FAQ

(1/5/11 Update -- see bottom of document.)

What is the artistic vision of the exhibition?

Artists and designers have a unique ability to humanize or bring to life almost anything - and important scientific findings are no exception. This exhibition aims to engage creative people to help communicate the essence or significance of findings on climate disasters, and in turn reach broad audiences through artworks.

Extreme events related to climate can touch all sectors of society, which is why the objective is to catalyze the construction of public artworks that can be experienced by many. While To Extremes is an exhibition of proposals, the ultimate goal is to see one or several of the proposed works installed in a public space.

I wasn't invited to submit artworks. May I participate?

This is a closed exhibition, but be sure to subscribe to the project's mailing list to stay in touch. Curator Eli Kintisch would like to do open exhibition/competitions in the future.

Have you raised money to actually install or build the pieces?

To date sponsors have provided funds for the first and second place awards and some administrative costs. Organizers plan to actively invite potential supporters for larger projects to the award ceremony in late April 2012 and the exhibition itself. This is the rationale behind the stipulation that proposed works be aimed to be estimated to cost under $30,000 to build and install.

I have a site in mind for my proposed public artwork. Is that part of the proposal?

Yes, but that may not be an advantage for the jury in making its selections. Pieces that are designed for installation in a variety of sites are also encouraged.

May I submit work I have already done before being invited?

Yes, if it fits the stated aims and vision of this project.

Can teams of artists or designers submit?

Invited artists are welcome to work with up to two collaborators, including scientists. Please include each collaborator's name, affiliation, photo and bio with your submission.

Do you have in mind works that simply engage the senses, like sculpture or sound installation, or more “useful” works that provide a more tangible function beyond artistic value, like a sunshade?

That is up to the artists’ discretion. Both – or neither – are acceptable.

Why focus an art exhibition on a scientific report, and why this one?

The Special Report on Extreme Events is the most comprehensive study to date of the link between a warming planet and disasters. Supporters of this exhibition feel that the issues it examines are worth wide dissemination; people who don’t read science stories might be drawn to novel ways of interpreting or envisioning the themes it covers. Artists and designers, in turn, may finding inspiration for meaningful work in climate data or science.

The Extreme Events report contains no new findings or research itself. Instead, it summarizes and assesses thousands of scientific papers. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which published the report, won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for its voluminous assessments of climate science, released roughly every seven years. Periodically the IPCC releases so-called “special” reports between those assessments, which focus on specific topics - in this case climate and disasters.

Is the full, final report available?

An official - and officiously worded - 29-page summary of the report, released on November 18, 2011 is here. But the full report won’t be released until February 2012. (The odd schedule is a result of the fact that the summary must be approved by the governmental sponsors of the IPCC, and final chapters amended to include any pertinent wording changes.)

The organizers of the To Extremes exhibition have copies of the draft report. They are trying to obtain copies of the final version before the February release and will provide it to artists if possible.

If the final version of the report is not out yet, how can it inform the artists and designers who participate in To Extremes?

First, Eli Kintisch, who conceived and organized the exhibition, was inspired to create the project by the draft version of the full SREX report. Volunteer writers – both journalists and scientists – used drafts of the report to inform the exhibition's dossiers on eight relevant themes. Scientists who wrote SREX have volunteered to speak to artists about it. Again, the major conclusions of SREX have been released, and the full chapters in the report contain no new research. The report simply assesses thousands of existing studies.

Must I base my work on material in the dossiers provided on this site?

No. They are meant to provide inspiration, background and jumping-off-points.

Isn't this a gloomy topic for an art exhibition?

Depends how it is approached. There are aspects of hope to it as well as daunting challenges.

Will pieces be judged for scientific accuracy?

Exploring scientific information faithfully, if not precisely, is the aim. The goal is not strict adherence to scientific language/practice or exact portrayal of data, concepts or themes . The jury will make efforts to include pieces that in their view do not distort the underlying scientific facts on extreme events.

If I enter this exhibition will I retain intellectual property rights of my work?

Yes, though To Extremes reserves the right to depict images or descriptions of your work in promotional materials for the exhibition including a website, brochure etc.

If my work is submitted to the project but not chosen for the actual exhibition at MIT, will it be displayed elsewhere?

The organizers would like to exhibit a number of works online and this might include proposals that are not selected for the MIT exhibition. The curator will contact you for permission if this eventuality arises.

Is the $500 honorable mention a planning grant?

Not per se. It is meant as an incentive for good work though it may be used of course for any purpose.

1/5/12 Question from artist: I was wondering about choosing a site. Is this something that should be done in the planning stage after a proposal is selected or should I aim for a piece that responds to a specific site? I was also wondering about community involvement. If this is the route my project takes, should I have the specific community/ organizations in mind for submitting the proposal?
Both having a specific site in mind and laying out how the public or community members might be involved in the work/project are likely plusses in helping define your work to the jury. And having a realistic site in mind could enhance the project's "feasibility" in their eyes as well. But neither is required for the first phase.

As such, the piece selected as the winner will have the added benefit of funding to strengthen this kind of planning/work, but again it is not required for the proposals due in February.

1/5/12 Question from artist: How important is it that the proposed work demonstrate the potential for public "impact" on the issue of climate change?
That's of course a hard question because different people define impact differently -- for some, for example, it might mean influence, for others, prestige, for others, emotion. The jury's guidance as laid out in the RFP focuses on "artistic merit, creativity, and feasibility" -- it is up to the jurors to decide how their definitions of impact, which is not mentioned explicitly in the RFP, fits in those broad descriptors.