The City of Takoma Park, MD invites artists and artist teams to apply for inclusion in a Qualified Artists Pool. Artists selected during this process will be eligible for consideration for a range of future public art commissions.

Artists and artist groups included in the Qualified Artists Pool will be eligible for consideration for future public art commissions which may include, but are not limited to sculpture, mosaics, stained glass, decorative pavement, metalwork, murals, and light, video and/or audio installations. The City is particularly interested in commissioning sculptures and three dimensional pieces for FY17.

The Qualified Artists Pool will be used by the City of Takoma Park to select artists for each new public art commission, based on specific project requirements or restrictions established by outside funding sources.

Initial Review

Applications will be initially screened by the Artist Selection Panel for the following minimum qualification criteria:

• Application is complete.
• The application submitted represents the artist’s own original creative work.
• The artwork submitted reflects basic professional quality of craftsmanship, mastery of skills and techniques, professional approaches to processes and presentation, and/or communication of a unique vision or perspective.
• The artist’s resume reflects evidence of professional competence. Qualifying activities would include some combination of the following: education and training as an artist; an exhibition record in museums, commercial art galleries, and/or nonprofit art spaces; previous public or private commissions; participation in artist-inresidency programs, or other related activities indicative of a professional practice.

Secondary Review

The panel will then use the following criteria to score all remaining eligible portfolios.

• Artistic excellence
• Demonstrated creativity in approach to engaging and interacting with the community in the development of commissioned work.
• Appropriate imagery or style for public space. A broad range of imagery and styles appropriate for a public place may be considered, from figurative, representational, abstract, or non-objective. Examples of non-appropriate imagery include artwork with religious and sexually explicit content.
• Professional experience.

Final Approval

Artists that score within a competitive range will be forwarded to the Takoma Park Arts and Humanities Commission for approval and inclusion in the Qualified Artist Pool.

For more information and full submission information, read the RFQ.