City of Wichita and Harvester Arts: A City Where I Belong

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has approved the City of Wichita for a $75,000 'Our Town' award in support of "A City Where I Belong: A Toolkit for Artists." These placemaking grants support projects that integrate arts, culture, and design activities into local efforts to strengthen and authentically engage communities in order to advance local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes.

The City's Division of Arts and Cultural Services has partnered with Harvester Arts and visiting artist Aaron Asis to assemble a cohort of three local artists. The cohort will analyze and interpret the City's 'Percent for Art' program and public art commissioning processes, deploy temporary art engagements that collect feedback from the public, and incorporate findings into a public artist toolkit that will expand access and address barriers to enter the public art field for local artists. Selected artists should expect a 10-15 hour per week commitment and be able to meet in person and/or virtually, be easily reached by phone and email, and be outside for extended periods of time.

The three selected local artists will each receive $1,000 per month for year 1 (12 months) and $600 per month for year 2 (10 months), plus up to $5,000 in materials for a temporary public art project. Artists from Wichita and the surrounding area of all backgrounds, cultures, and stages in their careers are encouraged to apply. Visual artists working in all media, including sculpture, mosaic, design, painting, mural making, new media, and installation are eligible. No prior public art experience is required. Applications must include 6-10 images or videos of work, an annotated image list, a one-page Letter of Interest or three-minute video, and a two-page resume or CV. Inquiries should be directed to Kristin Beal, Executive Director, Harvester Arts at [email protected] by August 10, 2023, 5 PM CST.