Submit a Midnight Moment Proposal

Submit a Midnight Moment Proposal

Thank you for your interest in Midnight Moment! Presented in collaboration with the Times Square Advertising Coalition, Times Square Arts’ Midnight Moment is the world's largest and longest-running digital public art program. On display nightly and seen by millions of viewers each year, Midnight Moment showcases the work of contemporary artists on the world’s most iconic public canvas – the electronic billboards of Times Square.

Synchronized across 90+ billboards between 41st and 49th Sts every night from 11:57pm-12am, the program features a new artist’s work each month. Midnight Moment is made possible by the dozens of billboard operators who generously donate their advertising space for these 3 minutes each night, 364 nights each year.

Participating artists are chosen by a selection committee composed of Times Square Arts staff, Times Square billboard operators, and administrators in various creative disciplines, including design, public art, and video art.

Interested artists are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Midnight Moment program. We invite you to visit a current Midnight Moment presentation in Times Square, or spend time reviewing past projects on our page. Our team recommends these locations for best in-person viewing:

• Duffy Square (Broadway Plaza between 46th and 47th St)
• Broadway Plaza (between 43rd and 44th St)

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How to Apply:

Please thoroughly review the submission guidelines included below and compile the necessary files for your Application. When ready, rolling submissions for the Midnight Moment program are accepted through the online Slideroom portal found below.

APPLY VIA SLIDEROOM

Good luck! We look forward to reviewing your application.

–Times Square Arts

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Submission Guidelines

The Midnight Moment Selection Committee seeks proposals that meet these criteria:

• Content must be original works of moving-image art (still images or a series of still images will not be considered).
• Content must be submitted as completed works, not as a work-in-progress.
• Content must be appropriate for programming in a public space.
  • The work should be accessible for the diverse and broad public audiences in Times Square.
  • Content cannot include any nudity, sex, drugs, violence, religious iconography, overtly political messaging, expletives, etc.
• Content cannot be construable as an advertisement for anything, and cannot include logos.
• Content should work as a silent “video-only” presentation (the billboards do not have the capacity for audio channels).
• Content should be legible at a large scale, and able to be cropped and modified for various aspect ratios to fit the unique dimensions of each participating electronic billboard.

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Applicants should consider:

• Visually speaking, successful submissions often contain saturated and/or high contrast colors. Sustained bright white content should be avoided.
• Please note that because each billboard is independently operated, the synchronization is not guaranteed to be 100% perfect. However, these potential inaccuracies are tracked by the Times Square Arts team for each project and are often unnoticeable to the average eye.
• Though a work is approved by the selection committee, the participating billboards reserve the right to decline presentation of a said work on their displays for any reason.
• The Artist must be the owner of the submitted work and is responsible for all licenses and representations.
• World or New York City premieres are appreciated, although new edits and re-imaginings of previous works are also strongly considered.
• Submissions may be proposed in partnership with other cultural institutions and/or to coincide with concurrent exhibitions, performances, etc.
• When proposing works, the Artist should consider Times Square's uniqueness as a place, and the diversity of its visitors, workers, and residents.
• When reviewing works, the Midnight Moment Selection Committee understands the Times Square Arts mission.
• Times Square Arts values equity and diversity in the breadth of artists, traditions, subjects, ideas, and approaches to artmaking in the Midnight Moment program.

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Files for Submission:

• Mandatory:
  • Horizontal Format Video, 170 seconds (2:50)
  • Still Images: 1-3 still images representing the work submitted.
    • Images must be 18"x24" at 300dpi: JPG or TIFF
    • (No text/logos over images)
• Optional:
  • Horizontal Format Video (150 seconds, 2:30)
  • Vertical Format Video (170 seconds, 2:50)
  • Vertical Format Video (150 seconds, 2:30)
  • Preview Video of Additional Channels

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Technical Specifications for File Submission:

• Video submissions should be 170 seconds (2:50) long
• Video submissions should contain NO AUDIO:
  • Midnight Moment is a silent exhibition program.
  • Project proposals are welcome to include sound. However, the content must be fully successful without audio as the default. The program has and will continue to experiment with various strategies for providing sound to the public on a case-by-case basis.
• Video submissions should contain NO CREDITS:
  • Works should not include any titles, artist name, or any other credits.
  • Once the proposal is selected, Times Square Arts creates a program-specific credit slide in collaboration with the artist and partner (if any) to include at the end of the work.
  • The content and format for the end credit slide is unalterable and includes only: Artist Name, Title of Work, Year of Work, & Partner (if applicable)
  • Additional crediting is possible on our webpage per discussion with selected artists and partners.
• Include presentation preferences: Single channel vs. Multi-channel
  • The Midnight Moment program can accommodate both single and multi-channel works. Single-channel works are recommended.
  • If the work is created specifically for multi-channel viewing, we highly recommend that all channels have a clear visual relationship to each other. Distinct channels must be legible as a single cohesive work across all participating billboards.

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File Specifications for Selected Works

Once selected and approved by the committee, artists will be asked to provide the following:

• Provide accurate time edits of video submission:
  • Midnight Moment projects play in two different time edits interspersed on various participating billboards: 150 seconds (2:30) and 170 seconds (2:50).
  • All submissions must include a 170 second edit.
  • Most artists will submit only a 170 second edit, with the understanding that it will be cut down to 150 seconds for some screens.
  • If submitting both edits, we recommend the full arc of the work to exist within the shorter edit (150 seconds), with the additional 20 seconds in the longer edit (170 seconds) be considered an epilogue or continuation – no new content.
• Provide accurate aspect ratios options and resolution of video submission:
  • Submissions MUST INCLUDE a horizontal format (1920 x 1080 px or larger).
  • For re-framing and resolution purposes, ideally include a vertical format (1176 x 1464 px) of the work as well.
  • Artists whose work is selected for programming will be given specific instructions for delivering final files in the highest resolution possible.
  • The Midnight Moment program uses a private firm to format and deliver content for each of the unique screens. Once the proposal is approved, we typically work with artists on two master formattings of the work: horizontal and vertical.