The Sculpture Walk of Decatur - Permanent

The Sculpture Walk of Decatur seeks proposals for a permanent sculpture to be installed in a highly visible location near the entrance to Scovill Zoo. The zoo hosts approximately 100,000 visitors annually, and the Children's Museum of Illinois has 65,000 visitors per year.

Sculpture specifications: The sculpture must be constructed of durable material to endure harsh Midwest weather with minimal maintenance and must be safe for children. Size and footprint will determine exact installation location. The total budget for sculpture, design, construction, materials, installation, and all incidental costs cannot exceed $70,000. There are no specific thematic recommendations or stylistic preferences.

Submission requirements include a color image or rendering to scale, resume detailing qualifications and related experience, and a project description/artist's statement (maximum 500 words) describing the proposed sculpture including materials, weights, colors, and other relevant details. A $20 application fee applies. The jury will evaluate submissions based on artistic merit, style and appropriateness to the landscape and community, technical feasibility and the artist's experience with public art projects, and safety and maintenance requirements.

Five finalists will be selected and asked to develop concept maquettes (with $500 honorariums). The Sculpture Walk of Decatur will provide round trip mileage reimbursement up to $250, hotel accommodations for two nights at delivery, boom truck, additional labor, and installation management. The artist must provide minimum three project meetings, transportation of artwork to site, installation requirements documentation, oversight during installation, and all fasteners and hardware for attachment. Questions should be directed to [email protected] or 217-422-5911.