Call Description

Rhode Island State Council on the Arts- Call for Artists

Eleanor Slater Hospital, Regan Building

Cranston, Rhode Island

Budget: $65,000

Application Deadline: 

Eligibility: Artists residing in New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Artwork for the newly renovated Regan Unit of Eleanor Slater Hospital (ESH) will be commissioned by ESH and the Department of Capital Asset, Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) through Rhode Island’s Public Art Law, which mandates that 1% of all state capital construction and renovation funds be allocated to the purchase and maintenance of public art. Through this program, the State recognizes that “public art creates a more humane environment: one of distinction, enjoyment, and pride for all citizens.”

About Eleanor Slater Hospital and the Regan Unit

Eleanor Slater Hospital (ESH) is a public Long-Term Acute Care Hospital (LTACH) with campuses in Cranston and Burrillville. ESH is operated by the State of Rhode Island’s Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals (BHDDH). The hospital treats patients with acute and long-term medical illnesses, as well as patients with mental health conditions.

ESH provides a treatment environment in which dignity, individuality, and respect are emphasized.

In addition to diagnosis and treatment, the hospital focuses on issues of recovery and quality of living. We are dedicated to using a patient, family, and interdisciplinary-centered approach to our care.

Our focus is on recognizing each patient’s individuality and their right to dignified and high quality care.

The Regan Unit is a psychiatric division of ESH. The building is undergoing a compete renovation for modernization and to meet anti-ligature standards. This involves designing spaces and selecting products to minimize the risk of self-harm. ESH serves psychiatric patients of all acuity levels. Every patient has a discharge plan, and some are transferred from the Roosevelt Benton Center to Regan as a step down in acuity level. 

People who use this facility include patients, family members, visitors, staff, and service providers and contractors.

Feedback from the selection panel

In April of 2025, the artwork selection panel met. Included on this panel is the architect, a representative of the building, a community member, and two professional artists. The panel toured the site and reviewed the design of the renovations. The following goals emerged from this conversation.

• Artwork for the patients should be prioritized. While seasonal, the courtyard garden is used by most in the building and so artwork for this area would benefit many. The courtyard is surrounded by buildings and feels cut off from the natural world.
• A mural for the ground-level Regan wall in the courtyard is desired. A figurative style is desired. A realistic design that references the natural world or the Rhode Island landscape is desired. A design that creates a sense of space, perhaps through trompe l'oeil, is desired.
• This Call seeks artwork for a courtyard mural. Other artwork genres will not be considered.
• The work should be calming, peaceful, and soothing; feel homey; create a sense of the familiar or connection, perhaps through the use of imagery that evokes Rhode Island or New England.
• The work should avoid the use of bright colors, abstraction, or geometrics.

Additional considerations:

• The final mural should utilize the polytab or "parachute cloth" method.
• Artist will be responsible for all aspects of the mural including but not limited to design, wall preparation, materials, installation of polytab or parachute cloth, execution of mural, protective topcoat, equipment and insurance.
• Artwork must be fabricated and installed in such a way that it does not create a hazard and cannot be utilized as a weapon, and will be subject to review to be sure it meets material and imagery standards for this facility.
• Artist will provide a W9 and register as a vendor with the State of Rhode Island. If required, artist will provide a BCI.

Estimated Timeline

June 13, 2025: applications open.

July 11, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. (E.S.T.) Deadline for submissions.

August 2025: Panel meeting for selection of finalists; notification to applicants.

August/September 2025: Finalist site visits.

Fall 2025 TBD: Finalist presentations to selection panel. Artwork chosen and recommended to the Council. Final approval by RISCA Council. Contract signed, fabrication of artwork begins.

TBD, Artwork completion and installation.

According to law, the final recommendation of the selection panel will be presented the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, who has final approval of the commission.

Selected Finalists

Finalists will be invited to a site visit and to propose an artwork specifically for the Regan Building.  Finalists will craft a detailed proposal for a courtyard mural including an itemized budget, renderings, and timeline. For this they will each be paid a stipend of $1,500. This stipend is inclusive of all proposal expenses including travel, hotel, transportation, mileage, etc., as applicable for both the site visit and the subsequent presentation meeting. Finalists will not be reimbursed separately for travel costs.

Site-specific proposals should convey the artist’s ideas and plans through digital materials, designs, renderings and/or scale models with a statement that describes the project's intent, proposed materials, fabrication and installation methods, and an itemized budget. They will be supplied with plans, photographs, and specific information about the facility.

The proposals will remain the property of the artist. However, RISCA reserves the right to retain proposals for display purposes and the right to reproduce them for documentation and public information purposes.

Selection Criteria

The panel will select the artist based on the following criteria:

1. Safety of materials and techniques.
2. Appropriateness for facility.
3. Artistic vibrancy.
4. Responsiveness to this Call.
5. References and demonstrated ability to manage and complete commission.

Application Requirements

Submission Requirements:

Please note: This Call for Artists/Request for Qualifications is the first step in the public art selection process.  YOU ARE NOT BEING ASKED TO SUBMIT A SPECIFIC PROPOSAL AT THIS TIME. You will submit your qualifications, i.e. examples of previous work and references. After review, the selection committee will invite three finalists to create site-specific proposals for the Regan Building. A $1500 honorarium will be paid to finalists for this work.

RISCA will conduct the application process online, with all materials submitted in digital format through CaFÉ, (see below). There is no charge to apply.   At this preliminary selection stage, we are requesting submissions from artists or artist teams consisting of six images representing current work (completed within the past 15 years), a written statement or resume, and references.

If an artist wants to apply as an individual as well as part of a team, two separate CaFÉ profiles and two separate CaFÉ applications must be completed (i.e., one application submission for you and one for your team).

Materials will be reviewed by the selection panel to assess the quality and appropriateness of the artist's work and the artist’s ability to carry out a commission. 

No slides or hard copy materials will be accepted for this call. First time CaFÉ applicants must allow enough time to prepare their CaFÉ formatted digital images and electronic submission prior to the deadline on July 11, 2025. Applications will only be accepted through Café.

Eligibility Criteria

Artist Eligibility

This call is open to professional artists residing in Rhode Island, Vermont, Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. For the purposes of this application, residency is determined as the state in which one files their personal tax return. Undergraduate students are excluded. The panel will not discriminate against any applicant based on age, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, or physical challenges. Excluded from participation are RISCA Council members, staff, and their family members as well as Public Art Selection Panel members and their families.