neighborhood art initiative (nai) | request for applications
Release Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Budget: $253,000 allocated for program launch - initial round will support three (3) selected projects, with project amounts varying based on factors such as design and location.
Deadline: Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Deadline Extended: Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Eligibility: Any neighborhood organizations/associations, CDCs, nonprofits and community leaders or persons with exemplary neighborhood pride - located within the Memphis metropolitan, statistical area.
program background
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 manages grant-funded and privately-funded public art projects. See examples of past and in-progress UAC projects here
The Neighborhood Art Initiative (NAI) was initially launched in 2019 with generous support from the Assisi Foundation. UAC believes that creative expression has the power to unlock opportunity and transform communities, and NAI enables community organizations and leaders to incorporate public art into their ongoing initiatives and neighborhood-level work. The pilot program awarded four public art projects (totaling $120,000) to Carpenter Art Garden, HUG Park Friends for Gooch Park, South Memphis Alliance and Cherokee Heights Civic Club. UAC is proud to expand the Neighborhood Art Initiative program with $253,000 allocated to continue this work through the City's percent-for-art program, beginning with three neighborhoods projected to be selected from this initial round of applications. Project budgets will be determined based on the scale of the artwork during the discovery phase of the selected neighborhood projects. In addition to funding the production and installation of the artwork, UAC provides project management support throughout the process (please see Project Expectations below).
Read more about the Neighborhood Art Initiative’s program goals, vision and mission, as well as the projects from the initial pilot program (generously funded by the Assisi Foundation).
scope of work
UAC and the NAI selection committee express an interest in applicants whose goals are to enrich public spaces by highlighting neighborhood identity and history while addressing the objectives of the neighborhoods’ residents. This application is open to:
Neighborhood-invested groups/associations, Community Development Corporations (CDCs), non-profits, grassroots constituent-led organizations that are using direct-action, community organizing and base-building strategies to accomplish their goals and arts organizations.
Neighborhood-led programs/initiatives (community garden, after school program, etc.)
Individual applicants who have identified project partners at the time of application within the neighborhood.
Note: It is not necessary to submit a fully developed idea for a public art project. Applicants may choose to submit rough ideas, to be developed in detail with UAC.
UAC is committed to equity and inclusion in our work, both in the artists and neighborhoods supported through the development of public art. UAC is especially interested in applications from neighborhoods which have not recently received city public art projects. People of color, differently-abled persons, indigenous peoples, youth, LGBTQ+, seniors, and women are strongly encouraged to apply.
project expectations
Neighborhoods will be selected based on the expressed support of their partners and community members, the strength of their application and the potential added value of public art to the identity of the neighborhood. Selected applicants will work closely with UAC to develop these projects and support neighborhood organizing and engagement throughout the public art process.
All NAI projects funded by the City of Memphis must be installed on City-owned property. Applicants may propose a site in their neighborhood or work with UAC to find an appropriate site following the acceptance of their application. The site must be publicly visible and accessible. Applicants may propose a specific artist/s to produce the project or work with UAC to identify artists or facilitate an open call.
The selected community group shall be expected to participate in a committee that will work closely with a selected community organizer as well as a UAC project manager on all phases of the project.
Community Organizer and UAC Staff will support in the following ways:
Host public art workshops and meetings for the selected neighborhoods
Provide guidance to the community group in selecting the artwork, artist, and site
Organize an artist selection process (announce a competition, manage submissions, etc.) as needed
Manage the public art project budget as approved by PAOC including costs associated with administrative materials, site preparation, the final artwork, and maintenance
*PRELIMINARY TIMELINE -
FALL 2020 - WINTER/2021
Open NAI applications
Review Applications, Interview Finalists
Select Neighborhoods
Open Community Organizer applications
SPRING - SUMMER 2021
Select Community Organizers
Neighborhood Discovery (managed by community organizer)
Launch Neighborhood Calls to Artists
Commission Artists (Begin Artwork Design Phase)
FALL - WINTER 2021
Begin Art Production Phase*
*Subject to change due to Covid-19; project installation and completion varies greatly depending on a number of factors including - site constraints, materials access, scheduling issues, etc.
nai program selection committee
Amber George, local artist; Angelica Carey, project manager - Memphis 3.0 Office of Comprehensive Planning; Brooke Sarden, youth and cultural program director - Center for Transforming Communities; Christin Reeder-Young, research and evaluation manager - Habitat for Humanity; Emily Trenholm, community engagement manager - High Ground News; Lawrence Matthews, local artist; Dr. Keith Lee, non-profit and arts management consultant
Developing public art is a collaborative process. Upon identifying project funding and/or a site, a selection committee is convened. Each project has its own distinct selection committee, consisting of at least 2 practicing visual artists or arts professionals, 2 neighborhood representatives, an architect or structural engineer, and other key stakeholders as well as a non-voting member, City of Memphis engineer. The selection committee determines a project’s ‘scope of work’, reviews artist submissions, provides feedback to the selected artist and finalists, selects artists for projects, and approves all design, fabrication and installation benchmarks. UAC is a non-voting facilitator on all projects. All decisions made by individual project selection committees on projects funded by the City’s percent-for-art program must then be approved by a City-appointed Public Art Oversight Committee (PAOC). The PAOC is a committee of seven members providing general oversight of the Percent-for-Art Program and issues that arise in conjunction with the program.
*For more information regarding UAC’s public art process refer to: https://uacmem.org/process
application guidelines
Please submit the following materials on or before January 12, 2021:
Completed application form
Letters of support from partners or community members (up to 5)
If you have difficulty accessing the website, need additional forms, or require assistance with your submission, please contact Shanette Parks at shanette@uacmem.org or 901.552.5039
Information Sessions - UAC will host an information workshop for those interested in learning more about this project:
Tuesday, December 1, 2020 5-6 PM, Virtual
You are welcome to schedule a meeting with a UAC staff person to review their application. Contact A.M. O'Malley-Miller at 901.881.8205 or am@uacmem.org to schedule a meeting on:
Tuesday, December 15 or Thursday, December 17.
Applications may be submitted online OR on paper.
Download Application and Supporting Materials, submit with ATTN: Neighborhood Art Initiative
Urban Art Commission | 422 N. Cleveland St., Memphis TN, 38104 | info@uacmem.org
disclaimers
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 staff of UAC 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 in the discretion of UAC.
For more information about this project, please contact:
Shanette Parks| Sr. Program Manager | (901) 552.5039 | shanette@uacemem.org
Click here to download application.
