third space Request for Qualifications

About Arts for Learning Indiana

Arts for Learning is the premier provider of arts education programs for youth in Indiana. Each year,
we partner with schools and community organizations throughout the state to engage
approximately 40,000 youth in the arts. With our roster of teaching artists, we offer creative
learning experiences to empower youth and transform education. We shape opinions, convene
resources, provide programming, and work collaboratively with others to ensure that the arts are a
part of every child’s life and education. We value the right of every child to have access to the arts
and the participatory experiences that unlock minds and expand lives. Our programs are offered in
a variety of formats, from whole school performances, classroom workshops, in-depth artist
residencies, to large-scale initiatives.

Established in 1961, Arts for Learning is one of more than 30 affiliates of Young Audiences Arts for
Learning, the nation’s largest arts in education learning network. Founded as an organization
designed to present live musical performances, the network has evolved into an organization
dedicated to providing unique and engaging learning opportunities through various art forms.
Arts for Learning is also an affiliate of Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts,
extending our reach to preschool children and providing arts-integrated teaching strategies to early
childhood educators.
It is our mission to bring the arts to school communities to champion creative learning, innovate
education, and transform lives.

About third space

third space is a project that temporarily disrupts the school environment and the learning
experience through large-scale, temporary, transformative installations created by Indiana
artists.
For examples of previous third space exhibitions, including short documentary films, please explore
the third space webpage.
We borrow the phrase third space from Lauren M. Stevenson and Richard J. Deasy, two experts in the
field of arts education and co-authors of Third Space: When Learning Matters (2005). Third space
refers to the “sets of relationships forged by the arts and the context these relationships create for
teaching and learning.” A conceptual rather than a physical space, third space describes the way in
which meaning comes into being through interaction with a work of art and the interchange of ideas
around it. A third space is opened when students draw on their lived experience (a first space) and
what they have learned from their teachers (a second space) to create a new understanding around
the art and express it – the combination of experience, knowledge, and critical and creative thinking
– all in a cohesive manner. These conditions enable students of various learning styles,
personalities, and backgrounds to take a more active role in their own education, and teachers
participate in constructing learning with students rather than simply delivering content to them.
For this project, third space is designed to temporarily disrupt the school environment and the
traditional learning experience through large-scale, transformative installations. The temporary
exhibition uses the arts to set the stage for students to engage in authentic and meaningful learning.
The artwork not only activates the physical space, but principally, acts as a provocation, stoking
students’ curiosity and prompting lively class discussions.
In this third space, the students experience their school, as education philosopher Maxine Greene
explains, “as if things could be otherwise.” In Releasing the Imagination: Essays on Education, Art,
and Social Change (1995), Greene advocated for positioning students as explorers who use their
imaginations to envision new ideas and patterns emerging from the world around them, and
gradually align their natural curiosity with their interests. According to her research and that of
numerous other scholars, such as Christopher Garrett and Alice Pennisi, students not only thrive in
environments that promote student-centered inquiry and expression through the arts; they also
retain more information and are more motivated to continue learning. It is particularly important to
lower barriers to the arts and bring rich learning experiences to students in our community
because, as reported in the 2017 Kids Count Data Book, less than half (47 percent) of Indiana
students are always engaged in school, and a quarter are rarely or never engaged in school. Even
more troubling is that more than one in three Black students and nearly as many Hispanic students
are rarely or never engaged in school.

About Fresh StART

Fresh stART is a youth-led, arts-based program to improve areas in and around school communities
through art. One primary objective of Fresh stART is to strengthen a community’s sense of pride by
stabilizing and improving an underused area, within or around the school, through the installation
of public art inspired by ideas generated by students at local schools. Through project-based
learning and design thinking, students engage in the full creative process to realize a permanent
public artwork.
For examples of previous Fresh stArt projects, please explore the Fresh StART webpage.

About the third space/Fresh StART Hybrid Project

The third space/Fresh stART hybrid program will combine the principal elements of each to
produce one cohesive and comprehensive project. The large-scale, temporary, transformative nature
of the third space project will be enhanced and completed through the addition of both in-depth
student engagement and a permanent artwork, which will serve as the project’s legacy. One
artist/team/collective will be selected for each school.

