CITY OF MEMPHIS | UrbanArt Commission
GREENLAW PARK | CALL TO ARTISTS
Release Date: Friday, June 28, 2024
Budget: $90,000 (includes three finalist honoraria of $1,000 each)
Deadline: Monday, August 12, 2024 at 11:59pm
Eligibility: Any artist living and working within the Memphis metropolitan area. Artists are invited to submit collaborative work if desired, but may only submit one proposal per project opportunity. 2D based artists are encouraged to identify collaboration with experienced fabricators prior to submitting application. While there is no limit to the number of calls an artist may apply to at once, UAC strongly encourages artists to consider both the time and scale of each call.
Information Session: Wednesday, July 31 @ 5:30pm, RSVP now.
BACKGROUND
About Greenlaw/Uptown:
Considered Memphis’s first subdivision, Greenlaw’s boundaries include Chelsea and A.W. Willis Avenues, Fourth and Seventh Street, with some extension into Second and Third Street. Containing approximately 30 blocks. The neighborhood was developed by brothers John and William Greenlaw in 1856. The area is known for its diverse residents, including a variety of income, race, and ethnicity amongst residents. Greenlaw District was added to the National Register on August 16, 1984. The Greenlaw area was a part of the Trail of Tears march, when Indigenous Americans were forcibly displaced to the western parts of the United States.
Community staples include: Roxie’s Grocery, Black Seeds, Greenlaw Community Center, Greenlaw Park, St. James AME Church, Slave Haven Museum, and the former Hurt Village housing development. Michael Oher, whose life story was shared on The Blind Side, spent most of his childhood in Greenlaw. Elvis Presley once lived in Lauderdale Courts public housing also in the neighborhood. Greenlaw is also known as Uptown Memphis.
About Black Seeds:
Black Seeds is a local food movement that has its roots in a desire to grow organic, non-toxic, nutritious foods for Memphians who have little or no access to sustainable foods. Black Seeds is an urban garden located in the heart of Uptown Memphis in the Greenlaw community. The Founders are committed to providing local communities with the opportunity to have access to fresh food that was grown within close proximity. The overall health of a neighborhood is benefited by increasing its capacity to create an environment that truly sustains its residents.
https://www.blackseedsurbanfarm.com/
About UAC:
The UrbanArt Commission (UAC) works to create opportunities for artists and neighborhoods to connect and shape spaces through public art. Since 2002, UAC has managed the City of Memphis’s Percent-For-Art Program, which allocates funds annually to develop public art in connection to capital improvement projects. UAC also facilitates public art projects throughout the city working with various partners and clients to support artists and new experiences with art.
SITE SPECIFICS
UAC and the City of Memphis, in partnership with Black Seeds, are seeking an artist to create a sculpture for the Greenlaw neighborhood. The preferred location for the sculpture is Greenlaw Park, at the intersection of 4th and Greenlaw St.
Intersection of 4th and Greenlaw Sta
SCOPE OF WORK
The selection committee has expressed interest in a large-scale sculpture that:
Will include socially engaged art that involves community collaboration
Pays homage to Greenlaw neighborhood elders, community leaders, and upcoming influential youth
References important landmarks
Could include directory post marking key community staples
Honors the community organizing from Greenlaw residents and focus on sustainability, urban farming, and food justice
Highlighting what was, what is present, and what is possible the Greenlaw area
The commissioned artist(s) will be selected based on the strength of their qualifications submitted, ability to adhere to deadlines and work within the stated budget. Applicants are expected to have or collaborate/subcontract with appropriate vendors to meet the necessary technical capabilities to design and install such projects, including providing maintenance instructions. The artist(s) will work with the UAC Program Managers to coordinate community engagement efforts. This engagement should help inform the final design. The finished project must require little to no regular maintenance. Final artwork should complement the characteristics and neighborhood identity of the site. The artist(s) selected shall be expected to collaborate closely with site engineers, landscape architects, and any necessary party for the successful installation of the project, including residents. NOTE: Commissioned artists are permitted to work with outside contractors to fabricate the actual work of art.
PROJECT EXPECTATIONS
A selection committee organized by UAC will review submitted portfolios, and will invite finalists to submit site-specific design proposals. All finalists will receive a stipend of $1000 for their designs. The selected artist will be expected to work closely with the Selection Committee and UAC to execute the proposed sculpture.
