Entry Deadline: July 7, 2020 at 11:59 pm EMT  

Eligibility: This call is open only to New Jersey residents, age 18 or older, who are permanent residents of Mercer County, or maintain a permanent art studio address in Mercer County. Under N.J.S.A. 52:13D-19, employees of the State of New Jersey are not eligible to submit work for this procurement.  

REQUIREMENTS.  

Media: Two-dimensional media (e.g., painting, photography, collage), framed, wired and gallery ready. Works on paper, photographs, collage, mixed-media and other fragile materials must be framed behind glass or plexiglas. Stretched canvas, or other non-fragile materials must be wired for hanging and framing strips or frames are preferred, but not required.  See size limitations below. 
 
Style: There is no preferred style or technique of artwork. The Committee expects to purchase work with a variety of styles. However, as a State office building, artwork must be appropriate for display in a public setting where people of all ages and backgrounds can and will view the work. Work that is political, violent or sexual in nature is not appropriate and will not be considered.  

Acquisition: The State of New Jersey is interested in purchasing completed artwork from artists who are Mercer-County residents or maintain a permanent art studio address in Mercer County, excluding State employees, for inclusion in the new State Department of Health Building in Trenton.  

Submission: Artists may submit up to 6 images of completed art, ready for purchase (see dimension restrictions below). All submissions must be made through the call on www.callforentry.org by the deadline of July 7, 2020. Submissions will not be accepted via email or in hard copy.  

Size: Please see site plan for the spaces and locations intended for purchased artwork- noted as areas C on the diagram. (Note that artists have already been selected for areas A,B and D.) Final purchased pieces must be durably framed, behind glass or plexi, if appropriate, and ready to install.  Due to space considerations, work must be no larger than  a maximum size of 42” in any direction. Single works that consists of several pieces- diptychs or triptychs, for instance, should be noted and summitted as such.  

Budget: Due to budget and compliance requirements, pieces submitted for consideration may cost no more than $1000 per piece. The State will not purchase any work that costs more than $1000, all inclusive.  

PROJECT DESCRIPTION 

The new State of New Jersey Department of Health Building in Trenton is a newly constructed building located at 55 N. Willow St. in the Capital Complex in Trenton. This modern office building will primarily be used by New Jersey Department of Health office workers, with some limited public access.  

The Art Selection committee, comprised of community members, State workers and arts experts, will select a number of completed two-dimensional artworks to purchase for display in the completed building’s elevator lobbies and other interior spaces.  

Mercer County, New Jersey resident artists, or artists who maintain a permanent art studio address in Mercer County are encouraged to submit up to 6 images of completed, two-dimensional works for consideration by the arts inclusion committee. State of New Jersey employees are excluded from consideration for this call for artists.  

Purchased works will be installed in the State Department of Health building, which will house public meeting spaces and administrative offices. 

The project has a total purchase budget of $9,000, and intends to purchase multiple works from several artists to display in the building.  

Process:  

Below please find the planned schedule for this project. Due to the COVID-19 Health Crisis, it is possible that changes will be made to the timeline. However, every effort will be made to complete this project on schedule.  

• This call for artists will accept artist submissions on callforentry.org until midnight on July 7, 2020. No submissions will be accepted after the deadline.  

• The Art Selection Committee will review all submissions that meet the eligibility criteria, and vote on a shortlist of potential works.  

• The last week of July all artists will be contacted and informed about the status of their submissions.  

• The State Arts Council will contact all artists whose work has been shortlisted on or around July 31st with information about dropping off shortlisted works for in-person viewing by the committee. Not all shortlisted works will be purchased.   

• On a to-be-determined date in August, the Art Selection committee will review, in person, the shortlisted works, and make final selections.  

• After the in-person viewing, shortlisted artists will be contacted in regards to the final decision of the committee. All artwork viewed in person must be picked up by the artist; final purchase arrangements will be made and then delivery of purchased work will be arranged.  

All purchases will be subject to NJEDA’s procurement terms and conditions, available for review, here: https://www.njeda.com/Bidding-Opportunities-General/Bidding-Opportunities-Real-Estate-Procurement-Oppo . Any exceptions and/or revisions to the terms contained therein that the artist may have must be submitted to QARed@njeda.com by June 22, 2020 with no exceptions or revisions allowed after that date. Compliance documents are not required for purchases of $1,000 or less.  
 
​For technical assistance with the CAFÉ system and application process, please see CAFÉ help (https://www.callforentry.org/cafehelp.phtml) or contact CAFÉ technical support: cafe@westaf.org   

For project specific questions, all questions must be received in writing. Please direct project specific questions to: 

Danielle Bursk, Director of Artist Services, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts  

danielle.bursk@sos.nj.gov  

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria