CALL TO ARTISTS: Open call for artists: Seeking muralists and/or fine art painters

 Contact Email: artgallery@danville.ca.gov

Call Type: Public Art

Eligibility: Regional: Open to Professional artists or art team, residing in the nine San Francisco Bay Area Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma.  Seeking experienced artist/art team who has successfully managed and completed at least one publicly funded art commission on schedule and within budget.

State: California

Entry Deadline: September 30, 2021

Requirements:
Media
Please submit Jpegs of original artwork for consideration for a triptych to hang in the New Town Offices in the rotunda located at 500 La Gonda Way, Danville, CA 94526

Images - Minimum: 3, Maximum: 6
Total Media - Minimum: 3, Maximum: 6

 Introduction

The Town of Danville is nestled into the picturesque San Ramon Valley, located approximately 30 miles east of San Francisco. Danville is home to Mount Diablo and an abundance of open space and hiking trails.  Danville has a rich history, once the land where the Native American Indian Tatcan Tribe lived, and then home to farmers of wheat, nuts and fruit, and also home to the world-renowned playwright, Eugene O’Neill.  Today the Town has modern day amenities including top-rated shops and restaurants, and yet retains its thoughtfully planned out small-town charm.  The present-day community has a love and appreciation for art and the Town strives to present a variety of public art projects and beautification projects that enhance the quality of life and create a culturally rich community for people to live, work and play.

Call Overview

This Call to Artists is for Professional Artists who wish to be considered by the Art Advisory Board of Danville for a commissioned artwork that is unique and site-specific. The work is to be painted onto three large, stretched, unframed, canvases and hung at the Town’s new office space in the rotunda located at 500 La Gonda Way.  This artwork should be largescale and will also be a long-term attraction to greet residents and visitors upon entry to the new Town Offices building.  The work should aim to represent the Town in a clean, contemporary artistic style, while nodding to the Town’s original roots of natural beauty and old-Town charm.  The artwork should aim to celebrate the Town’s landscape, history and heritage. 

Dimensions:

Mural wall dimensions and ceiling height: The wall is a curved wall and measures approximately 31 feet wide by 19 feet tall.

Painted canvases should measure approximately 8 feet high by 8 feet wide x 3 inches deep each (x 3 three panels) for a total measurement of 8 x 24 foot triptych.

 Theme/Concepts to Consider:

The new Town Offices are located in a newly refurbished modern space with clean lines and a contemporary design which is open and has tall ceilings and windows.  This should be taken into consideration when designing unique artwork to reflect the feel of Danville.  Modern or abstracted landscapes and/or imagery that is a nod to the rich history of the land and heritage of the Town are artistic concepts to consider.  With three separate panels, the artist has the opportunity to highlight up two different design concepts that will work together as one large painting (tryptic).  The Arts Advisory Board is requesting to see one modern landscape triptych and if an additional design is submitted that it encompasses one of the following themes:

Some themes to consider:

• Natural beauty of Danville—modern landscape
• Rich History of Danville, CA
• Native Americans of the San Ramon Valley (The Tatcan Tribe)
• The Railway (Ironhorse)
• Western Town/Farming Land—Fruits and nuts
• The Great Oak Trees and golden or green hills of the East Bay
• Las Trampas Regional Park
• Mount Diablo State Park
• Playwriter, Eugene O’Neill’s House (The Tao House)

Compensation

The selected artist/s will receive an honorarium of up to $5,000.00 (five thousand dollars) per canvas for the commissioned piece of artwork, plus the cost of materials such as canvas and stretcher bars.  Artist/s will be paid 50% of the compensation upon awarding of the commission and the remaining 50% as arranged by contract upon the completion of the project.

Creation

The Artist will be expected to use his/her own materials to create the artwork.  The Artist is expected to use his/her own studio space to create the artwork, as the Town does not have studio space at this time.   

Installation 

The Town will be responsible for the installation of the artwork.

Selection Process 

An Artist Selection Panel composed of members of the Arts Advisory Board, Parks, Recreation and Arts Commissioners and Town Staff with arts background and knowledge, will review all submissions meeting the application requirements and deadline. Finalists will be interviewed to discuss their proposed artwork.  An illustration of the proposed piece must be provided for approval by the committee. Artworks that are offensive or those which do not meet community standards of decency will not be approved.  Visual imagery must be appropriate for all audiences (not containing advertising, partisan politics, sexual or religious content).  Selected artists must enter into a contractual agreement approved by The Town of Danville, CA.

Application Requirements 

Interested artists should submit the following to be considered:

• Letter of Interest (LOI). Please explain why you want to be considered for this painting project.
• Current Resume. Include information and details about educational background, previous work, gallery showings, and past experience in public art exhibits.
• Color, scale rendering of the proposed design.
• Short narrative of the proposed work/project.  Explain how your art would fit the community of Danville.
• Lead artist’s qualifications and examples of previous work (submit your website/instagram)
• Contact information of two references of clients of completed commissions who you worked for to create original artwork
• Timeline for completing the project.
• An estimate of costs associated with the project including but not limited to: surface preparation, paint/materials, and labor costs.
• CAFÉ. Any questions regarding file preparation should be directed to the homepage of CAFÉ which is https://www.callforentry.org.

 PLEASE NOTE: Once the Arts Advisory Board has approved the proposed triptych painting design, the Artist may not make additional changes to the design.

 Tentative Project Timeline

Thursday, September 30, 2021       Artist Applications due by 5:00 PM to CAFÉ

Thursday, October 7, 2021               Selection Panel Begins

TBD                                                    Board and Commission approval

December 2021/January 2022                                  Installation of Artwork(s)

Questions

Contact: Marija Nelson Bleier at mnelsonbleier@danville.ca.gov or Jessica Wallner at jwallner@danville.ca.gov

Application Requirements

Interested artists should submit the following to be considered:

• Letter of Interest (LOI). Please explain why you want to be considered for this painting project.
• Current Resume. Include information and details about educational background, previous work, gallery showings, and past experience in public art exhibits.
• Color, scale rendering of the proposed design.
• Short narrative of the proposed work/project.  Explain how your art would fit the community of Danville.
• Contact information of two references of clients of completed commissions who you worked for to create original artwork
• Timeline for completing the project.
• An estimate of costs associated with the project including but not limited to: surface preparation, paint/materials, and labor costs.
• CAFÉ. Any questions regarding file preparation should be directed to the homepage of CAFÉ which is https://www.callforentry.org.

Eligibility Criteria

Open to Professional artists or art team, residing in the nine San Francisco Bay Area Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma.  Seeking experienced artist/art team who has successfully managed and completed at least one publicly funded art commission on schedule and within budget.