Art Pollination: Building Food Justice through Creativity

The City of Orlando is seeking up to 20 local artists for a temporary public art project addressing food insecurity. Selected artists will receive a minimum $1,000 stipend for their participation throughout 2025. The project is part of "Art Pollination: Building Food Justice through Creativity," supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies' Public Art Challenge Grant.

Selected artists will be invited to create new work for display along the Urban Trail, Community Centers, Food Event Sites, Urban Billboards, and in two exhibitions at CityArts (Downtown Arts District) and Terrace Gallery (City Hall). Project activities include a February 2025 meet and greet reception, group exhibitions in November 2025-January 2026, mural opportunities in Fall 2025, and a November/December 2025 billboard exhibition. All materials necessary to create artwork shall be provided by artists and subject to prior approval by the project team.

Projects must be temporary and address food insecurity, relating directly or indirectly to the Art Pollination initiative. Topics may include nature's pollinators, food and the economy, food/gardens/ecology/ecosystems, and farming/gleaning/distribution. The project is a collaboration with six food partners: Black Bee Honey, 4Roots, Hebni Nutrition Consultants, Ideas for Us-Fleet Farming, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, and the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Artists will be selected by a jury of art professionals and curators. Work samples must include a minimum of 3 and maximum of 10 images, with up to 3 videos permitted.