Public Art at Burke Branch Library

The City of Alexandria's Public Art Program in collaboration with Alexandria Library invites artists and artist teams to submit qualifications for a public art project at the Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library. The artwork is expected to be on the Seminary Road side of the library, making the library more visible from the road and serving as a landmark for the west end.

The maximum budget for the artwork is $100,000, which will include all costs of creating the artwork including artist fees, travel, insurance, overhead, design, fabrication, site-work, shipping, and installation costs. Artists will be expected to participate in related community meetings, programming, and events. Alexandria's Office of the Arts will provide additional support through marketing, publicity, and assistance with site permits. Established professional artists and artist teams with experience on comparable projects are eligible to apply.

Submittals are due June 2, 2019 at 11:59pm Mountain Standard Time. Work sample requirements include 8 images (required), up to 1 audio file, and up to 2 video files, for a total of 8-11 samples. The Project Task Force will select up to three semifinalists, who will each receive a $1,200 honorarium to visit Alexandria, tour the site, and interview with the Task Force. Semifinalists must submit a written statement of no more than 1000 words describing their thoughts about public art at Burke Library. One artist or artist team will be selected and placed under contract to develop and implement the project. Applicants must demonstrate artistic merit, experience working with communities on engaging artwork, experience collaborating with city staff and design professionals, and probability of successful project execution. Applications must include an artist statement (maximum 1000 characters), letter of interest (maximum 1000 characters), and resume (maximum 4 pages).