The Franklin County Arts Council (Frank Arts) is seeking qualified muralists or teams to create outdoor murals for three walls in Frankfort, KY.

BUDGET: $8,000 to $20,000 per mural (depending on size and complexity)

ELIGIBILITY: Experienced professional artists/teams over 18

DEADLINE: 07/15/2019 11:00 PM Central Time

Project Description
The Franklin County Arts Council (Frank Arts) seeks to connect, engage and instill an appreciation for art throughout the Frankfort/Franklin County community. The group’s mission is to use public art to create vibrant spaces for residents and visitors to enjoy and to encourage economic development. This project is part of Arts Downtown, a multi-year public art initiative. This is Phase One of a larger project that also includes five sculptures under a separate call.

• Phase One: RFQ and the evaluation of qualifications, from which a pool of up to 10 artists or artist teams will be invited to submit specific proposals.
• Phase Two: Selected artists/artist teams will prepare and submit a proposal to be considered for a particular site. An honorarium of $500 will be provided to each artist or team returning a completed proposal, which will be in addition to the mural fee.

Murals will be installed in the fall of 2019 and will remain for an anticipated period of 7-10 years, at minimum. However, in some cases the work may be removed prematurely; if, for example, the building should change ownership.

Artwork Goals
There is no specific theme for this mural; however, each design should fit the location. Interactive murals that allow the public to engage with the work and present photo opportunities are of particular interest, as are those using trompe l’oeil techniques. A site visit is not required but is recommended.

Artwork Location Description
Final locations are not yet secured, however, all three murals will be located in the downtown Frankfort area, most likely on historic buildings. Locations will be announced prior to the second phase of the selection process (proposal development). Walls chosen will likely be quite large, however, artists invited to submit proposals in Phase Two may use their creativity to address only portions of the surface.

Site History
Kentucky’s capital city, Frankfort was founded in 1786 by General James Wilkinson and is located between the state’s two largest cities, Lexington and Louisville. With a population of 28,000 in the city and 50,000 in Franklin County, it’s one of the smallest state capitals.  Major industries in the Frankfort/Franklin County include Buffalo Trace Distillery, Jim Beam Distillery and state government. Frank Arts supports the local effort to establish Frankfort/Franklin County as the public art capital of Kentucky.

Frank Arts is operated by an advisory board that is spearheading the Downtown Arts program. Funding for the murals is provided primarily by local benefactor Richard Rosen, with additional funding from local businesses, grants, and other local contributors where the murals will be placed.

Timeline

• Request for Qualifications issued: June 13, 2019
• Request for Qualifications due: July 15, 2019
• Applications reviewed/Semi-Finalist selection panel: July 15 – 31, 2019
• Artists Notified/Request for Proposals released: August 7, 2019
• Proposals from artists due: September 7, 2019
• Proposals reviewed/Contracts awarded: September 8 – 21, 2019
• 2019 Installation: October 1 – November 15, 2019
• Target completion date: November 15, 2019

Selection Criteria
Submissions will be judged/scored on the following, with a maximum score of 100 points:

• Artistic Excellence (maximum 40 points): The artist’s work reflects artistic excellence, innovation, and originality as evidenced by quality of craftsmanship and mastery of skills and techniques; demonstrates professional approaches to processes and presentation; and/or communicates a unique vision or perspective.
• Professional Experience (maximum 40 points): The artist’s professional experience is adequate to meet the demands of the project, including a proven ability to meet project budgets, deadlines, and to perform work in a timely and professional manner. Public art experience is required.
• Experience Working on a Project of Similar Scale (maximum 20 points): Previous work that can specifically demonstrate the successful completion of projects that include partnering with stakeholders for the purpose of creating public art of this size/scale.
• Experience with public engagement.

Artist submissions will be reviewed by a selection committee comprised of art and design professionals, key funders/sponsors, and property owners.

What to Submit

1. Current CV/resume. Teams must submit one CV/resume per team member.
2. Letter of Interest limited to 1000 words: Applicants should briefly describe their interest in the project and include a description of their approach and their typical fee schedule.
3. Three (3) to five (5) images [two to three views of each piece for a total of 10 images max] of previously completed work that demonstrates an ability to design, create, and paint large scale, outdoor murals. Do not collage multiple images into one image.
4. A brief description of your intended proposed materials for site preparation, the work itself, and any protective coatings recommended.
5. Three (3) professional references. Please include name, title, address, affiliation, phone number, and email address.
6. Optional. Artists may include up to three (3) selections of support materials such as reviews, news articles, and other related information.

Please note: submitted materials will not be returned and incomplete applications may not be considered.

How to Submit

Submissions may only be submitted electronically through CaFÉ. All materials must be received by 11:59:00 p.m. Mountain Time Zone (Denver, CO, USA) on July 15, 2019. Late submissions will not be considered.

QUESTIONS?  Contact Suzanne Fernandez Gray, franklinartsky@gmail.com