BERT FERGUSON COMMUNITY CENTER MURAL | CALL TO ARTISTS
Release Date: Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Budget: $65,000 (includes three finalist honoraria of $500 each)
Deadline: Tuesday, September 30, 2025 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. 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.
BACKGROUND
Cordova Background:
Cordova, founded in 1835 as a small farming village east of Memphis, is rich with history and tradition. The community became widely known for its floral industry, shipping fresh flowers into Memphis, and embracing the motto “Farms, Flowers, and Fellowship.” This heritage continues today through efforts like the “Cordova in Bloom” initiative, which celebrates beautification and connects the area’s floral past with its growth and diversity. The idea of “blooming” reflects Cordova’s ongoing expansion and cultural richness.
Another key landmark is the Old Cordova Railroad Station, built in 1889 along the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railway. Though no longer in operation, the station remains a powerful symbol of movement, connection, and history. Today, the same railway path serves as part of the Shelby County Greenline, used by more than 200,000 people annually.
Bert Ferguson Background:
The Bert Ferguson Community Center honors E.R. “Bert” Ferguson, a Memphis radio pioneer and former Parks Commission chairman. In 1947, Ferguson co-founded WDIA with John Pepper, originally broadcasting country and western music. Recognizing an untapped audience, WDIA became the first Southern station to hire Black disc jockeys, with Nat D. Williams’ Tan Town Jamboree in 1948 marking one of the nation’s first radio programs for a Black audience. This shift propelled WDIA to become the top station in Memphis and a cultural force in the region.
The community center itself opened in 2003 as a 32,500-square-foot facility featuring a banquet room, classrooms, racquetball and tennis courts, a gymnasium, art studios, and recreational spaces. Located within Bert Ferguson Park and adjacent to a library branch, the center serves as a vital hub for creativity, gathering, and community growth.
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
Bert Ferguson Community Center is located at 8505 Trinity Rd, Cordova, TN 38018
The UrbanArt Commission (UAC) and the City of Memphis, in partnership with the Bert Ferguson Community Center, are seeking an artist to design and install a large-scale exterior mural at the center.
SCOPE OF WORK
The UrbanArt Commission (UAC) and the City of Memphis, in partnership with the Bert Ferguson Community Center, are seeking an artist to design and install a large-scale exterior mural at the center.
The selection committee envisions a mural that is bright, colorful, and lively, celebrating both the history and present-day life of Cordova while highlighting the role of the Bert Ferguson Community Center as a hub for fellowship and community connection.
The mural should draw inspiration from:
Historic & Local Landmarks: Old Cordova Train Station, Cordova Depot & Museum, and Historic Downtown Cordova.
Community Life: Bert Ferguson Community Center activities (dance, art, fitness, sports, youth programs), local parks and nature such as Shelby Farms and Wolf River Greenway, and family-centered imagery.
Natural Beauty: Cordova’s floral heritage (“Farms, Flowers, and Fellowship”), seasonal flowers and trees, wetlands, and wildlife.
Cultural Identity: Diverse faces and families, local arts and music traditions (including the legacy of WDIA and its role in fellowship through music and radio), faith-based and volunteer service, and school life from students to graduates.
Modern Cordova: Local small businesses, farmers markets, recreational activities, and the growth and diversity of the community today.
The committee encourages designs that intertwine history, fellowship, and movement—themes that connect Cordova’s floral and railroad past, the community’s present-day diversity, and the legacy of WDIA in bringing people together through music and voice.Artists are asked to create a mural that is welcoming, uplifting, and inclusive, reflecting both Cordova’s unique heritage and its continued growth as a diverse, vibrant community.
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 $500 for their designs. The selected artist will be expected to work closely with the Selection Committee and UAC to execute the proposed artistic enhancements.
SELECTION COMMITTEE
Terreyo Nailor- Bert Ferguson Community Center
Justin Gibbs- Bert Ferguson Community Center
Tracie Lurry- Bert Ferguson Community Center
Dana Zabielski - Resident
Steven Lee - Resident
Caitlin Terry-McGinnis - Bert Ferguson Community Center
Kailyn Townsend - Resident
Sam Barnett - Artist
Erich Miller - City of Memphis Engineering Division
*Neighborhood Vote: Collected public votes will serve as one additional selection committee member vote for the final selected artist
PROJECT BUDGET
Total project budget is $65,000, including artist honoraria - up to three finalists will receive a $500 honorarium for a site-specific proposal. Design budget $7,125.00; Fabrication budget $21,375.00 all-inclusive.
PROJECT TIMELINE
Wednesday, August 27, 2025 RFQ released
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025 UAC Information Session
Tuesday, September 30, 2025 at 11:59pm RFQ deadline
Friday, October 24, 2025 Notify finalists of RFP invitation
Wednesday, November 19, 2025 RFP deadline
Fall 2026 Completion celebration
APPLICATION GUIDELINES
Please submit the following materials online by following the “Burt Ferguson” link at uacmem.org/calls-to-artists:
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.
To apply to an open Request for Qualifications (RFQ) or Request for Proposals (RFP), go to uacmem.org/calls-to-artists. Follow the “Burt Ferguson” link to view more details.
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:
Richard Echols | Program Manager
901.881.8205 | richard@uacmem.org
This RFQ can be found on www.uacmem.org/calls-to-artists
INFORMATION SESSIONS
UAC will host a information session for interested artists on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025. 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 project of 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.
