Sculptor Call for Submissions

Deadline: Friday, November 15, 2024 at 7:00 PM Eastern Time

Description: As part of Troy Main Street’s 2025 Sculptures on the Square event, we are inviting artists to submit letters of interest including: a short bio about themselves and headshot, sculpture details and history, and qualifications for outdoor sculpture artwork. The theme of “Sow & Grow” has been selected for the 2025 event. Sculptors are welcome to freely interpret the theme in their submissions. Proposals must fit artist's interpretation of the theme to be considered. Artists with more than one sculpture fitting this theme are strongly encouraged to apply!

Background: The 2025 event will be Troy’s 12th Sculptures on the Square biennial event, having started in 2003. The event regularly attracts thousands of visitors from the surrounding communities and states as well as engaging the Troy community and Miami county with the arts. Besides the sculptures on the downtown sidewalks, the event also includes displays of local artists in downtown businesses and interactive arts activities throughout the months of the event. 

Troy is located in southwestern Ohio, 20 miles north of downtown Dayton, OH, off of Interstate 75. Troy is an easy drive from Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland, OH; Detroit, MI; Lexington, Frankfort, and Louisville, KY; Indianapolis, IN; Chicago, IL, and Pittsburgh, PA.

Installation Details and Dates: The 2025 Sculptures on the Square event, scheduled to be exhibited June 14 - October 5, 2025, is expected to display up to 20 sculptures on the sidewalks of downtown Troy. 

Selection Criteria: The Selection Committee is looking for sculptures that are not larger than 5 feet wide x 5 feet deep x 8 feet tall. Sculptures will be displayed outside for the duration of the event. If the sculpture being proposed significantly differs from these dimensions, please contact the email identified in the call. The sculptures can be free-standing or placed on pedestals. Sculptures needing special placement including locking into concrete or the ground must have that information clearly stated in the proposal. 

The artwork must be family- and community-friendly in design, nature, and content. Accepted artists must complete an agreement provided upon selection.

Information about Troy, Ohio, USA: For artists looking for some information about Troy’s history and culture, we offer these starting points. Some aspects about Troy:

• Troy Main Street (https:www.troymainstreet.org)
• City of Troy’s website (https://www.troyohio.gov/)
• Home of Hobart (https://www.hobartcorp.com/about-us-hobart) and Hobart Institute of Welding Technology (https://www.welding.org/)
• The location of the first-ever barcode item scanned in a store (http://bravotroyohio.com/years-ago-today-p750-209.htm)
• Home to the WACO Air Museum for the WACO Aircraft Company - the largest civil aircraft manufacturer in the 1920s and 30s (http://www.wacoairmuseum.org/our-story.html)
• Home to the Overfield Tavern Museum (http://overfieldtavernmuseum.com/)
• Home to the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center (http://www.troyhayner.org/history.html)
• Home to the annual Troy Strawberry Festival - one of the largest festivals in the state of Ohio (http://gostrawberries.com/)
• Voted as Best Hometown 2018/2019 by Ohio Magazine (https://www.ohiomagazine.com/ohio-life/best-hometowns)
• Located on the Great Miami River and was a stop on the Erie Canal.
• A bicycle-friendly town, Troy is located on the Great Miami River Trail - the nation’s largest network of paved bike trails (https://www.miamivalleytrails.org/about)
• The county seat for Miami County
• The Troy Local History Library (http://www.thetroyhistoricalsociety.org/troy/troy-lib.htm) offers an archive of the history of Troy.

Call for Proposal details: The submitted call for proposal will need to include:

• Artist(s) name, mailing address, email address, website
• Artist headshot and short biography.
• Resume or CV showing a history of on-budget and on-schedule public art projects. If this is the first public art proposal, a professional resume or CV showing a history of exhibited artwork is acceptable.
• A schedule detailing the creation and installation of the artwork
• If an existing artwork, provide photographs of the artwork in multiple angles, base and installation methods, photographs of it installed publicly if available, and the history of the piece- (where did you get the idea, what is the medium used, where has it been displayed, etc.)
• If a new artwork, provide detailed conceptual drawings depicting the size, scale, and details of the artwork and installation methods. If the artist(s) has created similar artworks but is creating a new artwork for this call, include photographs of previous artworks along with the conceptual drawings of the new artwork.

Stipend per selected sculpture: $2,000 USD. The stipend covers the cost of having the sculpture located in Troy for the duration of the event, shipping costs to and from Troy, insurance, and attendance at the Opening Gala are at the artist's expense, but can be deducted from the stipend if needed.

Troy Main Street thanks The Troy Foundation (https://thetroyfoundation.org/) for funding the stipends for this event.

Selection Information: The Troy Sculptures on the Square committee will designate a jury to review the submissions to determine which artwork will be selected for display.

Entries will be judged by a selection committee including select members of the Sculptures on the Square committee consisting of artists and administrators, and select members of the community. Entries will be reviewed on the following criteria:

• Adherence to community- and family-friendly content
• Adherence to appropriate size
• Inclusion and adherence of adequate budget, schedule, and installation details that meet city requirements for items installed on public sidewalks

The selection committee reserves the right to reject delivered artwork if the final work fails to adhere to the proposed content, size, budget, schedule, and installation requirements. 

Application Requirements: This project is open to resident American and legal resident artists / artist teams residing and working in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

How to Apply: Apply via post or callforentry.org or visit troymainstreet.org. Applicants must create a free account on callforentry.org to apply. Existing callforentry.org users can use their existing account.

OR

Complete an artist application and return it to arts@troymainstreet.org. The submission deadline is November 15, 2024 at 7:00 PM Eastern Time. If you have any questions regarding your application, please submit them by Monday, November 1, 2024 to allow time for responding.

For Questions, Please Contact: Troy Main Street

Website: https://troymainstreet.org/

Email: arts@troymainstreet.org (subject line: SOS Regional Sculpture)

Phone: (937) 339-5455

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/troymainstreet/

Instagram: troymainstreet

Application Requirements

The submitted call for proposal will need to include:

• Artist(s) name, mailing address, email address, website
• Artist headshot and short biography.
• Resume or CV showing a history of on-budget and on-schedule public art projects. If this is the first public art proposal, a professional resume or CV showing a history of exhibited artwork is acceptable.
• A schedule detailing the creation and installation of the artwork
• If an existing artwork, provide photographs of the artwork in multiple angles, base and installation methods, photographs of it installed publicly if available, and the history of the piece- (where did you get the idea, what is the medium used, where has it been displayed, etc.)
• If a new artwork, provide detailed conceptual drawings depicting the size, scale, and details of the artwork and installation methods. If the artist(s) has created similar artworks but is creating a new artwork for this call, include photographs of previous artworks along with the conceptual drawings of the new artwork.

Eligibility Criteria

The Selection Committee is looking for sculptures that are not larger than 5 feet wide x 5 feet deep x 8 feet tall. Sculptures will be displayed outside for the duration of the event. If the sculpture being proposed significantly differs from these dimensions, please contact the email identified in the call. The sculptures can be free-standing or placed on pedestals. Sculptures needing special placement including locking into concrete or the ground must have that information clearly stated in the proposal. 

The artwork must be family- and community-friendly in design, nature, and content. Accepted artists must complete an agreement provided upon selection.