m. to about 1 a.m. (4 May).
8. The Art Venues
The organizer suggests various sites for competition art works (squares, courtyards and other spaces in Nuremberg’s Old Town). In consultation with the organizers, choice of another venue – in the Old Town – may be possible. It is therefore not mandatory to apply for one of the venues named and described in the following, but a description of the necessary prerequisite conditions for the art project (darkness, size of space, enclosed or open space etc.) is essential.
The organizer reserves the right to allocate selected projects to a different venue from the one named in the entry.At most venues, it is not possible to drill holes into the walls or floors!
10. Submission of Entry / Deadline
Entries, including a carefully calculated budget and information about set-up and dismantling, must be submitted no later than 16 December, 2013 (date of postal stamp or email!).
It is possible to apply for several sites.
Entry portfolios must not exceed A2 format. If objects are submitted, they must not be larger than 30 x 30 x 55 centimeters. Entries in digital form are possible and desirable, but should, however, be a maximum of 10 A4 pages (please note file size!).
Please send your entry to the following address:
by post:
Christel Paßmann
Kulturreferat der Stadt Nürnberg/Projektbüro
Blue Night Art Competition
Hauptmarkt 18
90403 Nürnberg
per email:
blauenacht-kunstwettbewerb (at) gmx.de

Do not use any special characters, capital letters or full stops other than the one before the file format extension. Otherwise files may be eliminated by the spam filter.
Personal delivery of the entry is only possible by appointment with the organizer.
11. Selection Criteria
The selection criteria for the 2014 Blue Night, apart from artistic merit of the concept, include the quality of design, the suitability for specific sites and for the event (while staying within the budget).
12. Announcing the Competition Result
By mid-January, 2104, about 12 projects will be selected for implementation during the 2014 Blue Night on 3 May, 2014, in Nuremberg.
All applicants will receive written information concerning the competition result. In their application, applicants must decide whether they want notification by post or by email.
As a matter of principle, the jury does not give any reasons for its decisions!
13. Ownership and Copyright
The selected works of art remain the property of the respective artist. The organizer reserves the right to ownership of parts of the work of art which are needed in the context of its implementation (e.g. technical elements).
The artist permits the organisers, or photographers commissioned by them, to take photographs of the work of art. These photographs will be used for PR work for the Blue Night and for advertising the event.
There will be a separate contract with all artists selected by the jury, relating to the presentation of their work of art during the 2014 Blue Night. This contract regulates important financial, legal, copyright and organisational matters between the City of Nuremberg and the artists selected for the 2014 Blue Night.
14. Entry Costs
Costs of participating in the tour of arts venues (26.10.2013) and of submitting the entry portfolio will not be reimbursed.
Submitted material will be sent back to artists at their own expense (please include sufficient return postage). If no return postage or insufficient return postage is included, entry materials will not be sent back.
15. Liability
Liability issues will be regulated in the Artist’s Contract.

contacts:
Kulturreferat der Stadt Nürnberg / Projektbüro
Hauptmarkt 18
D-90403 Nürnberg
Telefon: +49 (0) 911/ 2 31 68 54
Fax: +49 911 231 - 2001
E-Mail: christel.passmann@stadt.nuernberg.de
Internet: www.nuernbergkultur.de

Bei Fragen zum Ticket-Vorverkauf:
Kultur Information
Königstraße 93
90403 Nürnberg
Tel.: 0911 / 231 40 00
http://www.blauenacht.nuernberg.de