Call Description

Summary

The City of Wilsonville, Oregon is requesting applications from a talented Artist or Artist Team, with expertise in mural design and implementation/installation for interior murals (four walls) in the Children’s Section at the Wilsonville Public Library, located at 8200 SW Wilsonville Rd, Wilsonville, OR 97070. Preference may be given to Artists’ who are experienced in artwork geared towards children. Artist(s) should also be well versed and comfortable with engaging with the community. The budget for this project is not to exceed $20,000, which is inclusive of everything including but not limited to: time, labor, materials, equipment, travel expenses, insurance requirements, etc. In order to minimize closures of the Children’s Section, artists should be able to complete installation within a two-week period from start of install to completion and clean-up.  

Final project may be hand painted onsite directly to the walls OR onto panels to get installed. Either option should be hand painted and not digitally done.

Proposals are due by September 10, 2025 

Themes, Goals and Desired Outcomes of the Murals 

The Wilsonville Public Library conducted a data gathering project in July 2025 to elicit patron feedback for what they would like to see in a mural in the children’s room. Patrons were also asked how the library makes them feel. We received over 700 responses.  

When patrons are in the library/children’s room, the three most common feelings they felt were happy, calm, and excited. Other popular feelings mentioned were welcome, peaceful, relaxed, and safe. 

When patrons were asked what they would like to see in a mural, the most popular themes were animals, nature, books, book characters, and mythical characters.  

When visitors step into the Children’s Section and see the murals, we want them to feel all the feelings mentioned above but also feel inspired, curious, and creative. The murals should include elements such as the elements mentioned above with a general sense of whimsy, fun, and freedom. 

Site Information 

The Wilsonville Public Library is a vibrant, busy hub of the community. The children’s room is the heart of the library. It’s a busy, multipurpose space that not only houses all the books and other materials in the children’s collection, but functions as a meeting place for children and families to gather and interact. There’s a large play area with toys that spark imaginative play and focus on STEAM. There are a lot of “regulars” who have built strong relationships with library staff and other families. Lifelong friendships and connections are made in the children’s room. The children’s room is where people meet, connect, and a community is created. There is also a large patio attached to the children’s room to incorporate the outdoors and provide even more space for conversation and play. Library staff put on theater-style storytimes that often attract more than a hundred attendees. The library provides programming for babies, children, and their families, at least four days a week. The library also hosts bilingual storytimes on the weekends with occasional programs in Spanish and Mandarin.  Recently the library underwent a signage project, which features native trees as a motif. 

Measurements

1)    North Wall – 34’ x 4’ (could potentially add another 5’ of length towards door frame to a painted mural) 

2)    North East Wall – 22’ x 4’ (at left of entrance when standing in and looking out to main lobby) 

3)    South East Wall – 22’ x 4’ (at right of entrance when standing in and looking out to main lobby)  

4)     South Wall – 25’ x 4’ (left of restroom doors) 

*Images of walls can be found in the full Call for Art PDF linked HERE.

Budget 

The budget for this project to be awarded to the selected Artist/Team is not to exceed $20,000. 

Payment of the artist/artist team will be based on the following schedule: 

25% Down Payment upon fully executed Contract, Artist/Team must provide invoice, W9, and Certificate of Insurance (General Liability Insurance with coverage in the amount of 1 Mil per each occurrence/ 2 Mil general aggregate. 

25% upon Approval of Design by ACHC and schedule of installation timeline 

Remaining balance paid upon Mural completion. Artist/Team must provide Maintenance Plan.  

Selection Process 

Stage One: Initial Review 

If deemed necessary to narrow down the selection, a team consisting of City Staff will review and score the initial submissions. Incomplete submissions will not be considered and will be removed from the review process.  

Staff will consider the completeness of application materials, Artists’/Teams’ relevant experience with similar scale projects, previous body of work/ design aesthetic and artist excellence, and ability to meet the project goals. 

Stage Two: Selection Panel Review 

The top applications will be reviewed, scored and discussed by a Selection Panel that may consist of Library Staff, Library Foundation members, and members from the City’s Arts, Culture, and Heritage Commission (ACHC). 

The Panel will consider the same parameters as above (the artists’ relevant experience with similar scale projects, previous body of work/ design aesthetic and artist excellence, and ability to meet the project goals.) 

The Selection Panel may make a recommendation of which single Artist/Team to award the project to. This recommendation will then be forwarded to the full ACHC for final approval. The Selection Panel may instead decide to forward 1 – 3 options to the ACHC; which in that case the ACHC would make the selection on who to award the project to.  

Stage Three: Approval by the Arts, Culture, and Heritage Commission (ACHC) 

Staff will take the Selection Panel’s recommendation to the ACHC for their final approval, which will take place during a public meeting. ACHC votes are based on majority approval. In the event the ACHC does not approve an Artist/Team staff will reconvene back with the Selection Panel based on ACHC feedback and instruction.  

Design Process 

Applicants are NOT submitting design proposals in response to this Call for Art. The expectation is only the awarded Artist/Team will create a design to be painted.  

There will be a pre-design meeting with the awarded artist and Library staff so the artist can see the space, learn more about the project, spend time in the space, etc.  

As part of the design process, some form of community engagement between the users of the space and the artist should factor into the final design.  

Once the final design is submitted there will be a period of review and feedback from the same selection panel consisting of Library Staff and ACHC members and the design will ultimately be forwarded onto the ACHC for final approval.  

All of these details, steps, dates, etc. will be clearly listed within the scope of work within the artist contract. 

Timeline (subject to change) 

*if there are significant design revisions needed or if the ACHC does not approve the design these dates will shift. 

*the City must minimize closure time to the children’s section so painting should take place all within a 2-week window 

Point of Contact 

All questions or inquiries must be directed only to the following person: 

Erika Valentine 
Arts & Culture Program Coordinator  

Direct: 503-570-1629 
Evalentine@wilsonvilleOregon.gov  
 

For the sake of fairness, applicants are not to contact any other City staff or officials and may be disqualified from consideration for doing so. 

Application Requirements

Artists or Artist Teams replying to this Call are required to submit the following that will be used in the evaluation process. Everything must be submitted directly through the Call for Entry (CaFE) portal at: www.callforentry.org 

1. Contact information (Name, address, phone, email, artist social media and/or artist website)
2. Essay Question A: What interests and excites you about this specific opportunity?
3. Essay Question B: Briefly describe your methodology and approach to public art works, design and community engagement?
4. Artist Biography File Upload – (maximum 2 pages) including relevant work experience to the project
5. Past Work Samples – (minimum 6 images, maximum 10 images) – visual representations of past mural and/or larger scale work that demonstrate qualifications for this project. Please make sure your work samples include info like: project client, project location, project budget.
6. References (2 professional references)

Incomplete submissions will not be accepted.  

Eligibility Criteria

Artists must reside in Oregon and be able to complete installation within a two-week period from start of install to completion and clean-up. Artists should be well versed in engaging with the public and working with City Staff. Artists' application materials should clearly demonstrate experience with large-scale murals, with preference for whose who have work examples geared for and appropriate for children.