HomeMy WebLinkAboutIowa City Public Art Matching Fund ProgramIowa City Public Art Matching Fund Program
Introduction
Thank you for your interest in this grant opportunity. Prior to completing this application form, please review the Public Art Matching Grant
Frequently Asked Questions at www.icgov.org/publicart.
If your project takes place on City-owned or privately-owned property, you must provide evidence in the following application that you have
support and approval from the appropriate parties to proceed with this project. Failure to obtain prior approval could disqualify or delay an
otherwise good proposal. If you aren’t sure if you need prior approval from a project partner, please contact Neighborhood Outreach &
Engagement Specialist T'Shailyn Harrington at THarrington@iowa-city.org or 319-356-5093.
Beyond initial siting approvals obtained prior to submitting this application, please be advised that some projects may be required to obtain
additional permits or approvals as determined necessary by the City. Any such requirements would be outlined in the grant agreement.
Regardless of whether the project is located on public or private property, the project must be freely accessible by the public.
Awarded applicant(s) are responsible for performing or coordinating the execution of all phases of the project, including but not limited to site
prep, installation, etc. If any component of the proposed project is beyond your capabilities, please explain in the application.
*
I acknowledge that I have read and understand the information above.
General Information
The Public Art Matching Grant Program aims to increase public art access and opportunities in Iowa City. The program funds visual, audio, or
performance-based art projects that are located in Iowa City and accessible to the general public.
Successful grant applications will show evidence of a specific planned project which can be completed before December 31, 2025. Please
complete the following application in its entirety. If you have questions or need assistance completing this application form, please contact
Neighborhood Outreach & Engagement Specialist T'Shailyn Harrington at THarrington@iowa-city.org or 319-356-5093.
It is recommended applicants save the form every 5-10 minutes to avoid losing progress. To do this, click “Save as Draft” at the bottom
of the File Uploads page.
Project Name *
Revision
Applicant Name *
FilmScene
Applicant Email *
hayley@icfilmscene.org
Applicant Phone *
3198557740
Applicant Address *
Street Address
404 E College #100
Address Line 2
City
Iowa City
State/Province/Region
IA
Postal/Zip Code Country
52240 USA
Are you the project artist *
Yes No
Briefly describe who will be completing the project, including a URL to the artist webpages if available. If unknown, explain how an
artist(s) will be recruited for the project.
The artist(s) for Revision, our Refocus Looping Video Installation, will be selected via a competitive RFP process. We will partner with Public Space
One to promote this project to their robust community of local artists and will advertise via FilmScene’s email listserv (13,000 subscribers) and
social media channels (18,000 followers). The 2024 artist, Ian Bennett, will provide all archival footage used for the 2024 installation to the
selected 2025 artist(s).
Have you received Public Art Matching Grant Funds in the past?*
Yes No
Please share if the proposed project has changed or expanded in any way.
The Refocus Looping Video Installation, titled Revision, is an ongoing experimental art project that continually adapts a work on an annual basis.
The project began in 2024 with the commissioning of “We Always Come Here,” a 52-minute archival-based exploration of Iowa City’s Ped Mall that
utilized public archives from Iowa City residents, Public Space One, City Channel 4, and the State Historical Society.
For the second iteration of this video art piece, a new artist will be selected to adapt the existing piece in a transformative way. Once a new artist
is selected, they will receive the piece in its current form, and will be encouraged to take it in a new direction using additional archival material or
new content, to tell an adjacent story rooted in the original piece.
This perpetual annual art project will continue to evolve annually, and will be subsequently adapted by a new artist in the year that follows, and
again the next year, and so on — an ever-changing collaborative art project that will evolve in perpetuity during the lifespan of the festival. The
film will be presented annually at the four-day Refocus Film Festival as a free experiential immersive video installation.
