Creative.nyc

"The New Humanity" Artist Commission | Applications open

The world aches for unity between all people, but imagines it through power, progress, self-invention, and the freedom to define ourselves on our own terms. Instead, we have ended up with a culture fractured by fear, hostility, and division, wholly unable to create lasting peace for ourselves. Not satisfied to leave His beloved creation in a place of brokenness, God sent His Son Jesus to become our peace. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus made a way for a new humanity to come into being. He tore down the dividing walls of hostility so that all people could be reconciled to God and one another. What the world seeks through reinvention, Christ freely gives through surrender. The new humanity is not built on tribe, status, outrage, or self-creation, but on love, holiness, communion, and a shared life in Christ. “The New Humanity” invites artists to imagine the beauty, tension, and wonder of a people made new not by becoming more fully themselves, but by becoming truly His.

The presentation and distribution of this work is meant to be a gift, invitation, and impetus for wonder and contemplation for the city of New York. The work should draw from the concepts above, but are not confined by the prompt. Applicants should view the prompt as a jumping off point for their proposal, rather than set boundary lines or a rigid framework for creating. We encourage applications to embrace creativity, innovation, and imagination as they write and submit their proposals for this commission. Think outside the box.

Artistic expression and innovation is encouraged and artists should not feel restricted to accomplishing a work of "Christian Art". In the words of C.S. Lewis, "The world does not need more Christian literature. What it needs is more Christians writing good literature." The work should be born from a place of communion with the Lord, but accessible to the average New Yorker with an avoidance to 'sanitize', aiming to show, rather than tell. As the artist develops the work, there should be a foundational understanding that the work is meant to be evangelistic in nature and thought-provoking in tone and execution.

The commission will operate in a cohort model with consistent touch points, revision and feedback sessions, and a final presentation of work. The cohort will journey through a reading plan together, discipleship, and practical evangelism. Each touch point will also serve as a draft due date where peer review and discussion will take place and a special guest will guide artists through. The work will undergo several iterations before its final version.

Funds will be dispersed in varying amounts and appropriate resources will be provided depending on medium and scope of work. The majority of funding will go toward the production and presentation of the work with a small artist stipend included. The artists selected will create in their proposed medium and be provided with tools and resources to support the creation of their work.

The work of each commissioned artist will be displayed/performed over the span of two weeks. There will also be digital gallery elements accessible online.

All applications will be reviewed by the Church of the City New York Creative Department with final approval from the Senior Leadership Team based on cohesion with the commission statement and fellow commissioned artists, past work experience and samples, leadership references provided, excellence and vision, and project feasibility within the guidelines.