Courthouse Square Outdoor Event Space Public Art Project - Morganton, NC

The City of Morganton Main Street Department, Burke County Arts Council, and North Carolina Arts Council are seeking qualifications from artists or artist teams to work directly with landscape architects, architects, and designers in the creation of a new outdoor multi-purpose event space in downtown Morganton. The space will be connected to the Historic Burke County Courthouse and Square. The goals are to create a cohesive design that incorporates art into the facility and landscape plans, activate and enhance cultural connectivity and economic vitality in downtown Morganton through engaging artwork and creative placemaking, and reflect the community's strong arts and cultural identity as well as its natural and historic location.

Morganton is one of the North Carolina Arts Council's eight SmART communities. The redesigned Courthouse Square will be the single largest transformation the city will see for many years. The selected artist will return to Morganton up to four times for site visits, community engagement events, and meetings with designers and project stakeholders. The selection committee will invite a short list of artists for a site visit and in-depth interview, with finalists receiving a $500 honorarium plus travel and lodging. The total project budget is $20,000 for design development and completion of at least one final concept with accompanying budget for artwork.

Submission materials must include: a statement of interest outlining experience with comparable projects and working with government agencies; a description of community engagement experience and proposed methods; a résumé (no more than 2 pages); up to ten visual images of related art and design projects with an annotated image list; and three current references with contact information. Applicants must be age 18 or older and are eligible regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, gender identification, military status, sexual orientation, marital status, or physical ability. Applications must be submitted electronically by April 29, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. MDT. Selection will be based on artistic accomplishment, technical competence, experience with planning and collaboration with multiple stakeholders, ability to create artwork reflecting the distinctive characteristics of place and community, and demonstrated ability to complete projects on time and within budget.