GENERAL INFORMATION 

The Trenton Transit Center, which serves Amtrak rail, New Jersey Transit bus and rail, South East Philadelphia Transportation Authority (SEPTA) rail, and the River Line light rail line, is a major transit gateway to Trenton, the State Capital of New Jersey. The Transit Center is a short walk to downtown Trenton, including several residential neighborhoods, the downtown business district, parks, galleries and entertainment venues, state, county and city government offices. At present, pedestrians must navigate a network of vehicular on-ramps, barren traffic islands, and a dark and dirty highway underpass on their walk from the Transit Center to downtown Trenton.  

A coalition of non-profit, local and state government partners, led by Artworks Trenton Inc., Trenton’s non-profit visual art center, is seeking to create an “Artwalk” along this route, commissioning and installing public art, along with wayfinding, traffic calming, and landscaping elements, in order to transform the walk between the Transit Center and downtown Trenton into a visually appealing and safe experience, encouraging healthy behaviors such as walking and bicycling, and encouraging increased use of public transit by Trenton residents, commuters and visitors. 

The first piece of this overall plan to create the Artwalk and transform the walk to downtown is the commissioning of art work to animate the Route 1/129 underpass. Artworks is soliciting Expressions of Interest (EOI) for a permanent public art painted mural to cover one wall of this underpass (this EOI call).

Project Description, Site Location and Scope of Work 

The Route 1/129 underpass is located along Market Street in downtown Trenton east of South Stockton Street. The mural would be installed on the approximately 15’ by 200’ North wall and adjacent angled walls of the underpass.  

The mural needs to be limited maintenance, installed in an environment subject to vibration, salt, grit, dirt, rain and snow, and annual freezing temperatures. This public art opportunity requires the services of a qualified Artist or Artists to provide design, fabrication/construction, project coordination and management, artwork transportation and installation services which are necessary in the performance of the required completed work. EOIs may be submitted individually or in joint venture/collaboration with other Artists. Because the project site encompasses city and state jurisdictions, all Artists will be required to comply with state and city prevailing wage and subcontracting guidelines.  

Application Requirements

This EOI call is open to regional artists. All Artists interested in the project must register with CAFÉ at the following web address: https://www.callforentry.org. All submissions must be done through CAFÉ.  CAFÉ is a web-based call-for-entry solution designed to connect artists and organizations that is accessible online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Artists interested in participating in the project must submit letters summarizing their interest and experience in the creation of public artworks.  The letter must include a list of at least 3 references (name, contact information – phone number and e-mail address) where similar work has been installed.  In addition to the letter, the Artists should include other pertinent information including their resume, photographs/images (a minimum of four and maximum of 8) examples of installations of public art, website links, etc.  Examples of installations included in the submission must be similar to this project.  

Artworks (through CAFÉ) will provide an initial review of the submissions to confirm each EOI submission includes all the requirements listed above. Artworks will then submit all EOIs that complied with the requirements for review and voting by our Art Selection Committee. The Committee will select a “short list” of three (3) to six (6) Artists to proceed to the Proposal Submission Phase. 

Eligibility Criteria

1. Artistic excellence of examples submitted. 

2. Appropriateness of material used in the examples submitted. 

3. Appropriateness of examples submitted for use in a public thoroughfare, viewed by the general public. 

4. Experience to undertake the project. 

5. Preference to artists with ties to Trenton and New Jersey, or who contribute to the arts there. 

Artists’ submissions meeting the factors above will also be evaluated based on a stated interest in involving local Trenton youth, schools and communities in the design and execution of the mural project.