IKEA Memphis | UrbanArt Commission
IKEA Memphis Interior Mural | CALL TO ARTISTS
Release Date: Thursday, October 19, 2023
Budget: $15,000 total (including three finalist design honoraria of $500)
Deadline: Thursday, November 16, 2023 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.
Information Session: Friday, November 3 @ 12:00pm, RSVP now.
BACKGROUND
At IKEA, the vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people by offering well-designed, functional, and affordable, high-quality home furnishings, produced with care for people and the environment. Ingka Group (Ingka Holding B.V. and its controlled entities) is one of 12 different groups of companies that own and operate IKEA retail under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V. Ingka Group has three business areas: IKEA Retail, Ingka Investments, and Ingka Centres. Ingka Group is a strategic partner in the IKEA franchise system, operating 389 IKEA stores in 32 countries – including 52 retail locations in the U.S, including Memphis.
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
IKEA Memphis is the only IKEA store in Tennessee and the only store between Atlanta and Saint Louis. Each year, IKEA Memphis welcomes over a quarter of a million visitors to shop for home furnishings or home furnishing accessories, eat at the IKEA Bistro or Restaurant, or glean inspiration for creating a better life at home. Over forty percent of IKEA Memphis visitors travel from more than 90 miles outside of the city and IKEA Memphis is considered the unofficial landmark for those traveling Interstate-40, entering the city from the East. The store itself is approximately 275,000 sq ft, has 3 different homes within the store, parking for 800, a 200-seat restaurant and Tennessee’s largest rooftop solar array.
IKEA has a strong culture and leads with their values of togetherness, caring for people and planet, cost-consciousness, simplicity, renew and improve, different with meaning, give and take responsibility and lead by example.
SCOPE OF WORK
Upon entering the site’s front entrance, the visitors are introduced to the Swedish heritage of IKEA and the basics of how to shop IKEA. There is an opportunity to welcome all – local Memphians and visitors – to Memphis via a locally relevant mural in the IKEA Memphis store entrance.
IKEA Memphis, in partnership with UAC, is seeking an artist to create an indoor mural within the IKEA Memphis store entrance. The mural will have a dedicated space of 18.5’ x10.75’. The murals will be painted on a sanded plywood and have a 2’ undermount, shadow box frame. The painting should be gallery finished. The sanded plywood canvas and frame will be provided and installed by the site.
The selection committee has expressed interest in an mural that:
Include bright colors that are engaging for all. In relevant capacity, please include the Benjamin Moore colors of Bold Yellow, Hot Lips, and Rocky Mountain Sky.
Be reflective of the IKEA values and Swedish heritage.
Speak to the vibrant culture, community, history, and diversity of Memphis.
Highlight the power of coming together and celebrating what makes our city unique while providing a warm welcome to all visitors.
Locally and culturally relevant historical places may be referenced but please refrain from using any copyright or trademarked images or brands.
Store Front Entrance
Store front entrance
Undermount shadow box frame
PROJECT EXPECTATIONS
A selection committee organized by IKEA Memphis will review submitted portfolios and will invite up to three finalists to submit design proposals. All finalists will receive a honorarium of $500 for their designs. The selected artist will be expected to work closely with IKEA Memphis and UAC to execute the proposed mural.
The selection committee includes:
Shadonna Lee – People and Culture, Generalist
Cristle Sims – Interior Design Manager; local artist
Rachelle Rowe – Visual Merchandising Manager
Christopher McCormack – Customer Experience Manager
Michael Matteson – Market Manager
Jacey Mobely – People and Culture
TBA IKEA Coworker, selected by drawing
APPLICATION GUIDELINES
Please submit the following materials online by following the “IKEA Memphis” 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 IKEA Memphis 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: Kayla J. Smith | Sr. Program Manager
901.343.6983 | kayla@uacmem.org
This RFQ can be found on www.uacmem.org/calls-to-artists
INFORMATION SESSIONS
IKEA Memphis and UAC will host an information session at IKEA Memphis for interested artists on Friday, November 3rd, 2023 from 12pm-1pm. 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. RSVP here.
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.
For more information about this project, please contact:
Kayla J. Smith | Sr. Program Manager | 901.343.6983 | kayla@uacmem.org
