Announcements / Jun 14th, 2017

Call for Parade Sculptures & Floats

Creative Alliance | Call for Parade Sculptures & Floats

18th Great Halloween Lantern Parade

Drawing over 12,000 fans, The Great Halloween Lantern Parade has been a beloved Baltimore tradition since 1999. The parade is a community-made, artist commissioned spectacular evening and is always held outdoors in Patterson Park on the last Saturday before Halloween (Oct 28th, rain or shine). Working with our neighboring schools and community groups, Creative Alliance will produce over 1,500 lanterns that people of all ages will carry in the Parade to create an evening of light-filled wonder.

What We’re Looking For
We are asking artists and community groups to create NEW, BIG, BRIGHT, FUN, MOBILE objects over 10’ feet tall, and less than 6’ wide that are lightweight and can be carried by you and your posse! We’re looking for Baltimore-based artists to create illuminated sculptures or floats that utilize imagery based from the natural world to symbolize renewal, and compliment this year’s theme: Rise.  This is about COMMUNITY.  If your creation is part of a community effort, that’s great! We expect artists who have been awarded to help promote the Parade by submitting designs, photographs, or videos of their building process and to be available for television or newspaper interviews. Designs should be mobile, easy to carry around the mile-long parade route and designed to withstand the weather in late October, which can be cold, rainy or windy.

Compensation
Creative Alliance will provide awards of up to $600 each for the top proposals for support materials, transportation, and artist fees. All artists earn a shared Neighborhood Halloween Parade Studio at Patterson Park’s Pool House or Crown Industrial Park in Highlandtown Arts & Entertainment District. Selected artists may spend additional monies, but any expenses over the awarded amount are the sole responsibility of the artist or artist group.  Awarded artists and groups also earn a complimentary 2018 membership and tickets to Creative Alliance’s post-parade Glowball!  Select artists may be invited to teach public lantern making workshops prior to the Parade for an additional salary, under the supervision of Creative Alliance’s Education department.

Selection Criteria
We are seeking dynamic floats made by Baltimore artists and community groups who can make magic out of limited resources! Background in public art projects, puppetry, sculpture, performance, and other public performance is helpful. Final selection of the 18th Great Halloween Lantern Parade Rise sculpture proposals are chosen by the Selection Committee, which includes selected Creative Alliance staff, Artist Dirk Joseph, partners, and community members. Awards will be announced by August 9, 2017 (see timeline on 2nd page).

Payment & Ownership
Creative Alliance will pay 1/2 of the award upon approval of an accepted proposal. Creative Alliance will pay the balance within 30 days of the completion of the event. All floats become property of Creative Alliance and may be used in future events, including future Great Halloween Parades.

Timeline
August 2: Submission Deadline at 5:00pm. Late entries will not be accepted.
August 9: Awards are announced via email. Confirmation is required.
September 12, 6-8pm: Mandatory parade artists meeting at Creative Alliance.
October 27: Artists bring sculptures to Patterson Park Pool House by 6:00pm. No exceptions.
October 28: Artists set up at 2pm. The Great Halloween Lantern Parade & Glowball!
October 29: Halloween artists- clean up pool house!
November 6, 6-8pm: Evaluation meeting at Creative Alliance.

Application Requirements
Interested artists and community groups should submit:

  1. Application sheet completed as the first page of application.
  2. Illuminated Sculpture Design (PDF or Microsoft Word): Provide a full-color design to scale of float proposal with dimensions.
  3. Letter of interest (PDF or Microsoft Word): A one-page document describing the content of your design. If appropriate, describe collaborations with other artists or community groups involved and their role(s).  (500 word max).
  4. Images or a video of past work (jpg or mov file): provide 3-5 images of previous art work on a CD. Jpg format, at least 300 dpi (3MB max). Video of public art pieces are also accepted on a DVD (5 min max).
  5. Budget: provide a list of materials with anticipated artist fees for your proposal.

Download Registration Form

Please email or mail submissions to:

Creative Alliance
Chris Brooks, Halloween Lantern Parade Director
3134 Eastern Ave, Baltimore, MD 21224
chris@creativealliance.org
(410) 276-1651