SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
AFC SILENT SKIES MURAL PROJECT LAUNCH
Dear Fellow AFC Artists,
In 2016, we were excited to announce a partnership with one of the world's oldest and most important global organizations dedicated to bird studies - the 27th International Ornithological Congress (IOCongress2018) in Vancouver, Canada. Under the arrangement, AFC becomes the Congress' lead Partner for the Visual Arts. AFC's 2018 Festival and exhibit premiere will coincide with the late August event. As part of the event, AFC has been asked to develop a major collaborative art installation involving both painters and sculptors.
Silent Skies is an international collaborative super-mural mosaic featuring all 678 endangered species of birds of the world and is open to AFC Signature Members only (painters and sculptors). The installation will be the artistic centerpiece of the Congress, prominently displayed in Vancouver's magnificent waterfront Convention Centre - the focal point of the 2010 Olympic Games and next to the cruise terminal. We expect a tremendous amount of traffic both from tourists during the peak of tourist season, as well as Congress attendees.
Register early for your preferred species!
The original artwork will be available for sale by silent auction and a limited number of canvas reproductions of each will also be produced to allow for potentially multiple installations around the world. Revenues will be shared between the artist, AFC and will benefit bird conservation and environmental education. While AFC will be the exclusive agent for the sale of artwork produced for this project, revenues for the originals will be divided as follows: 50% with the artist, 25% to AFC, 15% towards production costs and 10% to a 3rd-party conservation non-profit focused on birds (TBD).
We've invested in developing a customized online mural and species registration system especially for this project. This was necessary to manage the complex logistics and to make your participation super easy. As it is completed, artwork will be posted online.
MURAL ARTWORK SPECIFICATIONS
Dimensions for each artwork must be exactly 8x8 inches square canvas (UNFRAMED), with a 3/4"-thick wrapped edge. Paintings may be created on a substrate other than canvas (ex. watercolor paper, scratchboard, etc.), but must be mounted/affixed to on a 8x8 inches square block or wrapped canvas (UNFRAMED, 3/4"-thick edge). Canvas edges should be painted black. These specifications will ensure uniformity when installing the artworks. ARTWORKS MUST NOT BE OVERSIZED as they must fit into prefabricated frame system.
Special Option for Sculptors: Sculptors wishing to contribute a sculpture representing a species may do so by mounting and submitting a professional quality photograph of their finished sculpture per the specifications above. The artist would also then need to ship either the original or bronze edition to be displayed in association with the mural.
Every AFC Signature Member may "claim" up to a maximum of 4 species to work on at any given time. Species choice is first-come-first-served.
To "claim" your species, follow the instructions below. You may initially commit up to a maximum of 4 species, but for every species you complete (i.e. uploading a final image), you may register an additional species. You will receive a confirmation email with instructions upon committing to each species.
We are asking ALL AFC artists to participate and commit to at least 2 or more species, if possible, to ensure that this is a success!
GETTING STARTED
To register to participate in the Silent Skies Mural project, follow these simple steps:
- Go to http://festival.artistsforconservation.org/project/register. Enter your name and email. Enter secret code: "iocongress2018" (no quotes). You will receive an email confirming your account creation with a log-in link and username / password for future reference.
- Click on " Mural Registration" button and review the terms & conditions.
- Click on an unclaimed species from the list. Use the search filter if needed.
- Claim your species by clicking on the check box and Submit button under "Commit to represent a species" section.
AFTER COMPLETING EACH ARTWORK
- Photograph your artwork in high-resolution (i.e. ideally over 3000 x 3000 pixels). In a photo editing program (e.g. Photoshop Elements), save your photo in JPEG/JPG format and ensure that it is less than 5MB in size and meets the minimum dimension criteria.
- Refer to your original account creation email and login to your account here.
- Click on the Upload Image button next to your completed species. Enter information about the artwork including the medium and optionally a brief statement about the artwork (up to 150 words). This could be something important that you've learned, your source of inspiration, a special connection with the species or a piece of knowledge that you want to share.
- Upload your artwork image.
- Click Save. You will receive detailed shipping instructions to ship your artwork.
- Claim another species!
I hope that you are excited about participating as we are about this first-of-its-kind project in our community.