About Participating IPS Schools

Selected artists will have the opportunity for a site visit to meet with their paired school’s
leadership and staff prior to submitting project proposals to gain a deeper understanding of school
culture, mission, and community. For broader school information, please see relevant links below.
Frederick Douglass, IPS School 19 website
Indiana Dept. of Education: 2020-2021 School Population & Performance Statistics

George Julian, IPS School 57 website
Indiana Dept. of Education: 2020 – 2021 School Population & Performance Statistics

James Russell Lowell, IPS School 51 website
Indiana Dept. of Education: 2020-2021 School Population & Performance Statistics

James Whitcomb Riley, IPS School 43 website
Indiana Dept. of Education: 2020-2021 School Population & Performance Statistics

About the Opportunity

One artist/team/collective will be commissioned for each of the four (4) participating schools.
Commissioned artists will create a both large-scale, temporary artwork and a permanent artwork
for and in response to their paired school. Artists will also meet with select student group(s) to
solicit both inspiration and input prior to submitting proposals. Two proposals for the permanent
artwork will be submitted, and the select student group(s) will vote on the final work to be
fabricated. Proposals should consider broader school mission, culture, community, history, location,
and demographics, as well as student input. No concept or theme is required or limited, though
subject matter and content should be appropriate for all audiences.
The large-scale, temporary work will be exhibited within the school for a period of one to two
weeks, dependent upon school availability, while the permanent work will remain as a project
legacy. For examples of previous third space exhibitions, including short documentary films, please
explore the third space website. For examples of previous Fresh StART artworks, please visit the
Fresh StART webpage.

Artist Eligibility

To qualify for this project, artists must:
● Be 18 years of age or older
● Live in Indiana
● Have documented experience in large-scale artwork creation and installation
● Be willing to adhere to project agreement and demanding timeline
● Artist partners/teams/collectives are eligible

Project Budget

The budget for the third space/Fresh StART Hybrid project is $27,000. This fee is inclusive of all
supplies, materials, technology, labor, transportation, installation, and de-installation of both the
large-scale temporary exhibition and permanent artwork.
Artist(s) will retain ownership and copyright of their work. However, photography and videography
of the artwork may be used for purposes of both documentation and promotion by Arts for
Learning Indiana, Young Audiences, Indianapolis Public Schools, and media.

Project Timeline

The project will follow an aggressive timeline, generally outlined below. Please note that the
timeline is subject to change.
November 3, 2023: Qualifications Materials Due to Arts for Learning Indiana
November 22: Artists notified of selection
November 27-December: Artist school site visits
December–January, 2024: Artists lead inquiry/information gathering with students
January–February, 2024: Project proposals due to Arts for Learning
Meeting with Arts for Learning for proposal feedback
Revised proposals due to Arts for Learning
Student Voting
February–March: Final approval and notification to proceed with fabrication
Weekly progress updates with Arts for Learning
March–May: Installation of artworks (weekend prior to exhibition)
Exhibitions
Note: Exhibition Open House will be held one evening during the
exhibition; Date TBD
March–May: De-installation of temporary exhibition (weekend following
exhibition)

How to Submit Qualifications

Please complete and submit the online “third space/Fresh StART Hybrid Program: Artist
Qualifications Submission Form” by clicking the button at the bottom. All applicant information and links to work
samples may be submitted via the form.

ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023, AT 11:59 p.m. (EST)

Selection Process

Once artist qualifications are received, representatives from Arts for Learning Indiana and
participating IPS schools will review qualifications and interest. Artists will be evaluated on
previous work samples, creativity, potential, and capabilities. Artist(s) will be notified of selection
on or before November 22, 2023.
At Arts for Learning Indiana, we value Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access, and Belonging as
essential elements of an ongoing process to move our culture toward justice and solidarity:
Diversity – We define Diversity as the vast range of human experience, pertaining specifically but not
exclusively to race, ethnicity, gender identity, socio-economic status, ability, and/ or age.
Equity – We define Equity as a reparative process in which every individual gets what they need to get to
where they are going.
Inclusivity – We define Inclusivity as the elevation of all voices within our internal and external
decision-making processes; acknowledging our history as a predominantly white institution, in the
predominantly white field of non-profit work, Inclusivity means intentional work to develop processes of
elevating the voices of populations who have systematically been excluded from institutional power,
within the context of our these have been majority black and/or brown communities.
Access – We define Access as both the removing of barriers and the supporting of systems change to
ensure that all school communities that we are serving have the resources they need to thrive at the level
that they deserve.
Belonging – We define Belonging as a feeling that each one of us is an important part of a group in which
we have been included.

Contact
Inquiries are welcome and should be submitted to
Megan Bogard Gettelfinger
Curator + Creative Director, third space
[email protected]
M: (765) 620-9353

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