STUDIO announces CFP for “Shall Make, Shall Be: The Bill of Rights at Play”

Shall Make, Shall Be: The Bill of Rights at Play invites artists and independent game makers to propose game-based artworks around the individual Amendments in the Bill of Rights. Drawing on both the legal meaning and the effect of the 10 Amendments on U.S. culture, these artworks are meant to use the mechanism of play to interrogate, critique, inform, and ask questions about our understanding of civil liberties in the 21st Century.

Ten artists will be selected, with each asked to create a playable work exploring one of the Ten Amendments from the Bill of Rights. Artists will be invited to develop their works with the support of the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon. Artists will receive an honorarium and small budget for expenses. Upon completion of the work, artists will be expected to grant Carnegie Mellon a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to present the resulting works in the Shall Make, Shall Be: The Bill of Rights at Play project.

Selected artists will have one year to produce their playable work for inclusion in exhibitions opening Summer 2022, and will receive an artist’s fee of $5,000, plus access to a small supplemental materials budget on a per-project basis. We anticipate artist check-ins with the curatorial team every two months leading up to the first installation of the exhibition.

The ten commissioned works will be included in an exhibition opening July 4, 2022 in conjunction with Carnegie Mellon University’s Frank-Ratchye STUDIO For Creative Inquiry, timed to commemorate the 230th anniversary of the Bill’s signing. There are plans to travel the show to additional sites throughout 2022. The exhibition will be accompanied by a printed publication including essays from scholars, a catalog of the artworks, and artist statements.

Shall Make, Shall Be: The Bill of Rights at Play encourages proposals from artists of underrepresented and marginalized identities and backgrounds including gender, race, culture, sexuality, citizenship status, and abilities.

Questions can be directed to: laine.nooney@gmail.com.

For more information on this CFP, the Selection Committee and Project Team, and to apply, please visit shallmakeshallbe.org