Placentia Gateway Sculpture Project

The City of Placentia seeks Southern California-based artists or artist teams to create and install a large-scale three-dimensional Gateway Monument comprised of one or more sculptures for the Southbound on and off-ramps from Orangethorpe Avenue onto the SR-57 in Placentia, California. The maximum dimensions for the artwork are 20' x 20' x 20'. This project is part of a State Highway Beautification Project, sponsored by the California Department of Transportation and the Clean California Program. Arts Orange County administers the call for artists and the selection process. The commission is open to all types of design approaches, including street art and bold, abstract, and modern art.

The selected artist or artist team will receive a maximum commission of up to $400,000. Short-listed artist teams will receive $3,000 to prepare a final proposal. Project budgets must cover all costs associated with design, fabrication, delivery, installation, engineering, city permits, Caltrans meetings, public programming, and related incidental expenses. Artwork must embody aspects of Placentia's identity relating to its heritage and culture, with the word "Placentia" appearing within the structure or embedded on site adjacent to the sculpture. Work should embody high aesthetic quality, be contemporary and innovative, and be appropriate for all generations and a diverse community. Submissions that are overtly sexual, political, or religious in nature will not be considered.

Eligibility is open to artists residing in Southern California (Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Imperial Counties) working in any site-appropriate media with prior experience on projects of similar budget and scale. Applications must include contact information, a one-page letter of interest, curriculum vitae (4 pages max), two letters of recommendation from previous commissioning agencies, and six to ten image files of completed artwork (JPG format, 72 DPI minimum, 5 MB maximum per file). A virtual information session will be held May 11, 2022 at 5pm Pacific.