Project Details
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Provide a brief description of the proposed project *
The Refocus Looping Video Installation, titled Revision, is a free public art experience during the four-day Refocus Film Festival. 2025 marks the
fourth year of the festival, celebrating the art of adaptation in downtown Iowa City - to our knowledge, the only film festival of its kind. The
Refocus Film Festival always features dozens of new adaptations, a handful of repertory adaptations, dialogues with filmmakers and other
creative guests, community events and celebrations, and an Opening Night screening at The Englert Theatre. In 2024 we welcomed nearly 4,000
festgoers.
The City of Iowa City provided a generous Public Arts Matching Grant in 2024 for the creation of the “We Always Come Here” looping video
installation, highlighting the community that has shaped the Ped Mall in downtown Iowa City. “We Always Come Here” played throughout the
festival weekend in a vacant space on the 4th floor of The Chauncey, viewed by approximately 170 attendees during the festival. We also played
“We Always Come Here” during X Marks The Arts Free Week in February 2025, welcoming 174 patrons. And we intend to put “We Always Come
Here” online, so it is always accessible to residents and visitors interested in this archival exploration of the Ped Mall.
A subsequent grant from the City of Iowa City’s Public Arts Matching Grant Program will fund the continuation of Revision for 2025. It will build off
the 2024 installation - “We Always Come Here” - using a new artist to adapt that piece in a transformative way. It will be free and on display during
the four-day Refocus Film Festival (October 9 - 12, 2025). The exact space is still to be determined - the Iowa City Downtown District will help us
find and activate a vacant downtown space. In the event that we cannot find a suitable vacant downtown space, we will utilize one of FilmScene’s
five screens for the 2025 installation.
Explain how the project is defined as “public art.” Please include how the artwork will be located in an area open and freely
accessible by the public; and describe how you envision the artwork engaging the public.*
Refocus Film Festival is a big screen celebration of the art of adaptation. For the fourth edition of the festival, October 9-12, 2025, FilmScene will
commission a looping video art piece adapted from “We Always Come Here,” by Ian Bennett. From this seed, a perpetual annual art project will
grow in new ways. This first film will be subsequently adapted by a new artist in the year that follows, and again the next year, and so on — an
ever-changing collaborative art project that will evolve in perpetuity during the lifespan of the festival. The film will be presented annually at the
four-day Refocus Film Festival as a free experiential immersive video installation, open to the public at a to be determined accessible downtown
space (as discussed previously).
Revision will be participatory. Viewers will be prompted to consider the life — past, present, and future — of this eternal adaptation, and share
their reflections in a virtual guestbook, as a form of documenting consistent and changing experiences as the project progresses through years.
These audience responses will then inform the next artist chosen to take the adaptation forward, creating an ongoing conversation between
artists and audiences. FilmScene’s adapted video installation will be free and open to the public during its annual Refocus Film Festival, held every
year in October and celebrating the art of adaptation on the big screen.
Describe the intended audience for this project, why public art is important to that audience, and any efforts you will make to
benefit the broader community, especially populations which have faced systemic barriers to art access or opportunities *
The film will encourage both Iowa City residents and visitors to our community to consider both dominant and intentionally disregarded histories
of our city. What is present? What is absent? By being publicly presented during both Refocus Film Festival and its collaborative partner Iowa City
Book Festival, the film will be convenient for anyone engaged in the arts that weekend, as well as anyone who visits downtown over the course of
the extended weekend.
FilmScene’s Community Engagement & Programming Coordinator will work to promote this free public art component of the festival to
communities underrepresented by the arts. We intend to create flyers for this component of the festival as well. And as we seek out a vacant
downtown space to host Revision, we will focus on a space that is highly visible and accessible, so we may draw more residents and visitors into
the installation.
How will you know your project was successful? Please list specific outcomes or measures (qualitative or quantitative).*
We will track attendance as well as record audience responses in a digital guestbook. We will also measure digital engagement with the piece, like
on social media.
