Q: What is the Charleston East Plaza Project?
A: Burning Man Project is collaborating on the process of selecting, creating and installing five significant artworks on the Charleston East plaza in Mountain View, California. This public plaza is where Google’s new Charleston East campus will be located, which is currently under construction and due to be completed in early/mid 2020. The property is owned by the City of Mountain View and being developed by Google for both an office building and for public use.
Situated on the Southeast corner of the campus, the plaza will provide an outdoor gathering place where members of the community can come together to host events, performances, and gatherings. Burning Man Project will issue calls for artists for permanent artworks that will be specially commissioned for the plaza, and support the fabrication and installation process, all in time for the plaza’s planned opening.
Q: Why is Burning Man working with Google?
A: The Charleston East Plaza Project is a unique chance for Burning Man Project to participate in the creation of a welcoming public place that celebrates innovation, collaboration, and self-expression. The design attributes developed by Google, with the City of Mountain View, include the desire that the experience of the art in the plaza is:
- Dynamic
- Interactive
- Delightful and surprising
- Inspires curiosity
- Fun and approachable
- Offers interesting lighting at night
- Memorable and iconic
Other values that are important to the City, to Google, and to Burning Man include that the plaza be a place of gathering; that it serves a wide public and not simply be a workplace amenity; and that it inspires a sense of place and community. Furthermore, this location is contiguous to and part of an important ecological zone supporting birds, trees, and other wildlife, so all the choices being made are congruent with protecting and advancing this place as one of meaning and connection with respect for the larger context.
Q: What about Burning Man’s principle of Decommodification? How is partnering with Google in line with Burning Man’s values?
A: We recognize that the partnership between Burning Man and Google may feel new and different. However, the relationship actually goes way back to when the first Google “doodle” — a Burning Man stick figure — was published by Google’s founders as an out-of-office message. As a nonprofit, our mission is to share Burning Man culture with the world. It’s not possible (or even desirable) to do this simply by replicating Black Rock City or BRC-like experiences. It may take many different shapes – consulting, affiliating, collaborating with organizations and communities outside of ourselves. We expect to experience some growing pains. We don’t expect to do it perfectly. But we do believe that part of our mission is to establish and promote opportunities for artists to create work and share it with the world. This is one of those opportunities. We will learn as we go, in keeping with our prototyping culture.
Q: When will it be done and how can I see it?
A: The Charleston East plaza is scheduled to open in early/mid 2020. It will be located at the corner of Charleston Road and North Shoreline Boulevard in Mountain View, California.
Q: How many grants will be awarded?
A: A total of five (5) grants will be awarded:
- One (1) $750,000 grant for the Anchor Artwork
- Two (2) $250,000 grants for Plaza Artworks
- Two (2) $100,000 grants for Plaza Artworks
Q: When will the Artist Calls be announced? What are the details?
A: There will be three separate Artist Calls which will open on the following dates:
- April 3rd – $750,000 Anchor Artwork
- Dimensions: 30 feet vertical minimum; max. footprint: 59 feet in diameter
- Location: NE corner of the plaza
- Materials: Open to all types (see Healthy Materials list)
- Deadline: Concept Statements due May 1, 2018, 11:59pm PST.
- May 1st – $250,000 Plaza Artworks (two separate grants of $250K will be awarded)
- Dimensions: Max. footprint: 23’4” in diameter
- Location: Plaza (on pavement or within landscape)
- Materials: Seeking both “tech-based interactives” and “noble materials” (see definitions and Healthy Materials list below)
- Deadline: Concept Statements due May 29, 2018, 11:59pm PST.
- June 1st – $100,000 Plaza Artworks (two separate grants of $100K will be awarded)
- Dimensions: Max. footprint: 23’4” in diameter
- Location: Plaza (on pavement or within landscape)
- Materials: Seeking both “tech-based interactives” and “noble materials” (see definitions and Healthy Materials list below)
- Deadline: Concept Statements due June 29, 2018, 11:59pm PST.
Q: Who can apply?
A: The calls are open to artists, artist teams, community groups working with designers, architects, landscape architects, or place-keeping experts who are interested in creating an exterior art installation that serves as an activation point for the Mountain View community and Google campus.
Q: How do I apply?
A: Details are available at https://burningman.submittable.com/submit. Applications accepted from April 3 – May 1 (for the Anchor Artwork), from May 1 – 29 (for the $250K artworks), and from June 1 – 29 (for the $100K artworks).
Q: What is the selection process?
A: The selection process for each call will consist of four separate stages:
- Concept Statement – Artists are invited to submit Concept Statements in response to the call.
- Full Proposals – A small group of artists whose Concept Statements fit the project intent and stated criteria, and are consistent with the messages we glean from our community engagement work, will be invited to submit full proposals that include: detailed project description, renderings, budget, list of materials that meet healthy materials requirements, timeline, community involvement plan, proof of insurance, and references.
