M.U.R.A.L. Call For Artists - August 2020 | art.ucsc.edu

Extended DEADLINE October 10, 2020

CALL FOR ARTISTS!

A Request for Proposals (RFP) from the M.U.R.A.L. (Making Urgent Radical Art League) Committee for Fall 2020 The M.U.R.A.L. (Making Urgent Radical Art League) Committee invites proposals from current and former UCSC art students for murals to be installed on campus this Fall (2020). The irony of making a mural in real space in the time of COVID and when we expect most fall classes to happen online is not lost on us. However, the M.U.R.A.L. Committee desires to provide a forum for expression in this intense time of uncertainty, grief, and rage, as well as a platform for the creative work of our students. We also want to welcome students back to campus with messages of solidarity and community, even if that welcome may be, for the moment, a virtual image of an actual artwork located in real space. One mural will be chosen for installation in each space for this fall. However, all submitted proposals will be exhibited together as well, in a format and at a time yet to be determined.

The M.U.R.A.L. Committee is currently composed of a group of student volunteers and two Art Department faculty. For murals that will be up for a longer time, the committee will do a preliminary screening of submissions and make a short list of proposals to be voted on by the Art Department community, including students, faculty, and staff. Shorter term murals will be reviewed and approved directly by the mural committee. Approved murals will receive production and installation support as detailed below. Please read the Specifications for each mural location.

Collaborative and individual projects are welcome and encouraged! Collaboration with students across campus, and/or with community members, is also welcome, but in those cases, the primary artist submitting the proposal should be a UCSC art student. This project is conceived to provide UCSC art students with opportunities and experience with public art.

MURAL DETAILS

Murals #1 & #2

Concept: The chosen designs will express solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and/or with related movements working in solidarity to end systemic racism, police violence, and/or the prison system. It might do this by re-telling art history or visually enacting other historic reparations. It might honor people or events that have had a significant impact on struggles for social or economic justice. Or, it might address solidarity with these movements and urgent issues in ways that we can’t imagine.

Mural #1 Location: Elena Baskin Art Center, F101 Print shop wall.
Dimensions: 115” x 252” (see photo p. 6 and p. 11)

Mural #2 Location: Elena Baskin Art Center, North wall of Building L101 Painting Studio
Dimensions: 108” x 384” (see photo p. 6 and p. 11)

Material options: The mural should be durable and weather-resistant and it should be designed for a separable surface (e.g., unframed canvas or other fabric with grommets, printed paper that can be tiled and wheat-pasted, light-weight board). The M.U.R.A.L. committee will consult with the selected artist(s) to discuss media and processes for production to ensure proper installation and longevity of the mural. (See production options pp. 11-12.)

Selection Process The M.U.R.A.L. Committee will follow a two-stage selection procedure. A review of all submissions by the M.U.R.A.L. Committee will put forward a selection of finalists that will then be voted on by the Art Department community, including art majors, faculty, and staff, to determine the awarded mural project.

Selection Criteria: Selected proposals will be screened for:

—clarity and creativity in addressing the Mural Concept.

—consideration of the mural’s impact on the campus community.

—consideration of the site/location.

—activation of the entire space.

A mural can be defined as activating the entire space allocated to it. However, this doesn’t mean that all the space has to be “filled.” Please review the links provided for understanding what a mural can be: examples of murals that artists have made as well as examples of how you might approach these specific spaces technically.

Budget: $400 for materials for each of these murals is generously provided by Open Lab’s Placemaking initiative; production support will be arranged as well.

Duration: Murals will be contracted for a specific length of time, between one quarter to a year or longer, depending on the location and the materials chosen. This will be worked out with each artist.

Mural #3

Concept: Art & Science

The making of this mural is in collaboration with the Division of Physical and Biological Sciences (PBSci) on campus, and its conception is intentionally open to allow for creativity and imagination in depicting the relationships between art and science.

*Please note that because this mural is in collaboration with PBSci the approval of a submission may be subject to changes in accordance with our collaborators’ creative vision.

Location: Science Hill, walls surrounding Thimann Lecture Hall

Dimensions: This site includes a large expanse of wall space. You could submit:

—a proposal for one mural for one section of wall space

—a proposal to curate many different murals in this space by many different people linked formally or thematically

—a proposal for one design that flows across and links together the many spaces. ( See photos below)

Material options: These murals can be painted directly on concrete and/or printed and wheat-pasted. The M.U.R.A.L. committee will consult with the selected artist(s) to discuss media and processes for production to ensure proper installation and longevity of the mural. (See production options below)

Criteria: The selected design will focus on connections between art and science. The process for selection will include review by administrators and staff on Science Hill, as well as the M.U.R.A.L. committee.

Budget: Funding for this initiative will be worked out on a case by case basis in consultation with the Division of Physical and Biological Sciences.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Application deadline: Extended DEADLINE October 10, 2020

Applicant Notification: October 30, 2020

Mural installation: November 1 - December 11, 2020

This RFP is initiated by the M.U.R.A.L. committee. We are a volunteer group composed of Art faculty and current art students. Please contact Enrique Leal( eleal@ucsc.edu ) if you are interested in knowing more about the committee and the work we do.

Mural Proposal Requirements:

1. Contact info:

❏ name

❏ email

❏ phone

❏ year in school or graduation date from UCSC

2. Mural design image based on Mural photograph with dimensions , with details if relevant

3. Material description of mural, including:

❏ estimated size Image scaled to full dimensions of mural space (see photos)

❏ media

❏ means of installation

4. Concept (400 words or less). Please describe your thoughts in designing the mural, including how you see it affecting the university community as we “return” to school in fall 2020.

5. Artist statement on your work in general (300 words or less)

6. Qualifications: why you are qualified to complete this project if your design is selected.

7. Portfolio of 3 – 5 related artworks you or your group have completed.

8. Please include how you will allocate the budget

Please format all of the above as a PDF, and send to: Enrique Leal ( eleal@ucsc.edu )