Natural Grocers Public Art Commission, Portland OR

The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) in Portland, Oregon invites visual artists and graphic designers living in the Portland Metropolitan Region (Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas counties) to submit qualifications for two site-specific exterior wallworks for a new Natural Grocers opening in Spring 2017 at NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd and NE Alberta St.

Two exterior walls of the Natural Grocers building will feature public art: a section of the east wall (22'W x 10'H) facing MLK Jr Blvd framed with living green wall screens, and a section of the south wall facing Alberta Street (17'W x 10'H). RACC seeks an artist to design two distinctive artworks that are vibrant, colorful, bold, culturally representative, patterned and playful, using durable materials such as porcelain enamel or water jet aluminum/steel (painted murals will not be considered). Artists will be assisted by RACC to identify an appropriate fabricator for the project. The overall goals are to incorporate history, culture and community into the building/site design, particularly recognizing and honoring this historic African American sector of Portland.

The project budget is $80,000 including design, fabrication and installation. Applicants must be currently living in the Portland Metropolitan Area. The Selection Panel will review submissions and choose no more than four artists for interviews. Final selection will be based on artistic excellence of past work, project interest as expressed in the artist statement and interview, and relevance of concepts to project goals. The selected artist will receive a design contract with a design fee paid from the art budget, with the remainder set aside for fabrication and installation. Applications must include a statement of interest (2000 characters maximum), résumé or bio, two professional references, and 6-10 images of past work with details. All applications must be submitted through the CaFE system.