- Finalist Presentations – The proposals will be reviewed (using a range of stakeholder inputs) and the field narrowed to three to five Finalists who will be invited for an interview. Finalists will be given some funding support to prepare a digital presentation of the proposed project, a maquette or 3D rendering, and fabrication drawings. They will be interviewed in person at Google headquarters in Sunnyvale, or by Skype.
- Finalist Selection – Selected Artists for the Anchor Artwork and Plaza Artworks will be announced in late 2018 or early 2019.
Q: What is the application timeline?
A: The application timeline for the Anchor Artwork Call is as follows:
- April 3, 2018: SUBMISSIONS OPEN.
- May 1, 2018: SUBMISSIONS CLOSE. 11:59PM PST.
- May 29, 2018: Semi-Finalists Selected. Artists notified, invited to submit full proposals.
- June 26, 2018: Full proposals due. 11:59PM PST.
- July 27, 2018: Finalists Selected. Artists notified and invited to present proposals.
- October 1-31, 2018: Finalist Presentations. Artists to submit a graphic presentation and maquette, interviews conducted (via Skype or in-person).
- December 2018 – February 2019: Selected Artists Announced.
Q: How much money should I ask for?
A: You may request up to the budget amount noted in the Artist Call.
Q: Can I submit more than one proposal?
A: Yes; each artist may submit one proposal in each of the three calls. Multiple proposals in a single call are discouraged.
Q: What are “noble materials”?
A: Noble materials are high quality natural materials that are likely to be hand crafted, such as metal, stone, and wood.
Q: What are “tech-based interactives”?
A: Artworks that employ technology – such as digital sensors, computer-controlled lights and images, or robotics – to encourage viewer interaction and involvement with the piece.
Q: What are “healthy materials”? Why are there such strict restrictions on what materials can be used?
A: Charleston East is being built to rigorous sustainability and transparency criteria with a focus on healthy materials, to ensure that it embodies Google’s ongoing mission of creating physical environments that support human and environmental health. As such, the Charleston East project is pursuing both a LEED NC v4 Platinum Certification, which is also required by the City of Mountain View, and a LBC Material Petal Certification.
To meet the certification requirements, all materials in the artworks must be free of “Red List” ingredients, and use of salvaged and recycled materials are encouraged. Get more details on “Healthy Materials” here and here.
Q: What should I expect if I’m awarded the grant?
A: First, artists will complete a contractual agreement with Google that outlines the terms of the grant. That will be followed by: a) Artist wood-shedding in the first half of 2019 (including test models, review of stamped engineering drawings, review of site specifications and design refinement); b) Art fabrication in the second half of 2019; c) Art installation by March 2020.
Q: I’m a member of the community. How can I get involved?
A: Burning Man’s Civic Arts team is creating a series of community engagement sessions for the public to participate in identifying what creates a memorable and meaningful place:
Coffee Talk – Adventures in Story-Sharing
Once upon a time… when you used to walk out your door, before you paid any bills… where did you go? What did you love to do? You know, when you were a kid?
We’d like to hear about it.
Join us as we explore the attachments that we form to place. The things that excite us, ignite us, and make us feel like we are at home.
This adventure in story-sharing is the fertile ground from which we will draw the design influences and community inputs for the artist selection process at the Charleston East Plaza in Mountain View. Burning Man, working with Google, is leading the project management of five new artworks in this public plaza — from community input, to artist selection, through fabrication and installation. The Charleston East Plaza is envisioned as a gathering place and community location for many exciting activities and ways of connecting – we want to learn from you what that might feel and look like by listening to what stirred and inspired you when you were young.
- What: Coffee Talk (or perhaps tea…)
- When: May 16, 2018 at 6:30pm
- Where: Red Rock Coffee (upstairs), 201 Castro Street, Mountain View, CA
- How to enroll: Register here
Human Centered Design Workshops
Join us for one of two workshops, each for up to 30 participants, exploring how art and community interact with one another: How can art be meaningful to a place? How might art be significant in our daily lives? How would we like to see art utilized within our own communities? Led by Christopher Breedlove of Burners Without Borders, these will be opportunities to think broadly and deeply about the people of the place and when and how you create a “there there.”
- What: Human Centered Design Workshops
- When: May 18, 1:30 – 4pm; and May 19, 10am-12:30pm
- Where: 1345 Shorebird Way, Building SB45, Mountain View, CA
- Register Here: Session 1 (May 18) or Session 2 (May 19)
- Parking Information: here
These workshops are the fertile ground from which we will draw the design influences and community inputs for the artist selection process at the Charleston East Plaza in Mountain View. Burning Man, working with Google, is leading the project management of five new artworks in this public plaza — from community input, to artist selection, through fabrication, and installation. The Charleston East Plaza is envisioned as a gathering place and community location for many exciting activities and ways of connecting.