For the 15th consecutive year, Art in Odd Places (AiOP) will return to Lower Manhattan from October 13-15. The collaborative art project is best known for engaging passers-by in public art through its open-air festival that celebrates visual and performative work on weekends. AiOP has announced an open call for project proposals around this year’s theme, “Dress”, chosen by selected curator and participating artist Gretchen Vitamvas. The deadline for submitting proposals is Sunday, May 14.
Born in 2005, AiOP was developed in response to the “disappearance of civil liberties and surveillance of public space after the events of 9/11,” said founder and director Ed Woodham. Hyperallergic. The project found its annual home on 14th Street between Avenue C and the Hudson River in 2008 and has captivated curious audiences one weekend a year since then (except for 2020).
“It’s about taking art from places where people often wouldn’t want to go, like a gallery, museum, or theater, due to socio-economic, educational, and personal comfort differences, and making it less valuable and more accessible,” Woodham continued. “With this in mind, one of the principles of AiOP is not to push art on people in public spaces, but to offer it gently and mindfully.”
AiOP is an experiment and an ongoing exploration of communication in and with public spaces, specifically set up in an urban laboratory. Woodham invited Vitamvas to curate this year’s iteration of AiOP after several years of his participation as an artist. Vitamvas, whose personal practice centers around clothing making and modeling, was thrilled to assign ‘Dress’ as this year’s prompt for artists to play with and explore these mediums.
“We were trying to think of a way to kind of turn 14th Street into a runway and looking for that open word that we choose every year,” Vitamvas explained. “And ‘Dress’ seemed like a way to invite those projects that work with clothing and self-presentation and expression of identity through our outer skin and who you choose to put on.”
Woodham and Vitamvas agreed that the energy of AiOP has changed in recent years since pandemic restrictions kicked in. The project was suspended in 2020 due to pandemic restrictions, but Woodham noted that the extent of closed businesses and the “social trepidation, if not reluctance” that characterizes our regressed social skills since the lockdown are the main changes that have altered energy and foot traffic in the area over the past two years.
Despite the change, Vitamvas said New York City “never failed to hug each other.”
“Every time I prepare to release my track on the streets, there’s this sense of anticipation and a bit of anxiety — I always wonder how it’s going to be received,” Vitamvas noted. “But people love it. I think the 2021 ‘Normal’ festival really looked like a party get out, walk along 14th Street again and engage in person. Such a treat after being away from everyone for so long.
Woodham and Vitamvas are eager to complete the 14th Street runway, whether it’s with tape, chalk, or however it comes together. “We want to invite passers-by to also walk the runway with our artists and showcase their identities as they move around the city,” Vitamvas added, reflecting on how to engage audiences beyond the show this year. . “I think there’s still this importance of physical interaction with AiOP, even with the rise of social media.”
Interested artists can find submission guidelines, frequently asked questions, and other information on how to enter next October. here.
