If you have a question about submitting your project to FIGMENT or what is possible at the event site, please review the following FAQs. If, after reviewing this information, you still have a question, please email curatorial@figmentboston.org.

Who can submit a project to FIGMENT?

Anyone can submit a project to FIGMENT! Adults, children, professional artists or those looking to create their first piece! Anyone who can bring their project to FIGMENT by their own means and deinstall it when the event is over is welcome to submit.

What can content be?

In the past, FIGMENT has hosted a wide variety of artistic endeavors… Street theater, costuming, sculpture, inflatable art, dance, performance art, installations, social experiments, mobile art, workshops, games, community building projects, arts & crafts, sound art, bands & DJ’s, lectures & seminars on themes of participatory art & culture, and anything else you can imagine! Please do remember that FIGMENT is an event for everyone when deciding on subject matter for your project.

Installations, performances, activities, or other projects that can be set up outdoors are welcome. We will have stages available for performances. You can set up your own area or host a scheduled event or performance. If you have an idea for FIGMENT and have questions about whether it’s plausible, don’t hesitate to get in touch. No matter what you do, the one requirement is that it somehow engages audience participation. Just bring it to FIGMENT and try it out!

What are the deadlines?

Key projects will be given placement on a rolling basis. If you have a large project or a project that requires specific placement or infrastructure, please submit it as soon as possible so that we can accommodate it. The final deadline for project submission is May 1, 2010.

What about funding?

FIGMENT is a community-based event organized and run by volunteers. Its success is dependent on community participation. FIGMENT does NOT provide funding for the production, transportation, or insurance of works to, at, or from the event. FIGMENT encourages artists to apply for outside grants and fundraise for your project within your personal capacity. Please note that no corporate sponsorship (including logos and credit lines) is permitted at the event. In addition, nothing may be sold at the event.  If you are an artist who would like to sell your work, there will be an arts bazaar at the neighboring Cambridge River Festival, which is not directly affiliated with FIGMENT.  Information about the Cambridge River Festival, including the application for the arts bazaar, can be found here.

When can I install my project? What are the installation and setup hours?

Artists are encouraged to set up and break down their exhibits before and after FIGMENT, instead of during the event itself. FIGMENT will be located on and adjacent to Memorial Drive from Western Ave. to Flagg St.  You will work with our placement coordinators to determine the best spot for your installation.  Art that appears in the park, on the riverbank, or on the sidewalk may be installed beginning Friday, June 4.  Art that will be installed on Memorial Drive must be able to be installed between 6 AM and 12 Noon and removed between 6 PM and 8 PM.

Arrangements must be made with the FIGMENT team for all deliveries, installations, and de-installations to or from the event site. Once you have submitted your project, you can speak about logistical needs in more detail with one of our curators.

When can I deinstall my project?

Art that will be placed on Memorial Drive must be deinstalled no later than 7:59 PM on Saturday, June 5.  This time limit will be strictly enforced.  Art that is installed in the park, on the riverbank, and on the sidewalk should be removed by midnight on Saturday, June 5.

Can I distribute fliers for my band/art project?

Please do not distribute fliers or printed materials at FIGMENT. We are trying to provide as waste-free an event as possible.

Can I sell my CD?

We kindly ask that you do not sell anything – including CDs – at FIGMENT.   FIGMENT is an entirely free and non-commercial event in which everyone volunteers their time and effort to participate… the organizers, the artists, the participants. which interactions between people are not mediated by commercial transactions of any kind. Everything at FIGMENT is free, and there is no advertising, nothing for sale, and no one insisting that you have to give a donation to participate. We understand that many of you make your livelihoods by selling your art and we support you – FIGMENT is just not the time or place.  If you are an artist who would like to sell your work, there will be an arts bazaar at the neighboring Cambridge River Festival, which is not directly affiliated with FIGMENT.  Information about the Cambridge River Festival, including the application for the arts bazaar, can be found here.

Can I collect email addresses for my mailing list?

Yes, you may collect addresses, but we ask that you manage the list and make it clear to participants that they are signing up for your list and not the FIGMENT list. Please do not leave unattended clipboards around the event; keep the list with you so that you can get participants excited about your project.

Is there electrical power available?

Power is available only for FIGMENT artists who submit a project via our website by May 1 and also coordinate with a curatorial contact.  If you are not able to work with us to meet our deadlines,  please plan to operate without power during FIGMENT. These restrictions exist so that we do not blow out the power system, depriving everyone of electricity.

Should I bring an extension cord?

If you have been in touch with FIGMENT and are approved for power, yes, please bring at least a 100? extension cord. The longer the cord, the better.

Can I bring my car?

There is no parking for passenger vehicles.  If you need a vehicle to transport your installation to the event, you may coordinate this with our logistics team.  We will have limited off-site parking at the Harvard Stadium about 1/2 mile from the event, so please bring the smallest possible vehicle or share with another artist if possible.  You will not be able to park your vehicle at the event.  You will be able to load and unload your work on-site but must move your vehicle to the off-site parking area as soon as you have loaded/unloaded.

There are some supplies that I need. Can I get them from FIGMENT?

FIGMENT promotes radical self reliance, so please make every effort to bring all the supplies that you need for your project. As an all volunteer event, we give our time and passion to the event, but it’s a bit more challenging to buy things. FIGMENT can help direct you to free, donated and low cost resources from which to source materials. Please get in touch with us for more information.

What if I did not submit a project to FIGMENT but I still want to bring it?

We encourage you to bring projects that you can carry while walking. Projects will not be on our  map or schedule, but FIGMENT is about serendipity and discovery so that’s quite all right. Unregistered projects will not have access to power. Please take your portable project with you when you leave the event and leave no trace.

When is FIGMENT Boston?

FIGMENT Boston is Saturday, June 5, from Noon to 6 PM.

How do I get there?

The nearest T stop is the Harvard Square Red Line stop.  The area is also served by a number of bus lines and is easily accessible by bicycle.  Please do not drive to FIGMENT as there is no parking on site.  Artists who need a vehicle to load/unload equipment should see the “Can I bring my car” question above.

Can I put stakes down or make holes in the ground?

You may put stakes in the ground on the riverbank but may not dig holes anywhere on the site.  Note that the majority of our site is pavement.  If you need to stabilize your structure, we suggest sand bags.

Can I hang things from trees?

We are discussing this option with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Please check with your curator before hanging.

Is there access to water?

There is no potable water onsite.  Please do not place your projects in the Charles River as we do not have permission from the Coast Guard to use the river.

Can I have tables and chairs?

We have a small number that we have allocated based on requests for artists who submit projects via our website. We are not able to accommodate everyone’s requests due to sheer numbers, so chairs and tables should be considered an extra. If you have portable tables and chairs that you can carry and really need them for your project, we recommend bringing them if possible.