Will this project take place on public or private property?*
Public/City-Owned
Private Property Owned by the Applicant or project partner listed below
Private Property not owned by the applicant
Please provide the names and contact information of private property owners where the project will take place, and describe
whether they are supportive of the project.
Failure to obtain prior approval from private property owners where the project is proposed to take place may result in disqualification or delay
of the project application.
The Iowa City Downtown District will partner with us to find a vacant downtown space to host the 2025 Refocus Looping Video installation. In the
case that a suitable space is unavailable, we will utilize one of our five screens to host the installation.
Location of Project *
A vacant downtown Iowa City space (Iowa City Downtown District will help source) or one of FilmScene's five theaters
Project Partner(s) (if any)
Describe the role of any project partners listed
Please check any of the following project aspects that apply to your project.
Note: These selections do not impact scoring, but are informative for the selection committee.
Functional Art: Art that also serves a practical, everyday purpose (i.e. bench, lighting, shelter, timepiece, etc.)
Unexpected Art: Art that offers an element of surprise, perhaps occuring at a place or time where it is unexpected.
Participatory Art: Art that directly engages the audience in the creative process, so they become participants in the event (i.e. an interactive
performance or participation in creation of an artwork).
Ephemeral Art: Art that is intended to be temporary, short-lived, or disappear over time.
Contemplative Art: Art that encourages self-reflection and mindfulness.
Timeline
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Project Timeline
Tell us about the proposed timeline and action steps needed to complete this project. Use one line for each milestone and add additional lines as
needed.
Action Step/Milestone Completed by
Finalize RFP for video installation artist 04/19/2025
Deadline for RFP submissions from artists 05/31/2025
Artist selected for Refocus video installation project 06/06/2025
Video installation draft completed 08/08/2025
Video installation completed 09/12/2025
Screening installation space build out completed 10/03/2025
Installation live at Refocus Film Festival 10/09/2025
Budget
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Please use the budget templates below. A completed budget should tell us what sources of funds your project will use and how you plan to spend
the grant money.
Project Funding Sources
Total Project Cost *
$4,525.00
Matching Grant Request *
$2,000.00
Please list any other funding sources supporting your project. Add additional rows as needed.
Other funding source *Amount *Committed or Anticipated?*
Refocus Film Festival sponsorship & ticket
revenue
$2,252.00 Committed Anticipated
Please describe any project supplies, equipment, or labor which are being donated in-kind
The following contribute to FilmScene's in kind contributions towards the match requirement: FilmScene's projection and sound equipment for
the video installation and staff and volunteers to manage the exhibit during the festival
Project Budget
Please list a breakdown of project expenses and funding sources. Funding for personal property or gain will not be authorized. Example:
Amount:Describe Expense Item:Amount paid by Matching Grant:Amount paid in-kind or by other
funding source:
$400 Paint $400
$200 Paint Supplies $200
$1,500 Artist labor $500 $1,000
$150 Plaque/signage $150
Amount Expense Item Amount paid by Matching
Grant
Paid in-kind or by other
funding source
$1,500.00 Artist fee $1,500.00
$500.00 Artist expense stipend $500.00
$100.00 Packaging fee and consultation
for 2024 artist
$100.00
$350.00 Screening installation assembly
- parts
$350.00
$625.00 Screening installation assembly
- labor
$625.00
$450.00 Projection and sound
equipment (existing, at rental
rates)
$450.00
$450.00 Festival engagement team (staff,
hourly wages)
$450.00
$450.00 Festival engagement team
(volunteers, in kind labor)
$450.00
$100.00 Design of Virtual Guestbook $100.00
File Uploads
Letters of support, if available (?)
2025 Public Art Grants Letter of Support - FilmScene.pdf 201.12KB
FilmScene x PS1 Letter of Partnership 2025 .pdf 199.13KB
Images (?)
RF-day3.040 (1).jpg 5.03MB
RF-day3.041 (1).jpg 4.65MB
Site Plan (?)
Additional Information (?)
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Signature