Call for Artists!

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Osawatomie Arts Commission seeks qualified artist(s) to design and implement one or two sets of small-scale exterior murals at designated gateways to the community. The project is funded through a grant award made available by the Allen W. and Gladys Hawkins Charitable Foundation. Murals are to be painted on the 6th Street levee and 8th Street levee wing walls, with the designs positioned “outward” to welcome visitors into our community. Each location includes two wall faces, for a total of four possible implementation areas. The two faces at each location must harmonize with each other, but do not necessarily need to be mirror images or traditionally “match.” Artists are welcome to apply for one location (creating one set of two coordinating walls) or both locations (creating two sets of two coordinating walls or one set of four coordinating walls).

 
(The 6th Street levee wing walls, looking inward toward the city center.)

(A closer view of the east and west wing walls at the 6th Street levee.)

PROJECT SCOPE

The Osawatomie Arts Commission has produced the following set of expectations regarding this mural opportunity:

• Previous mural experience is required for the lead artist, but OAC welcomes team applications or other collaborative partnerships.
• With a total amount of $5,000 being allocated to this project, each set of murals (two walls at 6th Street and two walls at 8th Street) will be provided a $2,500 budget*. The allocated budget must be sufficient to cover artist fee(s), supplies, or other equipment the artist deems necessary for the successful completion of the mural(s).
  • *Artists who apply for both locations would be eligible to receive the full $5,000 allocated for the project if selected.
• General concept and/or theme for the mural(s) is open to artist preference, but the City and OAC must approve the final design before implementation begins.
• The mural(s) should be able to be completed in Spring of 2023 at the earliest opportunity depending on weather conditions, but no later than June 1, 2023.

ANTICIPATED TIMELINE

• November 15, 2022 - Call for Artist Published
• December 30, 2022 - Application Deadline
• January 2023 - Review of Qualifications and Artist Selection(s)
• February 2023 - Contract Awarded and Design Finalization
• March-May 2023 - Implementation
• June 1, 2023 - Final Deadline for Implementation

Instructions for Application

Interested artists should send all materials via email to [email protected] with the subject line “OAC Mural.” Applicant materials must be submitted by 4:00pm CST on Friday, December 30, 2022. Late submissions will not be considered. Materials should include:

• Letter of Interest
  • Within your letter, please indicate if you are interested in ONE location or BOTH as described in the project background section above.
  • While concepts or designs are not required or requested at this stage, OAC welcomes any inclusion of conceptual ideas if desired by the artist(s).
• Portfolio or Examples of Artist Experience
  • Links to online portfolios acceptable
  • Submitted portfolios should not exceed five (5) pages in length

Due to the expected volume of applications, only shortlisted applicants or applicants selected as finalist(s) may be contacted. We thank you all for your interest in our project and hope you will apply again in the future.

Special Note

The City of Osawatomie Arts Commission is pleased to announce an additional mural opportunity will be opening in January 2023. The OAC has reserved $8-10,000 from the Hawkins Foundation award to dedicate toward another exterior mural to be implemented in the heart of a community park. Complete details regarding this project will be released following the review and selection of artist(s) for the wing wall project.