Artists and Community Groups Wanted for Tacoma Murals Project
— Project is Part of City’s Continued Efforts to Creatively Combat Blight and Vandalism —
In support of the City of Tacoma’s ongoing efforts to combat blight and vandalism, the Tacoma Murals Project is seeking applications from artists interested in leading a mural, and from community groups interested in collaborating with local artists who will design and implement murals that reflect positive neighborhood themes or messages.
Tacoma Buddhist Temple mural at 1717 S. Fawcett Ave. Artist: Chelsea O’Sullivan. 2013. Photo by Chelsea O’Sullivan.
• Opportunity for Artists
The City is seeking adult artists or artist teams, who already possess strong artistic skills, to work with the community to design and implement high quality outdoor painted murals in select communities in Tacoma to fight blight and combat vandalism. Mural designs will be based on the lead artists’ aesthetics and based on input from the communities regarding themes or messages.
Artists selected through this call to artists will be added to the 2014 Tacoma Murals Project Lead Artist Roster. Community groups approved for a mural in their community through the Tacoma Murals Project will select an artist for their site from this roster of artists, with a limit of one mural per artist. The City will provide mentorship to artists selected from the roster who do not already have extensive outdoor public mural experience.
Artists selected from the roster will be paid at a rate of $30 per hour for mural meetings, design and implementation. Artists can expect to invest between 90 and 250 hours in their murals. Applicants must be professional artists, 18 years or older, and available to lead a mural in the summer of 2014. Applicants must also reside in Pierce county or have graduated from the Tacoma Murals Project as either an apprentice artist or lead artist between 2010 and 2013 and been added to the Tacoma Murals Project public roster.
The deadline for artist applications is midnight on March 28, 2014.
• Opportunity for Community Groups
The City is seeking community groups who would like an outdoor mural painted at a specific site in their neighborhood to fight blight and combat vandalism.
Each selected community group will receive a funded mural that includes artist supplies and artist compensation, an artist or artist team from a roster provided by the City, technical assistance and general promotion of the project.
In return, each selected community group would be responsible for contributing in-kind services and materials as required to prepare their mural wall, participating in the selection of an artist/artist team from a City-provided roster, coordinating community meetings and the dedication of their completed mural, and maintaining their mural after completion.
Community groups must, with property owner permission, propose specific mural walls. Proposed mural walls must be on commercial or public property and located within Tacoma city limits. Priority will be given to sites located in areas without a good representation of public art and/or that are highly visible to the public.
It is tentatively projected that five mural sites will be selected for 2014.
The deadline for community applications is midnight on April 4, 2014.
Twenty one murals have been completed between 2010 and 2013. To see photos of these murals, visit the Completed Murals page on the City’s website.
More information about the Tacoma Murals Project and applications for both artists and community groups are available for download at cityoftacoma.org/artsopps. Application forms are also attached here. For additional information, please contact Naomi Strom-Avila at nstrom-avila@cityoftacoma.org or (253) 591-5191.
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