Submission Deadline: Wednesday, August 19, 6pm CST

Texas Artists Open Call: COME TO YOUR CENSUS Billboard

With less than 2 months left to try to ensure our communities get their fair share of federal funding and political representation for the next 10 years, Art+Action is bringing the COME TO YOUR CENSUS campaign to Texas. With the support of Ford Foundation, we are seeking 5 artists whose work will serve to inspire their communities—particularly the hard-to-count—to participate in the 2020 Census, which ends on 9.30.2020. The artwork selected will appear on a billboard in Texas, in our online Census Toolkit, and on social media outlets.

The artist will be highlighted as a Featured Artist in our campaign—among locally and internationally renowned artists—and will receive an award of $1,000.

To apply, email the following to hello@artandaction.us by August 19, 6pm EST:

• Artist name
• Email address
• Phone Number
• City of Residence
• Artwork as a .Jpg file (Square format preferred, 300 dpi or higher)
• Artist bio (3-5 sentences about you)
• 3-5 sentences about why this artwork will inspire your community to participate in the 2020 Census

ABOUT THE 2020 CENSUS
The 2020 Census brings money, resources, and political representation to your community. When you fill out your Census, each person in your household (including you) brings $20,000 into your community over the next ten years. An accurate count secures critical funding for our hospitals, healthcare, first responders, essential emergency services, affordable housing, food assistance, schools, child care, public transportation, road repair, and more. Your participation determines your state’s power in the electoral college. An undercount could cost your state one of its seats in the House of Representatives (which would go to another state for the next decade!). When you complete the Census, you protect your voice, voting power, and equal representation in government.

Now more than ever, the Census is essential. It will help our communities recover from COVID-19, and thrive for the next decade—determining funding for public health coverage (Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program), healthcare (through grants to hospitals and clinics), and food assistance. Census participation is also one piece of the puzzle in righting the racial inequities in our country, by ensuring our most vulnerable and under-resourced communities are supported.

ABOUT ART+ACTION
Art+Action—a multi-sector coalition for civic participation was founded to educate and inspire people to complete the 2020 Census. Art+Action’s multilingual, arts-driven Come To Your Census campaign positions artists as catalysts to humanize the issues around this bureaucratic, but vital process. The campaign mirrors the ethos of the Census itself and was built on a foundation of equity, parity, and agency. Originally ignited by San Francisco’s Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA)—and launched in partnership with trusted institutions and messengers—the campaign began in San Francisco, with artist commissions, a public media campaign, public programming, and an open-sourced toolkit to galvanize communities to participate in the Census. It has since ignited a national spark, and with the support of Ford Foundation, Art+Action is bringing the campaign to Texas and Florida—so we can make the next 2 months truly count in states where many communities are being left behind—particularly BIPOC, disabled, women, trans, LGBTQIA+, and immigrant.

Download a PDF to share here.