2025 ARTBOX Projects RFQ

The City of Bloomington's Creative Placemaking Commission invites experienced public artists to submit qualifications for design and installation services to transform utility boxes in the South Loop District into creative, exciting, and captivating objects of art that celebrate Bloomington while enhancing the district's character and vitality. For the 2025 round, three locations have been selected. Two locations have single utility boxes to be hand painted. The third location is a cluster of six utility boxes with two to be hand painted and four to be vinyl wrapped.

Each selected applicant will receive a $2,000 budget for a single painted utility box. For the cluster of painted and wrapped utility boxes, one selected applicant will receive a $6,000 budget. All utility boxes are located in the South Loop District at one of these sites: 33rd Avenue and 80 1/2 Street, 8051 33rd Avenue South, or Old Shakopee and Killebrew Drive. The selected designs will be painted directly on the utility box, except for the four utility boxes in the cluster which will be vinyl wrapped. If submitting for the cluster, the design should unify the individual boxes in some way. Selected artists must adhere to requirements put forth by Xcel Energy, the City, and utility box owners. Certain areas of utility boxes cannot be covered by paint or vinyl wrap, including meters, windows, vents, and handles.

Applications are due Sunday, March 9, 2025 by 11:00 PM CST. Applicants must submit: a one-page letter describing interest in the project, approach to design, and a statement addressing eligibility criteria; up to one-page biographical information or resume; and up to 5 work samples (at least one should be a commissioned outdoor public artwork or mural completed in the past ten years). Work samples must be 1,200 pixels or greater on the longest side, less than 5 MB in size, with sRGB color profile. Finalists will be notified by March 28, 2025, with installations scheduled for Summer 2025. Eligibility is open to experienced public artists/teams who have completed at least one outdoor artwork or mural in the past ten years, are at least 18 years old, and are residents of Minnesota. Priority consideration will be given to Bloomington residents. Previously accepted ARTBOX artists will not be considered.