The mission of the Art in the Heart of Farmington, NM is to promote sculpture as a public art form that enhances Historic Downtown Farmington and promotes artists from the four states of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah.  Up to 15 sculptures will be chosen by a juror to be displayed for one year and must be available for sale.  The selected artists will receive a $1,000 honorarium after installation.

In addition, all selected artists from out of town, will receive lodging for two nights on May 8th, 9th or 10th, 2024, depending on the date of their installation.  A reception for the selected artists will be held on Friday, May 9th.

Artwork Selection Criteria

Quality: The highest priority is the artistic excellence of the art.  All artwork submitted must be an original creation by the artist.

Timelessness: All art submitted for consideration should be viewed as a possible long-term acquisition and as such, it should have relevance to the community in future years and reflect enduring artistic quality.

Permanence: Sculpture shall have structural and surface soundness, be resistant to theft, vandalism, and weathering and require minimal maintenance as this is an outdoor public art exhibit.

Compatibility: Works of art should be compatible in style, scale, material, form and content with the Farmington Downtown area and have a broad range of appeal to the general public.

Public Safety: Works of art shall not create inordinate safety problems or liability problems for the general public, the Downtown District, or the City of Farmington.

Our Juror:

Don Ellis

The city has contracted with a fellow artist from the Four Corners region to serve as juror for the submitted pieces of art. Currently a professor and a Fine Arts Department Chair at San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico and has been a Ceramics educator since 1986. He is known as a master of Raku and copper matte glazes and has spent over 40 years mastering his special techniques. His work is featured in Alternative Kilns and Firing and Mastering Raku. Don enjoys presenting workshops on Alternative firings and has travelled the world demonstrating these special firings.  Recently Don served as an artist in residence at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi Mississippi and was the featured presenter and judge at the 44 year old Raku Hoolaulea Festival in Oahu, Hawaii.

Artist Notification: Artists chosen by our juror will be notified the third week of February 2025 as to their selection status.

Application Requirements

• Each application must be submitted with a minimum of three and a maximum of five images and may include an optional video, for the same piece of art.
• Each artist may submit up to three applications (pieces of sculpture) with an application fee of $25.00 each.
• An Artist's statement about each piece and a resume or CV should be included.
• Information on each sculpture should include: sculpture title, materials, size (height, width, depth and weight), special installation requirements, value of sculpture and sales price (an Installation Requirements form will be provided to all selected artists).
• Each application must be submitted via the CaFE website at www.callforentry.org.

Eligibility Criteria

Artists from any of the four states comprising the Four Corners region are eligible, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona.