Durham SMART Initiative - Durham Arts Council

The Durham Arts Council (DAC), in collaboration with the North Carolina Arts Council (NCAC), is seeking a 2-3 person artist-led team to create a plan and future vision for multi-disciplinary artworks that enhance the arts & entertainment corridor of Blackwell-Corcoran-Foster Streets in downtown Durham, NC. The goal is to activate and enhance pedestrian and visitor experiences and increase visitorship and economic vitality along the corridor. The corridor will serve as the central spine or hub of cultural amenities in the downtown, with later connections to Duke University and the Nasher Museum of Art to the west and Golden Belt and the Hayti Heritage Center to the east.

The Blackwell-Corcoran-Foster Street Corridor cuts through the center of Downtown Durham from south to north, containing arts, sports and entertainment venues including the American Tobacco Historic District, Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC), Carolina Theatre, Durham Convention Center, Durham Central Park District, Liberty Arts Foundry, and the Durham Farmers Market. The corridor extends from the new Durham Bulls Athletic Park at the southern end to the historic Durham Athletic Park at the north. The corridor embodies Durham's tobacco legacy and African American cultural history, including Parrish Street, the hub of African American business activity in the early twentieth century known as "Black Wall Street."

Artists and designers of various disciplines and media are solicited to submit qualifications. Previous planning experience is required involving public art and design in urban settings, wayfinding systems, landscape and streetscape design, and urban redevelopment. Applicants must be age 18 or older and are eligible regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, military status, sexual orientation, marital status, or physical disability. Selection criteria include excellence and innovation of past professional experience in public art planning and design in urban settings, team versatility and compatibility, and inclusion of local team members is encouraged. Disciplines may include public artists, landscape architects, or architects experienced in streetscape/corridor planning. Finalists will be invited to create and present proposals, either in person or by teleconference. A $1,500 honorarium will be paid to interviewed teams. Work sample requirements: 8-10 images.