Art budget is $20,000

Honorarium: Up to 3 finalists (artist or artist teams) will receive an honorarium in an amount to be determined.  The honorarium is for the creation and presentation of the site-specific proposal as well as participation in the virtual site visit allowing for student engagement. The honorarium amount is separate from the listed art budget. 

Timeline: The committee intends to make a decision in fall of 2021.   

Sites for Art: 

The sites for art are the 1st and 2nd story curved “Beacon” walls and curved window wall.  All appropriate media will be considered.  Both abstract and representational art will be equally considered.  However, if representational, art should engage occupants through wholistic views with uplifting references to Black culture and history, and not solely the struggle narrative.
 

INFORMATIONAL TEXT:
 

University of Florida:

Located in the heart of North Central Florida, the University of Florida, http://www.ufl.edu, is one of America’s premier public Universities and is the first Florida school to break into the list of top 10 best public universities, reaching No. 6 public university in the country, continuing the university’s upward trajectory and placing it on the cusp of reaching its top-five goal.

The University of Florida is one of the largest universities in the United States and students from more than 100 countries attend UF’s 20 colleges and 100 interdisciplinary research and education centers and institutes.  

UF has a 2,000-acre campus and more than 900 buildings, including the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Institute of Black Culture

In April of 1971, the Black Student Union (BSU) of the University of Florida submitted a list of demands to then president, Stephen O’Connell, calling for a number of programs and initiatives to improve the campus climate for Black students. The BSU leaders argued that many Black students were “excluded from meaningful social and cultural endeavors on this campus” and were in need of supportive resources. A Black Cultural Center was one of the student demands. When the University administration failed to act upon the student demands, a number of student protests and demonstrations were held, culminating in the occupation of the President’s office on April 15, 1971. On this date, which came to be remembered as “Black Thursday,” 67 students would be arrested or suspended for occupying the UF President’s office. When amnesty requests for the suspended/arrested student protesters were denied, the BSU held a rally on April 27, 1971.  Afterward numerous Black students and some empathetic peers submitted University withdrawal slips in protest. In the span of a few days, more than 100 Black students and their supporters withdrew from the University of Florida.  The student protests motivated the University administration to act and in the fall of 1971, the Institute of Black Culture (IBC) was established.  The IBC was officially dedicated on February 11, 1972.

For more than 45 years, the Institute of Black Culture has served as a home away from home for numerous students moving through the University of Florida.  The Institute of Black Culture will function as a resource for all members of the University of Florida community by providing educational, social, and cultural programming, cultivating student leadership, and building on its founding legacy of advocacy and inclusion.

The Institute of Black Culture will offer educational, cultural and community building programs and initiatives sponsored by Black Affairs, Multicultural and Diversity Affairs and various University of Florida student organizations and departments.  Spaces available for reservation by groups in the Institute of Black Culture include a multi-purpose event space and a conference room. 

Florida’s Art in State Buildings Program:

The Art in State Buildings (ASB) Program acquires artwork for new public facilities built with state funds. The program requires that up to .5% of the construction appropriation be set aside to acquire artwork for permanent display in, on or around the facility.

Since the program began in 1979, more than 1,000 works of art have been purchased or commissioned for Florida public spaces. You'll find them in nearly every Florida county, in locations such as state office buildings, Department of Transportation complexes, Department of Health facilities, courthouses, throughout state university and college campuses.

Application Requirements

Application Requirements:

Statement of Intent - Briefly explain your interest in this project, your affiliation with the culture of the IBC, and how submitted images may relate to this project.

Resume - A current professional resume or CV emphasizing eligibility criteria.

Images - no more than 20 digital images.  The first five images will be seen in the initial blind review.  Only artwork with sound or motion may be submitted as video or audio file. Up to 6 video or audio files may be submitted and each file counts as an “image” in the 20 allowable.  

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility: 

Artist has met at least two (2) of the following:

1. the artist's works are included in private, public, corporate or museum collections;
2. the artist has received awards, grants or fellowships;
3. the artist has completed other public commissions on a similar scale;
4. the artist has participated in exhibitions at major museums or galleries.