Dupont Underground Announces Re-Ball! Design Competition – 650,000+ Balls From National Building Museum BEACH Installation to Serve as Material for Site-Specific Artwork
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) January 06, 2016 -- The Dupont Underground, the nonprofit organization that is revitalizing the former trolley station beneath D.C.’s iconic Dupont Circle into a new venue for art, performance, and creative activation, is pleased to announce the launch of Re-Ball!, an open design competition for a site-specific installation in part of the subterranean space. The exhibition and events that occur during its run will be the first time the old station has been opened up for use in two decades.
Re-Ball! is the result of a Dupont Underground partnership with the National Building Museum to reuse the hundreds of thousands of translucent 3-inch plastic balls that were part of the museum’s blockbuster BEACH installation last summer. In addition to donating the balls, the National Building Museum will also have a representative on the competition jury, help promote the Re-Ball! competition and exhibition, and assist with the installation and programming.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for the Dupont Underground to make its cultural mission evident from the beginning, and to do something unexpected, unprecedented, and large-scale,” said Braulio Agnese, the nonprofit’s managing director. “We were thrilled when the National Building Museum agreed to let us take the BEACH balls for a new installation, and we’re eager to see what people envision for the material, and our space.”
Created in collaboration with District design studio Archotus, Re-Ball! is open to everyone: artists, architects, designers, and the general public. The competition asks entrants to repurpose the plastic balls in a way that engages and responds to the unique qualities of the Dupont Underground’s east platform, a massive, curving, 14,000-square-foot venue. The competition ends on March 4, with the winner to be announced a few weeks later. The final installation, when complete, will be open for viewing several days a week from April 30 through June 1. Complete Re-Ball! information is available at the competition website: re-ball.org.
The Phillips Collection, the venerated museum of Modern art that sits just blocks from the Dupont Underground space, is also a Re-Ball! institutional partner. The Phillips will have a representative on the jury and assist with promotion of the competition and installation. Additionally, the museum will work with the Dupont Underground on cultural event programming and venue collaboration during the exhibition’s run.
The Re-Ball! installation will be a temporary, introductory use of the east platform prior to the venue’s full opening later in 2016. In addition to select public viewing times and installation-related programming, the space will be available for private rental, said managing director Agnese. “There won’t be anything else like Re-Ball! in the District this year. Also, it’s the first time the Dupont Underground space will be open. We think the combination of an innovative, compelling art experience and an amazing, little-known space will be a draw for individuals to visit and for local companies and collectives to be part of something exciting.”
ESSENTIAL RE-BALL! INFORMATION
• Competition Launch: January 4, 2016
• Early Registration Deadline: February 4, 2016
• Close of Entries: March 4, 2016
• Winner Announcement: March 21, 2016
• Competition Jury: architect Julian Hunt, Dupont Underground founder and co-principal at Hunt Laudi Studio; Chase W. Rynd, executive director, the National Building Museum; Vesela Sretenović, senior curator of modern and contemporary art at The Phillips Collection; architect Michael Kubo, Collective–LOK founding partner; D.C. artist, entrepreneur, and community organizer Tendani Mpulubusi El; and architects Yasmin Vobis and Aaron Forrest, principals at Ultramoderne (which will have one vote)
• First-Place Prize: $3,500
• Construction Budget: $10,000
• Installation Opens: April 29, 2016
• Installation Closes: June 1, 2016
• Website: re-ball.org
MEDIA CONTACTS
Dupont Underground: Braulio Agnese, bagnese(at)dupontunderground.org, 202-907-5224
National Building Museum: Emma Filar, efilar(at)nbm.org, 202-272-2448 (ext. 3458)
The Phillips Collection: Elizabeth Lubben, elubben(at)phillipscollection.org, 202-387-2151 (ext. 235)
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ABOUT THE DUPONT UNDERGROUND
The Dupont Underground, a nonprofit organization, is revitalizing a forgotten piece of Washington, D.C., history — the old trolley station beneath Dupont Circle — as an exciting new venue for arts and design; live music, theater, and dance; and other creative endeavors. We seek to establish a cultural destination that partners with emerging voices, encourages public engagement in arts and culture, and leverages our long-term development as a catalytic force for the District in the 21st century. • dupontunderground.org
ABOUT THE NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM
The National Building Museum is America’s leading cultural institution dedicated to advancing the quality of the built environment by educating people about its impact on their lives. Through its exhibitions, educational programs, online content, and publications, the Museum has become a vital forum for the exchange of ideas and information about the world we build for ourselves. Public inquiries: 202.272.2448. • nbm.org
ABOUT THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION
The Phillips Collection, America’s first museum of Modern art, is one of the world’s most distinguished collections of Impressionist and Modern American and European art. Stressing the continuity between art of the past and present, it offers a strikingly original and experimental approach to Modern art by combining works of different nationalities and periods in displays that change frequently. The Phillips Collection is a private, non-government museum, supported primarily by donations. • phillipscollection.org
Braulio Agnese, Managing Director, Dupont Underground, http://dupontunderground.org, +1 2029075224, [email protected]
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