Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Prefigurative Park Services: Call for Proposals


This should be of interest to friends of the Temporary Travel Office!

What?

In response to the upcoming centennial of the U.S. National Park Service (2016) and the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System (2018), Prefigurative Park Services is seeking proposals for new parks and trails, broadly defined, which contribute to its core mission of preserving political possibility and connecting otherwise. PPS is interested in projects that both interrogate the historical meanings of parks and trails and re-imagine their spatial forms, social processes, and emancipatory functions in the twenty-first century, particularly in relation to unfolding ecological and economic crises.

The final form(s) of the larger PPS project as well as the individual contributions remains undetermined and very open. We anticipate a heterogeneous mix of conceptual design proposals, essays, interviews, drawings, maps, tours, audio/video/photo essays, etc. Feel free to contact PPS if you would like to discuss potential forms prior to the deadline. Our goal is to compile these proposals and responses into forms that can be distributed and exhibited for multiple audiences: a comprehensive website; a series of posters that can be printed and exhibited; a guide book containing the proposals along with critical/creative writing on parks and trails.

Who?

Who can contribute? Anyone. Artists, geographers, historians, park enthusiasts, park detractors, thru-hikers, day hikers, writers, activists, educators, youth groups, designers, architects, landscape architects, etc. Send us a proposal and let’s talk.

How & When?

Proposals should not exceed 1000 words. Maps and images (drawings, photographs, pictures of models) are encouraged. Please submit your proposals to prefigurativeparkservices[AT]gmail[DOT]com. The deadline for proposals is May 1, 2015, although we recommend you be in touch as soon as possible if you plan to submit a proposal. The tentative deadline for final projects is January 15, 2016.
More at the PPS website