Indy Parks Seeks Artwork for Watkins Park Murals

• Please review the full RFP documents attached (English and Spanish).
• Lea los documentos completos de RFP adjuntos (inglés y español).

Indy Parks and Recreation, in partnership with the Near Northwest Arts, Parks, and Public Space Action Team (APPS), invites artists or artist teams to send proposals for an existing artwork to become a mural wrap covering portions of the exterior of the Watkins Park Family Center. One to four designs will be selected, based on the applications received.

COMPENSATION: $500 license fee for a digital file of an existing artwork (artist has no production responsibility)

ELIGIBILITY:

• Professional artists over 18 years old and living in Marion County.
• Artists living within the Near Northwest neighborhood (zip codes 46208 and 46222) will be given preference.
• BIPOC artists are strongly encouraged to apply

DEADLINE:  Apply by November 25, 2022 before 11:59 p.m. This is an online application with an automated cutoff!

Project Location

The project site is the Watkins Park Family Center, located just northwest of downtown Indianapolis at 2360 Martin Luther King Jr. St. Formerly known as the Northwestern Community Center, Watkins Park comprises of 21 acres. The Family Center was built in 1939 and continues to offer an abundance of youth programs and services. Watkins Park is located near the beloved Flanner House, which also operates Ujamaa Bookstore and Cleo’s Bodega and Café at their location.

Project Details

Artist(s) or artist groups are sought to supply a mural design that will be printed on a building wrap and installed to cover the front, sides, and portions of the back of the Watkins Park Family Center (see below for dimensions). These designs are to be PRE-EXISTING: the artwork is already created (either digitally or as a physical artwork) and the applying artist is suggesting a reproduction of it for this use. DO NOT CREATE NEW ARTWORK JUST FOR THIS PROJECT!

Up to four different designs may be selected, either from the same artist(s) or different artist(s), depending on the applications received.

Artwork can only contain imagery; no text (other than the artist’s signature) is allowed.

Licensed existing artwork is subject to cropping to fit the dimensions of the building wrap. The selected artist(s) must be available to digitally make any adjustments needed for the final design.

Selected artists may be asked to attend a few brief meetings to discuss any final mural edits and must be available to attend any press conferences surrounding the announcement of the commission and the reveal of the installed mural(s).

Completion and installation dates are flexible and will work around the selected artist(s’) schedules.

Site Specifications

• Front (east side of building): Approx. 9 ft. (H) by 60 ft. (L)
• Right side (north side of building): Approx. 9 ft. (H) by 60 ft. (L)
• Left side (south side of building): Approx. 9 ft. (H) by 60 ft. (L)

These are approximate measurements, and various sides of the building include air vents, downspouts, lights, etc. that the artwork will not wrap around.

Desired Subject Matter

Although not required, artist(s) are strongly encouraged to suggest artworks with themes of one or more of the following:

• Design(s) that illustrate or make visible the various activities that happen at Watkins Park
• Designs that highlight the vibrancy of the neighborhood
• Designs that support and reflect the community, however the artist sees it
• Designs that reflect and promote a diverse and inclusive Indianapolis community
• Designs that highlight themes related to Indy Parks (nature, parks, recreation, arts & culture, etc.)

Project Timeline

The following tentative timeline has been established to ensure that project goals are achieved; however, it’s subject to change based on circumstances or necessity.

• November 4, 2022 – Call for Artists released
• November 14, 2022 – Written questions due by 11:59 PM to IndyParksCS@indy.gov
• November 17, 2022 – Answers published on http://parks.indy.gov and emailed to artists
• November 27, 2022 – Applications due by 11:59 PM
• November 29-December 5, 2022 – Selection Committee convenes
• December 5, 2022 – Artist(s) notified of selection(s)
• December 5-10 – Finalize contractual agreement for project
• December 10-31 – Finalize design(s) for project
• January 2023 (final dates TBD) – Mural installation

Selection Process and Criteria

Participating artists will be identified from among the applicants by a project sub-committee of the Near Northwest Arts, Parks, and Public Space Action Team and the Indy Parks Public Art Selection Committee. Criteria for selection include suitability of the proposed artwork for the suggested theme and community, technical quality of the artwork, and support for artists with a strong connection to the Near Northwest. The artist selection will be finalized with a signed contract with Indy Parks.

The selected artists will work with the project organizers to finalize the design of the mural, including making any edits and cropping necessary for an existing design to fit the dimensions of the mural wrap.

Final File Size

If selected, the desired image will be required as a digital file in JPEG or TIFF format, at 25% scale and minimum 300 dpi resolution. The original artwork may need to be rephotographed to create a digital file with these specifications, if a higher resolution image does not already exist. Indy Parks staff will assist the artist in determining if the file specifications are correct for this project and will aid in getting new photography if necessary.

How to Apply

Please provide the following information, using this application form:

• Artist's Name(s) (if an artist group, select one artist to serve as the main contact)
• Artist's Address
• Artist's Phone and Email (indicate preferred method of communication)
• Website and social media handles
• Artist bio (can be typed into the form or uploaded through the form as a separate document)
• Brief narrative (5-6 sentences) describing how the artist sees the artwork fitting the suggested theme; describing the artwork's connection to the park, neighborhood, and/or community; or giving any additional context to the artwork, if it does not fit the suggested subject matter. If the artist has a personal connection to the park or neighborhood, please discuss it.
• Image(s) of artwork(s)
  • Applicants may submit images of up to four EXISTING artworks for consideration for reproduction as full-scale murals
  • All artwork must be original to the applying artist.
  • If the artwork you are providing was created with a partner or collaborator, please provide that collaborator’s name.
  • All image files should be JPG/JPEG, PNG, BMP, or PDF, no larger than 10 MB in size (maximum 25MB in uploads for the form)
  • Each file name must be in the following format: Watkins Park Mural Project /_Artist Last Name_/ Artist First Name /_Title
  • Aspect ratio of artwork provided:  approximately 6.5-7 times as wide as it is high. Please provide images ALREADY CROPPED to the indicated aspect ratio. If desired, you can also provide an image of the original artwork that the crop was taken from.

Questions? Contact Kavita Mahoney, Chief Strategy Officer, Indy Parks: Kavita.Mahoney@Indy.Gov