York Recognition Project

The Regional Arts & Culture Council in Portland, Oregon, invites artists and teams residing in the United States to submit qualifications for the York Recognition public art project for Lewis & Clark College. The total art budget is $125,000.

The York Recognition Memorial Committee seeks an artist or team to create a York Recognition artwork that includes both narrative and visual components. The narrative component should acknowledge York's importance as an African American member of the Corps of Discovery and communicate authentic content about his life as both a slave and significant historical figure. The artistic component should create an artwork and place that encourages reflection. The work need not be static, could provide paradox and tension, and could be a single object or sequential series of elements. Representational and abstract work will be considered equally.

Up to three artists or teams will be interviewed for the project. Semi-finalists will be selected based on quality of past work, letter of interest, and references. Do not submit a specific proposal at this time. Following selection, one or more artists or teams may be asked to create a specific proposal, for which they will be paid a design fee. The final design must be approved by the Art Selection Committee. Travel expenses for interviews will be paid by Lewis & Clark College. Application materials must be submitted online via CaFÉ and include a one-page statement of interest, a professional resume (maximum three pages per team member), exactly twelve images of past work, and three professional references.