Dr Martin Luther King Jr Bronze Bust

The City of Aurora's Art in Public Places Program is seeking an artist to create a bronze bust in the likeness of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The artwork will be located in the lobby of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Municipal Center at 9898 East Colfax Ave., Aurora, Colorado. The bust shall be made of bronze, representing a life-size image of Dr. King, to include the head, neck and shoulders, and will require approval by the King Center through their intellectual property division.

The project budget is $60,000, which will support design, fabrication, materials, engineering review, shipping, contract labor, installation, insurance, travel expenses, final documentation, and incidental expenses. Artists must demonstrate prior experience working on public art projects of similar scale and budget. Artists living within the United States are invited to apply, and artist or artist teams that include one local or regional artist may be given preference. Selection will be based on artistic merit, originality, creativity, professional experience delivering similar projects, demonstrated ability to complete the work within the timeline, artwork requiring little or no maintenance, and artistic style that complements community and stakeholder values.

Submittals must include a letter of interest (500 words maximum), a two-page professional resume, three current references, and three to six images of existing work plus up to three conceptual images in JPEG format (1920 pixels maximum, 72 dpi, under 2MB). One to three finalists will be selected and each will receive a $1,000 honorarium to participate in an interview and site visit. The selection process includes review by a Selection Panel, the Art in Public Places Commission, the Cultural Affairs Commission, and final approval by the Aurora City Council.