SELECTION COMMITTEE
Benji Aird- Black Seeds Board Member
Marcha Allen-Parks Division, Deputy Director
Reiley Ervin- Parks Division, Director at Greenlaw Community Center
Sarah Harris- Black Seeds Board Member
Kaila Matthews- Black Seeds Board Member
Jackie Mayo- Black Seeds Board Member
Erich Miller- City of Memphis Engineering Division (nonvoting)
Jeremy Mitchell- Black Seeds Partner; Creative; Engineer
Tanja Mitchell- Black Seeds Board Member
Trudy Morrison- Black Seeds Board Member
Bobby Rich- Black Seeds Co-Founder
Derravia Rich- Black Seeds Co-Founder
Denise Wallace- Greenlaw Resident for 37 years; Beposhed & Company- Owner
*Public Vote: Collected public votes will serve as one additional selection committee vote for the final selected artist following the submission of proposals from project finalists.
PROJECT BUDGET
Total project budget is $90,000, including artist honoraria - up to three finalists will receive a $1000 honorarium for a site-specific proposal. Design budget $21,750; Fabrication budget $65,250 all-inclusive.
PROJECT TIMELINE
Friday, June 28, 2024 RFQ released
Wednesday, July 31, 2024 UAC Information Session
Monday, August 12, 2024 RFQ deadline
Friday, August 23, 2024 Notify finalists of RFP invitation
Monday, September 30, 2024 RFP deadline
Spring 2026 Completion celebration
APPLICATION GUIDELINES
Please submit the following materials online by clicking the submit button below.
Completed application form
A typed letter explaining your interest in the project and your general approach/concept to its design and production. Please do not submit design proposals at this point.
Up to 20 images of past work including title of work, date, medium, budget and project partners, if any.
Resume or CV, not to exceed 2 pages.
List of three professional references, including current phone and email.
Clicking on the Submit button will redirect you to our Submittable page, which contains all of our current open opportunities. Click the Submit button next to the opportunity that you wish to apply for, or if you are already within an opportunity, scroll down to the Create your account / Have an account? Sign in form.
If you already have a Submittable account, click the Have an account? Sign in tab to sign in to your account.
If you don’t have an account, you must create one to apply. Create your free account by filling out the Create your account form. Fill in all information and click the Create Account and Continue button to continue with the submission process.
From there, you will be able to complete and submit your application. You can now use this account login when submitting to all future UAC opportunities. Once you have submitted your application, you will receive a confirmation email that confirms receipt of your full application.
For more information about this project, please contact:
Kayla J. Smith-Hardy | Sr. Program Manager 901.343.6983 | kayla@uacmem.org This RFQ can be found on www.uacmem.org/calls-to-artists
INFORMATION SESSIONS
UAC will host an information session for interested artists on Wednesday, July 31st at 5:30 pm. The session will be recorded and a link made available to applicants who are unable to attend during that time. Interested artists who have not completed a public art project previously or not completed a mural at this scale are strongly encouraged to reach out to the UAC team in advance of submitting their application. Artists may also schedule a meeting with UAC staff to review their application and portfolio. Appointments are available until 1 week prior to the close of the call to artists. See project contact information in the above section.
DISCLAIMERS
UAC is committed to equity and inclusion in our work. People of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, differently-abled and neurodiverse persons, indigenous peoples, youth, seniors, and women are strongly encouraged to apply.
Applicants will be notified as to the status of their application. Commissioning of artists by UAC and the pursuit of all UAC activities are implemented without preference to racial or ethnic origins, gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, disability, or age.
UAC reserves the right to modify this solicitation and to request additional information from participating artists.
UAC reserves the right to accept or reject, at any time prior to the commissioning of a work, any or all proposals when the acceptance, rejection, waiver or advertisement would be in the best interest of the project.
The UAC team will be responsible for all correspondence and communication by and between applicants and members of selection panels. Discussion regarding these projects by and between any applicant and any member of a selection panel outside of regularly scheduled meetings during the selection process may be grounds for the disqualification of the applicant. Such determination shall be at the discretion of UAC.
