Summary

The City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism (ACT), Providence Parks, Providence Healthy Communities Office, Robert L. Bailey, IV Elementary School, and the Providence Art in City Life Commission invite muralists to design and install an original ground mural to connect the school with a newly developed Baxter Park. 

The awarded artist or artist team will be engaged in Spring 2022 and will collaboratively install the mural in early September alongside Bailey students, staff, and neighbors.

This call is open to individual artists and artist teams with a home or studio address within the Providence Metro Area (all of Rhode Island and Bristol County Massachusetts). 

Applicants must be 18 years or older and able to submit a clean BCI if awarded. Providence residents and/or artists with previous lived experience in Providence, PPSD graduates, and artists who can demonstrate experience with child and youth engagement experience will be preferred.

The total project budget is $16,500 of which the awarded artist will receive $15,000 for artist fees and materials.

This call will be administered through Call for Entry and artists must set up a profile in the online system to complete the application successfully. Eligible artists may submit their artist statement, resume/CV, and three to five examples of relevant projects through CallforEntry.org. 

The application deadline is May 9, 2022.

Questions about this call to artists must be submitted in writing by April 22, 2022. Write to Gina Rodriguez-Drix, ACT Deputy Director at grodriguez@providenceri.gov with the subject line “Ground Mural at Bailey/Baxter Green School Yard.” A FAQ will be provided by April 29, 2022.

Project Goals

Baxter Park is across Baxter Street from the Bailey School grounds. The street will be closed during the day so the park and schoolyard can function as a big expanded space for learning and play. The crosswalk mural will:

• Beautify a new expanded play and learning space
• Visually link the school yard and park spaces
• Be a part of a larger effort to remove health hazards and prioritize health as a key factor in education achievement.
• Provide occasion for a community participatory celebration at the start of a new school year
• Create a new logo and promote a new visual identity for the school and Park space

Site and Location

Bailey Elementary School is located at 65 Gordon Ave, Providence, RI 02905. The school yard is located in the back of the building, facing Baxter Street. The crosswalk will be installed on Baxter Street between Norwich Avenue and Gladstone Street and will connect the school yard to Baxter Park. The Providence Parks GIS locator  provides information regarding the specific site. Please note that as of 11.8.2019, all play equipment has been removed in preparation for a new playground, expansion to lots 5 and 9 on Norwich Ave, and green schoolyard at Bailey Elementary, coming summer 2022.

The street will be newly paved as of August, 2022.  The mural shall be installed in between the crosswalk pinstripes as seen in the example below. This image is intended to show proposed placement of new original artwork, not to determine design.

Project Budget

The total project budget for this installation is $16,500, inclusive of artist fees, design costs, materials, equipment, and installation. The awarded artist or artist team will receive a total of $15,000 to complete the project, inclusive of artist fees and materials. The artist may choose to allocate funds to supporting artists, assistants, interpreters, and/or to stipend community members in addition to the cost of doing business. The following breakdown serves as a guide:

Application Requirements

Art Selection Method

Artists will be selected through a competitive, two-tiered process. Qualified artists may submit their Artist Statement, Resume/CV, and two to five examples of relevant projects by April 25, 2022. Applicants must apply online through Call for Entry.

Round One: Selecting Finalists

The Art Selection Panel will review complete applications and score qualifications, limiting the selection pool to no more than five artists or artist teams.

Round Two: Concept Design-Based Selection

Finalists will be invited to develop a site-specific Concept Design for the project. For this method of selection, each finalist will be paid a $500 proposal fee to develop and present a rendering, a written project description, a description of materials and fabrication techniques, expectations regarding site preparation and infrastructure needs, a detailed budget and timeline, and a detailed installation plan that includes collaboration with the school community. 

Recommendation

The Art Selection Panel will recommend an artist/artist team and an alternate to the Art in City Life Commission for approval in June, 2022.

The Department of Art, Culture + Tourism will publicly announce the commissioned Artist no later than August 1, 2022.

Art Selection Panel

The Art Selection Panel will be comprised of five members including:

• Art in City Life Commissioner
• Bailey Elementary Principal
• Two Teachers / Staff from Bailey Elementary School and /or a combination of staff and a parent liaison
• Local Muralist
• Ex-Oficio (non voting): Parks Department Staff or designee
• Ex-Oficio (non voting): Providence Healthy Communities Office Staff or designee

Selection Criteria

Finalists will be selected based on the following criteria:

• Artistic excellence and innovation, as evidenced by previous work.
• Ability to manage budgets and complete projects on time, as evidenced by previous work.
• Interest and excitement in working with students, teachers and staff to design and install the mural, as evidenced by application questions and artist statement.

Awarded artist Concept Design will be selected based on the following criteria: 

• Feasibility and strength of proposed budget and installation plan
• Quality of the artist’s design rendering
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate as evidenced by the installation plan

Artist Scope of Work

Upon award notification and acceptance, the artist shall sign a contract with the City for the activities outlined below:

• Participate in regularly scheduled check-ins with staff from the Department of Art Culture + Tourism, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Install and execute the mural, which may include necessary site preparation. To the extent possible, the installation should be inclusive, interactive, and intergenerationally accessible so that neighbors may participate safely.
• Participate in an unveiling and dedication ceremony with the community in early September, at a date TBD.
• Provide the City with a maintenance plan.

Following the installation the artist is required to gift the ground mural 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.

NOTE: 

Finalists will be contracted for their Design Services at a flat rate of $500 (see Artist Selection Section above). Designs will be due no later than June 13, 2022.

Awarded artists will be contracted to execute the project. Awarded artists must be able to provide a BCI and a Certificate of Insurance for general liability in the amount of $1,000,000.00 that names the City of Providence as additionally insured. A draft contract will be made available upon invitation to submit a Concept Design.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility

• Applicant must be 18 years or older and hold a current home or studio address within the Providence Metro Area (all of Rhode Island and Bristol County Massachusetts) to be eligible to apply. Providence residents and/or artists and cultural workers with previous lived experience in Providence will be preferred. Providence residents and/or artists with previous lived experience in Providence, PPSD graduates, and artists who can demonstrate experience with child and youth engagement experience will be preferred.
• Applicants must be  able to submit a clean BCI if awarded.
• This call is open to graphic designers and muralists only. Artists that can demonstrate an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary arts practice, traditional and indigenous artforms or intercultural modalities as a means of an engagement strategy will be preferred.
• This call is open to individual artists or artist teams.
• Applicant must have demonstrated experience with a portfolio consisting of at least one and up to five outdoor murals. Preference will be given for artists with experience in installing ground murals.
• Preference will be given to artists who demonstrate cultural competency and previous experience working in intercultural modalities that foster innovation, diversity, and relevance with new and inter-generational audiences.
• Spanish speakers preferred.
• Applicants who have received an award from the Department of Art, Culture + Tourism for a permanent installation in the last two years are ineligible to apply.