Call for Artists: Mural at Davey Lopes Rec Center + Parachute Cloth Workshop
Summary
The City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism (ACT), Department of Public Property, and Department of Recreation invite RI-based muralists to participate in a week-long workshop with guest artists on mural design and execution using parachute cloth at the Davey Lopes Recreation Center.
Up to six awarded muralists will work with a team of professional guest artists who specialize in parachute cloth to create a collectively devised mural of approximately 48’ long and 8’ high during April 2022.
Applicants must be 18 years or older and hold a current Rhode Island home or studio address to be eligible to apply. Providence residents and/or artists with previous lived experience in Providence will be preferred.
The total project budget is $40,000, of which $18,000 will be directly allocated to the awarded artists. Please see the budget section below for more information.
To apply: Eligible artists may submit their artist statement, resume/CV, and three to five examples of relevant projects through our submission portal (now closed).
The application deadline is February 14, 2022. THIS CALL IS NOW CLOSED.
Questions about this call to artists must be submitted in writing by January 31, 2022. Write to Gina Rodriguez-Drix, ACT Cultural Affairs Manager at grodriguez@providenceri.gov with the subject line “Mural at Davey Lopes Rec Center + Parachute Cloth Workshop”
Program Goals
ACT Public Art’s Civic Infrastructure projects infuse art and creativity into everyday spaces used by all and reflect the creative culture of Providence in the City’s civic facilities, infrastructure, and systems.
The goals of the Mural at Davey Lopes Rec Center + Parachute Cloth Workshop
are:
- To train up to six Rhode Island muralists to design, paint, and install murals using high-grade parachute cloth as a medium; and
- To translate themes relevant to Davey Lopes youth, staff, and families into a mural that will complement the use and enjoyment of the Rec’s newly refurbished public pool.
Site and Location
The proposed parachute cloth mural at Davey Lopes Recreation Center, 227 Dudley St, Providence, RI 02907, will cover six garage bays that are approximately 8’ x 8’ in size.
The project team chose this site because it is adjacent to the Center’s newly refurbished swimming pool, and will accentuate the site for the enjoyment for Center youth, families, and staff.
The site’s metal, painted garage bay doors are permanently sealed and will each provide a suitable canvas for workshop participants for parachute cloth panels. Selected artists will collectively design, paint, and adhere to the doors their contributions to the collective mural – which will span all six panels – on-site during the week of the workshop.
Project Budget
The total project budget for this installation is $40,000, inclusive of the artist fees, design costs, materials, equipment, installation, engagement and activation. A materials budget will be made available through ACT. The remaining funds will be allocated to the artist(s) based upon the contractual payment schedule. Because this is a funded professional development opportunity with a set of tight design parameters determined by the client (the Rec), the individual artist honoraria will be smaller than a typical ACT call. The following breakdown serves as a guide:
| Artist honoraria (6) |
$18,000 ($3,000 x 6) | Provided directly to the artists |
| Parachute cloth |
$2,000 | Purchased by ACT |
| Gel medium and paint | $2,000 | Purchased by ACT |
| Lead workshop project managers/facilitators | $14,500 ($7,250 x 2) | Provided directly to the workshop managers/facilitators |
Eligibility
- Applicant must be 18 years or older and hold a current Rhode Island home or studio address to be eligible to apply. Providence residents and/or artists and cultural workers with previous lived experience in Providence will be preferred.
- This call is open to muralists only. Artists that can demonstrate an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary arts practice, traditional and indigenous art forms of intercultural modalities as a means of an engagement strategy will be preferred.
- This call is open to individual artists only.
- Applicants must have demonstrated experience with a portfolio consisting of at least one and up to five outdoor murals.
- Preference will be given to artists who demonstrate cultural competency and previous experience engaging diverse clients.
- Preference will be given to artists who demonstrate ability to collaborate with children and youth.
- Applicants must be able to submit a BCI in order to participate.
