Call for Proposals

The Todd Samara Art Fund Award committee is seeking proposals from emerging and established contemporary artists, art educators, and/or curators for a project to take place in the City of Kingston. An award of $1,200 will be given. This opportunity is open to all genres of art practice.

Applicants must either reside or work in the City of Kingston. Applicants should send a short description of their proposed project, a one-page CV and up to eight images or links to videos. Factors that will be considered by the committee include originality of conception, quality of execution and/or craft, professionalism of presentation and visibility and/or engagement with the community, particularly as it pertains to under-served communities and the education of under-resourced youth.

Proposals should be submitted to mail@madkingston.org before July 1, 2019

About the Todd Samara Art Fund Award
The Todd Samara Art Fund Award was created by the family and friends of Todd Samara to preserve his legacy as an artist. For over 30 years, Todd lived and painted in Kingston’s Rondout neighborhood, translating its hilly streets, tight rows of 19th-century gable-roofed houses, bridges and panoramic river views into poetic visions characterized by simplified, textured forms and rich, glowing color.

In 2017 Todd was diagnosed with dementia and placed in long-term care. In deciding how to deal with the hundreds of paintings and drawings Todd left behind, the Samara family arranged for an auction to be held to raise funds that would then be used to benefit other artists in Kingston. The family felt this would be a great way to keep Todd’s presence alive in the community, which played such an important part in his work. The auction was held in November 2018 and raised over $30,000, which has been invested with the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley. The fund is administered by the Midtown Arts District (MAD), and a committee was formed to oversee an annual arts award generated from the fund’s interest.

To learn more about the Todd Samara Art Fund Award program, the committee will be hosting an event at Tony’s Pizzeria on June 20th from 6-8pm. The recipient of the first award will be announced at MAD’s Celebration of the Arts in August.