80 Exchange Mural Project in Portland

80 Exchange Street, Portland Maine

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Fathom Companies is seeking Maine based artists to submit proposals to design, create and install a wall mural at 80 Exchange Street, Portland Maine. The 80 Exchange Street Mural project is an investment in the city’s future and will provide a contemporary visual public art display and add color and visual interest, character and a unique sense of place to the location.

The purpose of the 80 Exchange Mural is to enhance an already thriving public space with public art that is non commercial, beautiful and thought provoking.

Fostering community and partnerships with the city of Portland and area businesses, this public mural will demonstrate commitment to urban renewal and growth in the Portland neighborhood.

This public work will add a new layer to the city fabric and serve as a featured canvas for contemporary art.

Deadline to submit proposals is July 15, 2018.

LOCATION DETAILS

The 80 Exchange Street Building is located at 80 Exchange Street, Portland, Maine and is popularly known as the Mural Building at Tommy’s Park. Highly recognized, the building is located at the entrance to upper Exchange Street and is adjacent to Tommy’s Park in the historic Old Port. The 80 Exchange Street mural wall is a 4-story facade, brick wall covered in cement stucco.

QUESTIONS

Questions should be directed to Erin Hutton, Art Consultation for the Fathom Companies, through

e-mail at [email protected]

SELECTION PROCESS

A committee will review all submissions and select an artist or artist team based on their qualifications, experience, and fit for the project. The committee will review proposal materials to determine who to invite for a second round of evaluation. Artists selected for the second round will receive a $500.00 design fee for refining their proposals. Finalists will present their final proposals to the review committee in person. Final proposals will include detailed models, drawings, renderings, samples of work and/or materials depending on the nature of the proposal.

PARAMETERS

The design should fully occupy the entire facade and last for 15 years. The work must integrate into the park as a place of respite and must activate the space.

SELECTION CRITERIA

The committee will review materials based on the following criteria:

● Artistic merit and quality, as substantiated by an artist’s vision, originality, as well as the inherent quality in terms of timelessness of design, aesthetics, and excellence;

● Local significance, translating an emotional connection to the City of Portland, creating a sense of excitement in public spaces and presenting fresh ways of seeing the community and city reflected;

● Demonstrating ideas are well communicated and comprehensive;

● Ability to translate artistic concepts into work that will activate or enhance the proposed space

● Ability to design work, that is sensitive to social, environmental, historical, and/or other relevant contexts

● Capacity to complete the proposal on time and within budget

WHO IS ELIGIBLE

All artists or artist teams with a strong connection to Maine are encouraged to submit proposals. Without preference to racial or ethnic origins, gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, disability. Artists must be 18 years of age or older to submit a proposal.

PROJECT BUDGET

Artist’s proposed budget will be a significant consideration in the final selection process. This RFP seeks proposals inclusive of all costs associated with the mural, including, but not limited to, artist design fee, materials, installation labor, travel to and from the site, per diem expenses, project documentation, contingency to cover unexpected expenses and any other costs related to the mural. A budget range of 40-80K is suggested.

Please keep in mind that, as a privately funded project, we will rely on the generosity of individuals, area businesses, corporations and foundations for support. Fathom Companies will launch a fundraising campaign to generate funding and will request the artist and/or artist team to attend fundraising events and gatherings (artists should include within their budget 15 hours for attending fundraising events).

DEADLINE

July 15, 2018 by 5 P.M. is the deadline for submission of materials. Materials received after this date may be excluded from consideration.

MATERIALS REQUIRED IN SUBMISSION

● Materials must be submitted via online form here: 80 Exchange Mural Project Form

( [email protected] ).

● All documents must be in a PDF format.

● All images must be in a jpg or PDF format.

● Each document must include the artist’s name.

● Any submissions that do not follow the requirements may be considered ineligible.

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

To be reviewed for consideration, the application must contain:

❏ Resume: A current artist resume and exhibition list (2 pages maximum).

❏ Project Narrative: A brief written proposal describing past work/projects, connection to Maine and how you plan to address the site. Proposal should include purpose, rationale and/or intention, including how the piece responds to the site and the surrounding area, and to the City of Portland (2 pages maximum).

❏ Concept Drawings: Illustrative drawings or model showing artwork in relation to 80 Exchange Street. Include concept, sketches and approaches to the project.

❏ Budget: A detailed budget estimate to give cost expectations (include design fees as well as anticipated fabrication, installation and maintenance costs). A more precise budget will be requested for those invited to the finalist round.

❏ Work Examples: Five digital images of recent work. Artist teams must submit five images for each artist represented.

SUBMITTING PROPOSALS

Proposals must be submitted via online form here: 80 Exchange Mural Project Form ( [email protected] ) by July 15, 2018 by 5 P.M.

PROJECTED TIMELINE

● July 15, 2018: RFP deadline, No late submissions will be accepted

● August, 2018: Committee will meet to review all proposals and select artist(s) for the second round proposal process.

● September, 2018: Finalists will present their final proposals to the review committee in person.

● October, 2018: Committee will meet again to vote on a final selection and artist(s) will be chosen.

● November 2, 2018 – First Friday Art Walk design launch and celebration

● April, 2019: Work on mural will begin

● May, 2019 (approx.): Mural completed