CALL for ARTISTS

The 2024 Call for artists is Now Closed!

OUR VISION:

The festival committee is seeking family-friendly mural designs in any artistic style. We are looking for captivating designs that are visually appealing and represent the community we foster. We aim to encourage a sense of wellness, strive for a better tomorrow, and share images that foster hope and connection. We are dedicated to furthering the emerging arts scene in our increasingly diverse population, in Midland, Michigan.

Art Seen Festival seeks to strengthen our Midland County, Michigan, community through vibrant mural making and live performances. Accessible public art is a meaningful way to connect people to feel seen, heard, and included. Art Seen Festival is a part of Public Arts Midland, which is a community run initiative of the Midland Area Community Foundation.

Art inspires us and propels us forward while bringing voice to diverse experiences, and people. Public art gives our community a collective voice and a way to express our values while it brings awareness of and beauty to both the physical and cultural landscape of our city. This work aligns with our larger Midland County vision statement which reads, “Midland County: an inclusive community. Together. Forward. Bold. An exceptional place where everyone thrives”.

2024 ENTRY RULES AND REQUIREMENTS:

• We are seeking site-specific proposals for three mural locations: one Community Mural and two Commissioned Murals.

• Artists may apply to one, two, or all three options (with the same or different concepts), but an artist may only be awarded one mural. 

• Entries must be the artist's original work, where they are the primary artist.

• Proposals must be family-friendly and may not depict political, crude, or offensive content. Submissions that do not meet these guidelines will be automatically disqualified.

• Community Mural submissions may be conceptual (meaning an idea that may or may not be fully developed yet), and may come from people with no previous mural experience who live in the Great Lakes Bay Region. Working artists are also welcome to apply. There is no age requirement for the Community Mural submission.

• Commissioned Mural submissions must include a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 10 images of previous mural projects, and the artist must be living in the United States. Artists must be at least 18 years of age for Commissioned Murals. 

• If accepted, the artist must be available for orientation on Friday, May 31st, is required to be actively painting the mural during the festival June 1-2, and may use Monday, June 3, 2024, to complete the work if needed.

• Artists are required to carry their own liability insurance.

• Paint and scaffolding/bucket lift (depending on the height of the wall) will be provided for use, but the artist is responsible for providing any additional materials (brushes, rags, etc) they may need. The mural wall will be cleaned, primed, and ready to be painted on. Specific paint colors will be submitted after the winning artist has been selected.

• Artists are responsible for the entire mural execution including the hiring and paying of assistants, if the artist so chooses.

• Artists are responsible for all travel costs. Stipend amounts are detailed below based on each mural site.

SELECTION PROCESS:

Once artist eligibility has been determined, submissions will be reviewed by the Art Seen Festival Committee. The committee will vote on the top 5 proposals for each of the three sites. Then there will be a second vote from those top 5, which includes the property/business owners for final review and selection. Artists will be notified of their acceptance status by April 1, 2024, via email and must reply by April 7th if they want to accept.

Decisions by the selection panel are final and not open to negotiation. Art Seen Festival does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or disability.

DETAILS:

There are three opportunities for murals in June 2024. We are seeking site-specific proposals for each location.

SITE 1 - COMMUNITY MURAL

PIZZA SAM’S - PREVIOUS MURAL EXPERIENCE NOT REQUIRED!

The Community Mural concept sets the Art Seen Festival apart from many other festivals. The Community Mural needs to be designed in a way that there are many smaller areas that any member of the community can help paint (picture a giant paint-by-number). Examples are provided below. 

Community members and artists of all ages from the Great Lakes Bay Region are invited to submit a concept for the Community Mural, even if they haven’t painted a mural before! Parker Lane Art & Design Studio will work with the chosen artist to refine the concept, manage the transference of the art, and oversee the execution of the Community Mural at the event.

This mural site is on the side of a pizzeria. Due to city signage restrictions, this mural can not include imagery that is specific to the businesses (ie. No pizza, food, drink, etc can be depicted). 

The owner’s of Pizza Sam’s would like to see “family, friends, and gathering” used as the inspiration for design concepts.

This mural will have a finished size of 16’ tall x 32’ wide. It will be painted on panels during the festival and then installed on the wall. The final installation will reside at Pizza Sam’s, 102 W Main St, Midland, MI, on the Ashman St. side of the building.

The selected artist will receive a $500 stipend for the use of their design. The stipend will be awarded in full upon acceptance of the proposal and meeting with the team at Parker Lane Art & Design Studio to discuss the path forward. If the selected artist chooses to become a part of the entire implementation process, they will have the option to be hired on as one of the executing artists.

SITE 2 - Commissioned MURAL

LaLONDE’S MARKET

This mural site is on the side of a building that has a grocery store and a comic book/gaming store. Due to city signage restrictions, this mural can not include imagery that is specific to either of those businesses (ie. No food, drink, games, comic characters, etc can be depicted). 

• The building owner would like to see a modern art design that may incorporate the following ideas: Community Focused, Touchy Feely Good Stuff, Educational, Shop Small Business, Shop Local.

• Please note this site is painted cinder block. 

• Artists applying for this site must be residents of the US. 

• You may submit multiple proposals for this site. 

• Please include image(s) of your proposal and a written explanation of your concept.

• Portfolio of 3-7 images of previous large-scale mural work.

• Resume

• Three references from previous mural projects which have a contact name along with a phone number or email where they can be contacted.

• This Commissioned Mural is approximately 13’ tall x 37’ wide.

• The artist selected to complete this mural will receive a stipend of $4,300. Half of the stipend will be paid upon signing the event contract, and half will be paid upon completing the mural.

• The mural site is located at 4015 Jefferson Ave, Midland, MI 48640, and is on the outside wall of the Modern Explorers Guild, facing Jefferson Ave. 

SITE 3 - Commissioned MURAL

LEE BAR & GRILL

This mural site is on the side of a restaurant and bar. Due to signage restrictions, this mural can not include imagery that is specific to the business.

• The owners have no specific requests for artists to incorporate.

• Please note this site is painted stucco, so there is texture on the wall.

• Artists should try to incorporate some of the existing blue wall color into their design.

• Artists applying for this site must be residents of the US. 

• You may submit multiple proposals for this site. 

• Please include image(s) of your proposal and a written explanation of your concept.

• Portfolio of 3-7 images of previous large-scale mural work.

• Resume

• Three references from previous mural projects which have a contact name along with a phone number or email where they can be contacted.

• This Commissioned Mural is approximately 10’ tall x 54.5’ wide for the rectangular bottom (including the white stripe). The triangular section is an additional 10’ tall. The selected artist is not required to paint every square inch of the wall, but may choose to do so if they would like.

• The artist selected to complete this mural will receive a stipend of $7,300. Half of the stipend will be paid upon signing the event contract, and half will be paid upon completing the mural.

• The mural site is located at 430 W Isabella Rd, Midland, MI 48640, and will be the end of the building facing east. 

2024 TIMELINE:

FEB 8 - Proposal submissions open

MAR 14 - Proposal submissions close

APR 1 - Notifications sent to selected artists via email

APR 7 - Deadline for selected artists to accept/Meeting to be scheduled with community mural artist and Parker Lane to discuss next steps

MAY 31 - Mandatory orientation/safety briefing meeting for muralists/prep day (Timing for these meetings can be flexible based on artist availability.)

JUN 1-2 - Festival painting

JUN 3 - Final painting day if needed

Please direct any questions you might have to: artseenfestival@gmail.com

The 2024 Call for Artists is now closed! Thank you.

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