Art Selection Method
Because this is a creative workforce development opportunity with a predefined output, and a team of project managers who will guide the collective design process, artists will be selected through a competitive RFQ process wherein they demonstrate their technical abilities and capacity to work collaboratively to realize a mural for which they will have tightly defined design parameters (eg. graphic not figurative, specific color palette). Qualified artists may submit their Artist Statement, Resume/CV, and three to five examples of relevant projects of a similar or larger scale/size by February 14, 2022. Applicants must apply online through our submission portal here.
Recommendation
After reviewing RFQs, the Art Selection Panel will recommend awarded artists to the Art in City Life Commission for approval.
The Department of Art, Culture + Tourism will publicly announce the commissioned artists no later than March 2022.
To learn more about our Standard Art Selection Process, please refer to page 46 of the Providence Art in City Life Plan.
Art Selection Panel
The Art Selection Panel will be comprised of five members including:
- Art in City Life Commissioner
- Department of Public Property staff or designee
- Davey Lopes Recreation Center staff or designee
- Guest Artist / Workshop Facilitator
- Guest Artist / Workshop Facilitator
Selection Criteria
Finalists will be selected based on the following criteria:
- Artistic excellence and innovation, as evidenced by previous work.
- Demonstrated capacity to work at a comparable scale and in a comparable medium (8’ x 8’ painted mural).
- Demonstrated commitment to collaboration, as evidenced by Artist Statement, CV, previous work, and answers to application questions.
- Demonstrated investment in community engagement and capacity for cultural responsiveness, as evidenced by Artist Statement, CV, previous work, and answers to application questions.
- Demonstrated understanding of this commission as a professional development opportunity.
Artist Scope of Work
Upon award notification and acceptance, the artist shall sign a contract with the City for the activities outlined below:
- Participating in regularly scheduled check-ins with staff from the Department of Art Culture + Tourism, and other relevant stakeholders.
- Attending all workshop sessions n in their entirety, including:
- Virtual design engagement sessions with Davey Lopes youth and staff in late March/early April 2022.
- In-person workshops to develop, paint and install the mural on parachute cloth shall occur at the site during weekday hours in late April 2022.
- Preparing the installation site and installing the mural.
- To the extent possible, the installation should be inclusive, interactive, and accessible so that children, youth, and staff at the Recreation Center may participate safely.
- Participating in an unveiling and dedication ceremony for the mural with the community.
Following the installation, the artists are required to gift their murals to the City. The City will reserve the right to maintain, restore, and de-commission the work within the stipulations of the contract with the artist.
To Submit
To apply, go online to our submission portal.
- Please provide a brief Artist Statement to introduce the Art Selection Panel to who you are as an artist and some of the themes and ideas you explore in your artwork. Please do not insert a resume or list of accomplishments here. We look forward to learning more about you and your practice. (2000 words maximum)
- You will also be required to attach the following files and information in your online submission:
- a resume/CV of no more than 3 pages length that includes the name and contact information for three references;
- up to 5 images of past work (may include videos of up to 60 seconds only). If more content is available on the applicant’s website or social media the applicant shall include this information in their resume/CV;
- the following for each work sample submitted: artist’s name, artwork title, brief description of artwork (100 words or less), medium, completion date, dimensions, total budget/cost. In the description field, please include commissioning entity, if applicable, and state your role in the creation of the artwork if other artists or design professionals were involved in its creation.
- You will also be asked to answer the following questions with up to 500 words per response:
- What does community mean to you?
- Where did you find community as a young person? If you attended recreation centers locally, please describe your journey.
- Where do you hope your art career takes you in the next five years?
Project Schedule
| Call to artists opens | January 14, 2022 |
| Application Deadline | February 14, 2022 |
| Art in City Life Commission approval | March 2022 |
| Preliminary design meetings | early April 2022 |
| Workshop and installation | week of April 18, 2022 |
| Unveiling ceremony | July 2022 (pool reopening) |