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PROJECT OPPORTUNITY

The Cultural Council for Palm Beach County (CCPBC) requests qualifications from professional artists or professional artist teams to create an original public art mural for the back wall of its headquarters (south façade) located at 601 Lake Avenue. The theme of the mural should celebrate the concept of community: healing, unity, connections, wellness, and/or belonging. As the mural will face the Council’s new Art & Wellness Space, themes highlighting nature and tranquility are also encouraged. This call will consist of two parts: a call for qualifications followed by a selection of up to three finalists that will develop proposals for the mural.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: April 19, 2024

PROJECT SITE

The Cultural Council serves as the county’s local arts service agency providing funding, advocacy, cultural tourism marketing, artist services, professional development, and a host of other activities and events year-round designed to support Palm Beach County creative professionals and cultural organizations. Its headquarters houses the administrative offices, three gallery spaces, a visitor information center, and the Roe Green Uniquely Palm Beach store. Immediately behind the building is a lot owned by the Cultural Council for arts programs, concerts, and other gatherings. Through this initiative, the space will be renamed the Arts & Wellness Space, and the mural will be a significant part of this rebranding and reimagining of the space.

In 2016/2017, through the Canvas public art festival, a mural was installed on the back wall. The mural has weathered significantly and must be replaced. The Council’s back wall is approximately 54’W x 36’H and includes a roll-up type garage door that was previously included in the mural. CCPBC requests that the garage door is not included in the new mural design of approximately 1,000 sq. ft. The existing mural will be removed, and the wall will be repaired and primed before the start of the new mural project.

PROJECT GOALS

The artwork is of high artistic quality.
The design is expressive and echoes the theme of the project.
The completed mural serves as a visual identifier for Lake Worth Beach, the Cultural Council, and the theme of community and/or wellness.
The proposed work is appropriate for the site in terms of scale, design, and materials.

BUDGET

The commissioning budget is $40,000 and is all-inclusive including: design, artist fee, materials, installation, and insurance. Proposals that exceed the commission budget will be considered non-responsive and non-qualified. Artist teams must split the allotted budget if awarded. The Cultural Council will work with the selected artist or artist team on securing rental equipment (scaffolding and/or scissor-lifts). Additional budget may be allocated for these expenses.

ELIGIBILITY

Open to professional visual artists or artist-led teams age 18 and over who reside in Palm Beach County, Florida. Artists or artist teams (max two artists per team) must demonstrate their professional capacity to oversee the design and installation of a large-scale public mural.

QUALIFICATION APPLICATION

All interested artists or artists teams must submit their qualifications by uploading their application to the Call to Artists on Café. There are no exceptions.

Applications must contain all the following materials:

1. Professional Resumé: Resumés or CVs (limited to 2 pages) must be uploaded for each artist or artist team (artist teams should provide a separate Resumé/CV for each member). Teams must provide information for each team member, and one artist must be identified as the lead contact for the team. Any artist team selected through this call must retain the same composition of individual team members until the completion of the commission.

2. Statement of Interest: (max. 500 words) Statements should address the artist or artist team’s interest in developing a public art proposal for this specific commission and provide context to the conceptual and aesthetic approach, highlighting prior artworks, projects, or commissions of a similar scale.

3. Documentation of Past Projects: A minimum of five (5) images and maximum of seven (7) images of past completed or realized work within the past five years are required. Image specifications: JPG, PNG, 300dpi, 5MB max.

4. Image Information: Title of work, artist(s), year completed, medium, dimensions, location. No composite images.

SELECTION PROCESS

Artist or artist teams will be selected through the following process:

1. Qualification Review. CCPBC staff will preview submissions for completeness and compliance with qualification requirements. Staff may reject incomplete applications or non-qualified or non-responsive submissions.

2. Selection. A selection panel consisting of visual art professionals, board and staff representatives from the Cultural Council, and a representative from the City of Lake Worth Beach will review artists’ qualifications. No more than five (5) and no less than three (3) artists or artist teams will be selected and notified as finalists for the call.

3. Concept Creation. The finalists will create a concept for the completed mural responding to the thematic requirements. The finalists will be paid a stipend of $500 each to develop their concept proposal. Finalists will also be asked to submit a full budget and timeline for the proposed project. Concepts will be on display for two weeks at the Council’s headquarters so that the public has a chance to view and provide general feedback. The selection committee will then reconvene and select the final artist or artist team (and the mural concept). The selected artist or artist team will have approximately three months to complete the project.

CRITERIA:

Selection of the final concept proposal will be based on the project goals and the following criteria:

1. Artistic quality: Artwork should incorporate a high level of craftsmanship and artistic excellence.

2. Diversity: Artwork is diverse in terms of media, cultural or historical significance, innovation, and creativity.

3. Appropriateness to site: Artwork should be innovative, engaging, and compatible with the location in terms of scale, material, and form. Artwork should be conceptually appealing to a wide audience of varied ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities. Artwork should exhibit originality of concept and demonstrate a strong conceptual alignment with the goals of the project.

4. Artist qualifications: The feasibility of the proposed artwork is evaluated relative to the artist’s ability to complete the work proposed. Factors to be considered include the artists or artist teams experience, past projects budget, and timeline.

5. Artwork maintenance: Artwork must be designed and constructed for durability in the South Florida climate. Consideration will be given to proposals that consider sustainable and efficient methods in the ongoing maintenance of the artwork, including UV protection.

OVERVIEW OF COMMISSIONED ARTIST OR ARTIST TEAM RESPONSIBILITIES

Develop and refine artistic concepts and designs with staff and key stake - holders working on the project.
Develop final drawings, presentation materials, budget breakdown, and other visual and written items.
Participate in an ongoing design review and modification process with input from City staff, designers, key stakeholders, and appropriate City committees.
Provide bi-monthly (every 2 weeks) email updates to CCPBC staff.
Develop maintenance recommendations for the mural.

TIMELINE (subject to change due to funding, weather, or other issues)

March 25 Call opens

April 19 DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION

April 26 Finalists notified

May 31 DEADLINE FOR FINALIST PROPOSALS

June 28 Final artist or artist team notified

September 30 Mural completed

CCPBC reserves the right to decline all applications submitted in response to this Call to Artists, to terminate the selection proceedings, or to combine, eliminate, or otherwise amend the commission opportunities at any time. Artists identified through this process are not guaranteed a commission or the opportunity to develop a public art project or proposal. The release of this Call to Artists in no way binds CCPBC to the commissioning of any artist, artist team, or artwork.

Application Requirements