Mercer County Courthouse Public Art Project

The County of Mercer, New Jersey, is issuing a Request for Qualifications (Phase 1) inviting artists and artist teams to submit their interest and qualifications for the creation of five permanent decorative plaques/reliefs to be installed on an exterior wall of the Mercer County Courthouse located at 400 South Warren Street in Trenton, NJ. The five decorative elements will be sited within five recessed panels (4' tall x 8' wide, 4" depth) in the exterior wall to the left of the Courthouse's main entrance. Artwork should reflect the rich history of Mercer County, the city of Trenton, and/or the County Court system. Materials must be weather resistant and prepared to be readily mounted to CMU block. The total project budget, including installation costs, is $74,000.

Eligibility is open to professional, practicing artists and artist teams living or working within a 50-mile radius of the greater Mercer County, New Jersey region. Artists with positive public art installation experiences and/or who have partnered with architects in art installation are strongly preferred. Finalists invited to develop full proposals will receive a $200 stipend and will be required to register as a vendor with the County and comply with non-discrimination provisions and all applicable laws and regulations.

Submission Requirements: Brief letter of interest identifying any public art or relevant architectural projects, artist bio, artist resume/CV, narrative project proposal (2-page maximum, 1 inch margins, 12 point font), and 8-15 images of sample works with a numbered image list identifying title and materials. All materials must be submitted online via the CaFE website by January 10, 2018. Selected artists will be notified the week of January 29, 2018, and up to five qualified candidates will be invited to submit a full proposal. Installation of completed relief elements is expected in late summer/fall 2018.