An open call to individual muralists and teams who live in LA County.
Overview
The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), Public Art Division, seeks professional LA based artists to comprise the 2024 Roster of Pre-Qualified Muralists. Muralists selected to be on the roster will be eligible to participate in the Division’s Request for Proposals process, a competitive bidding process necessary for the City to commission a wide variety of new mural projects for the City.
A Selection Panel composed of muralists, arts professionals, and City representatives will convene to review all applications received through this RFQ and select up to forty-five (45) individuals and teams.
The Roster will remain active for three (3) years from the date of selection. Muralists and muralist teams pre-qualified through this RFQ will not be guaranteed a commission.
Eligibility
This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is open to professional muralists and muralist teams living in the County of Los Angeles and muralists working in any medium or style may apply. Emerging and mid-career muralists, mentor/apprentice teams, and artists interested in expanding their studio practice into the public sphere are encouraged to apply. Emerging and mid-career are defined as applicants with limited mural production experience but whose work demonstrates the potential for large-scale application.
Individuals or teams on other DCA pre-qualified lists who have not yet received a commission are eligible to apply. Teams selected through this RFQ must identify a lead artist and retain the same members as stated in its original application and may not change over the life of the roster, nor may they change during the span of a commissioned project. Organizations and employees of the City of Los Angeles are ineligible to apply.
Criteria
Strong applications will demonstrate:
- Professional and technical capacity to plan, coordinate, and execute a mural project in collaboration with DCA staff, City representatives, contractors, and the general public.
- Experimental or innovative approaches—media, methods, technology, or community engagement.
- Consideration of a community’s social and/or historical context and the built environment.
Budget
Budgets will range from $5,000 to $150,000 and are funded through the Arts Development Fee Program, Public Works Improvements Arts Program, and other programs administered by DCA.
As projects are initiated, DCA will invite a shortlist of up to five (5) individuals or teams from the 2024 Roster of Pre-Qualified Muralists to develop site-specific proposals. A separate Selection Panel will review the proposals and select the individual or team to be awarded a project commission. Commissioned muralists will be required to comply with City Codes regarding safety, accessibility, seismic, and/or other issues as required for the project. Individuals and teams must be available to attend multiple meetings with DCA and other City officials.
Application
All applications must be submitted online via SlideRoom. The deadline to apply is Monday, February 5, 2024 at 11:59pm. Incomplete applications will be deemed ineligible and will not be considered. Any additional material included that is not requested by DCA will not be reviewed. For technical guidance through the online SlideRoom platform, visit SlideRoom’s support page.
A complete application must include:
- Contact Information including full name, mailing address, telephone, and email. Teams must identify one team member as the Lead Artist which will be DCA’s primary contact for the team.
- Statement of Interest(PDF or DOC format only, 2 pages max) in creating a new, original mural for the City of Los Angeles. For teams, include a description of each member’s role on the team.
- Curriculum Vitae(PDF or DOC format only, 4 pages max) teams must submit a CV for each muralist on the team.
- Portfolio of five (5) to ten (10) images (JPG format only, 72 DPI min + 5 MB max per file) of completed artwork; unrealized or informal mural projects may also be considered; image files must be named sequentially (i.e. 01, 02, 03…); teams may submit no more than ten images total. Each of the image files must include the title, year, size, materials and brief description. For any commissioned project(s), also include the client, budget, and location.
Rights + Responsibilities DCA reserves the right to decline all applications to this RFQ, and/or cancel this RFQ, or any roster of pre-qualified artists, at any time. This RFQ is subject to the City’s Campaign Finance, Contractor Responsibility, Equal Benefits, Equal Opportunity, Living Wage, Minority / Women Business Enterprise, and Slavery Disclosure Ordinances, as well as any other ordinances in effect in the City of Los Angeles.
RAMP Applicants are encouraged to register on the Regional Alliance Marketplace for Procurement (RAMP) website: https://www.rampla.org/s/. Technical support for RAMP may be requested on their support page: https://www.rampla.org/s/support.
The Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) manages the City of Los Angeles Public Art Programs. DCA supports the creativity of local artists by funding and partnering with the City’s arts and cultural communities. The City demonstrates an ongoing commitment to arts and culture through DCA’s ongoing activities, including community arts programming, cultural grants, marketing, public art, performing arts and venues, and youth arts and education programs, to stimulate and foster the creation of arts and cultural experiences throughout the diverse neighborhoods of LA.