City of Lee’s Summit Cultural Arts Division
Downtown Sculpture Walk 2022

The City of Lee’s Summit (MO) Cultural Arts Division is accepting applications for the 2022 Downtown Sculpture Walk temporary sculpture exhibit. Sculptures must be available for exhibition between mid-May 2022 through at least April 30, 2023.

Submission deadline is January 17, 2022.

Lee’s Summit is located approximately 22 miles southeast from the heart of Kansas City, Missouri. It is a fast-growing suburban community with a population of just under 100,000 residents, making it the sixth largest city in the state of Missouri and the Kansas City metro region. Lee’s Summit is a composite of rolling farmland, award-winning parks systems and growing neighborhoods. This unique dynamic enables our community to celebrate our agricultural roots and humble beginnings while embracing progress, growth and cultural vitality.   

About Downtown Lee’s Summit: Downtown Lee’s Summit is comprised of 11 square blocks that echo the original 1865 plat that established the City’s founding boundaries. Downtown Lee’s Summit has won numerous state and national awards for excellence in downtown revitalization and management, including the Great American Main Street Award from the National Trust Main Street Center. Most recently in 2019, the American Planning Association designated our downtown as one of America’s Great Neighborhoods. Boasting a near 0% vacancy rate, our downtown is home to locally owned retail shops and restaurants, unique co-working spaces and an eclectic mix of small businesses. Downtown Lee’s Summit is the City’s primary cultural and entertainment district which hosts over 100 community and family-oriented events each year that bring thousands of residents and tourists to the area. The district is also home to the Lee’s Summit History Museum and numerous commercial buildings, homes and neighborhoods are listed on both state and national historic registries.

EXHIBIT OVERVIEW
The Downtown Sculpture Walk seeks to increase walkable access to public art in Lee’s Summit. The exhibit contributes to current revitalization efforts taking place in our downtown district and to the long-term vision of creating a vibrant community. The sculpture walk complements our well-established Fourth Fridays Art Walks that are held April through August. It is also be a focal point for the many downtown events that take place throughout the year, including the Downtown Days Festival, Summit Art Festival, Mayor's Tree Lighting and our annual Halloween, Veterans Day and St. Patrick's Day parades. The Downtown Sculpture Walk is a collaboration between the City of Lee’s Summit Cultural Arts Division, the Lee’s Summit Arts Council and Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street, Inc. 

Up to ten (10) artists will be selected to install 3D sculptural works appropriate for long-term outdoor display. Selected artwork may be installed at any of the designated locations in Downtown Lee’s Summit that includes concrete pads and open space grassy areas. The jury selection committee will determine the final location of each sculpture. Artwork may be installed on concrete slabs or grassy areas.

SELECTION PROCESS
Entries will be juried by a Selection Committee. The Selection Committee will be comprised of members from the City’s Cultural Arts Division, Lee’s Summit Arts Council Public Art Committee and the Downtown Lee’s Summit Cultural Arts Committee. Artwork will be selected based on artistic merit, artistic context, maintainability and suitability for public display. The Selection Committee reserves the right to reject any applications that do not meet eligibility requirements and/or are incomplete, or instances in which the artwork does not appear suitable for long-term outdoor display.

Once applications are submitted and are being reviewed, it is the artist’s responsibility to contact the City of Lee’s Summit Cultural Arts Division at 816-969-1032 or at Glenda.Masters@CityofLS.net if their work is no longer available.

Artist can expect to be notified of selection results by February 15, 2022.

COMPENSATION
Selected artists will receive a stipend of $1,000 to offset costs associated with installation, travel and per diem. Stipend will be payable after completion and sign off on the installation process. First-time exhibitors will be required to provide a W-9 to the City of Lee’s Summit at the time of contracting.

Artist information will be listed on the exhibition website and publications so that works can be purchased by an individual or business. Any purchased artwork must remain on display throughout the program year.

Artists will receive 100% of the sale for any artwork sold during the exhibition.

MARKETING AND PROMOTION
This program will be promoted throughout Lee’s Summit and surrounding Kansas City Metro Region. This includes digital, social and print media.

The City of Lee’s Summit reserves the right to reproduce and distribute artwork images through print and electronic media for promotion of the exhibit. This includes images submitted through the application process, as well as photos taken of the piece throughout the exhibition year.

A plaque is installed along with each sculpture that includes the title of the piece, the artist’s name, website and sale price.

The artist retains the copyright for the work.

Application Requirements

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Artists may submit up to two (2) existing, completed sculptures for consideration. Each sculpture entry requires its own application.

Up to three images from different perspectives of the entry may be submitted. The base should be visible in at least one image. Images should accurately depict the artwork. Image size should follow requirements identified on CAFÉ.

Each image must be labeled with an image number, artist name, and entry title. (Ex: Artist Name-Entry Title – 01)  

Within the application, applicants must include a written description of the entry. Include title, medium, dimensions, weight, date of construction, sale price and installation method.

Installation Method: Provide a detailed description of how the artwork will be installed by the artist. The description must also provide an itemized list of any on-site support needed during installation (i.e. 2-3 additional people to assist with lifting and placing artwork, special tools, equipment.) Listing these items does not guarantee that they will be available to you during installation, it merely assists the Selection Committee in understanding the installation process.

Eligibility Criteria

The Downtown Sculpture Walk is open to professional sculptural artists at least 18 years of age.

Artists must own the rights to all works submitted. Artwork must be of original work and be complete by the time application is submitted. Proposals, conceptual drawings or design renditions will not be reviewed and applications will be rejected without notification. 

Artwork must be available for public display from May 2022-April 30, 2023. Artists should tentatively plan to install artwork between May 1-20, 2022 and de-install during that same time period the following year.

Artwork must be of professional quality and build and not the result of instructional guidance.

Any variety of materials may be incorporated, but the artwork must require no maintenance throughout the duration of the exhibit.

Artwork must be of safe and professional design and construction and can be securely bolted to a concrete pad with anchor bolts, or sit safely on the ground. Artwork should be sturdy and durable as this is an outdoor public art program and artwork may experience public interaction.

Artwork must be suitable for long-term outdoor exhibition and able to withstand temperature and weather fluctuations common in Missouri (i.e. high wind gusts, freezing rain, snow, high humidity levels, and extreme temperature fluctuations.)