Johnston Street Alley Mural Project

The Alabama Center for the Arts Foundation in partnership with the Decatur Downtown Redevelopment Authority and other community partners is seeking proposals for the design and creation of a mural to be located in a repurposed alleyway in downtown Decatur, Alabama. The mural will be painted on the wall of the historic Cotaco Opera House, a historic building situated along the west side of the alley space. The dimensions of the portion of the wall where the mural will be created are 15 feet (height) x 23 feet (width), which includes a doorway and stairwell landing. Artists are encouraged to creatively incorporate larger areas of the building and its various elements, except for attached utilities such as powerline weatherheads and greasetraps.

The mural will celebrate the unique history of the Cotaco Opera House as an event hall that hosted vaudeville, theatrical and musical performances, public speeches and other community events. The mural will serve as a focal point for the Johnston Street Alley Project and will be part of the Decatur-Morgan County Tourism MOCO Mural Trail. Mural designs should be family-friendly, sensitive to the diverse history and culture of the community, and free of advertising, logos, copyrighted images, political, commercial, religious, or sexual themes. Text in the design should be incidental and not the focal point. The mural design must be resistant to graffiti and vandalism, require minimal maintenance, and have an expected life span of 8-10 years.

Artists must submit a current CV/resume, letter of interest (not to exceed one page), 2-6 images of previously completed work demonstrating ability to design and paint large-scale outdoor murals, three professional references, a site-specific proposal with design image and materials description, an itemized budget, and estimated completion time. The artist stipend is $15,000 to $20,000 total (subject to negotiation depending on overall size and complexity of mural) and constitutes full compensation for all services, goods, expenses and materials. The mural must be installed and completed between November 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023. Any artist over the age of 18 is eligible to apply. Entry fee is $15.00. Application deadline is 10/14/2022 at 11:59 p.m. MDT.