Open Call |
2021 Lead Artists for NYC Health + Hospitals Community Murals Project
Request for Qualifications (RFQ)
Lead Artists for NYC Health + Hospitals Community Murals Project
NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine
Summary:
NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine (AIM), with support from the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, is seeking a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for lead artists to work on the NYC Health + Hospitals Community Murals Project (CMP). Continuing the tradition established in the 1930s when the Works Progress Administration supported hundreds of murals across New York City’s public hospitals, the CMP will connect artists and local community members to re-imagine hospitals and promote greater neighborhood wellness.
Visual artists will engage with patients, staff, and local residents to create an integrated internal or external mural at selected NYC Health + Hospitals facilities. The aim of the program is to use a collaborative mural making process as a tool to build trust and engagement between the hospitals and their communities, build neighborhood pride, and reduce the stigma associated with hospitals through community building activities.
Proposed themes can include:
Heart & Soul
Health Care Heroes
Power of Community
Thrive
Grit
NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine anticipates selecting nine (9) professional visual artists to work closely with nine (9) NYC Health + Hospitals facilities to engage staff and community members in a participatory design process and to create and install nine (9) health themed murals. Murals will be installed in both internal and external locations at the facilities, all of which will be highly visible public areas. This collaboration will last from February 1, 2021 through July 31, 2021. This RFQ is soliciting nine (9) professional visual artists that have a portfolio of work executing large-scale murals, have connections with the boroughs and communities of New York City, and experience facilitating workshops and events that engage diverse communities in the creative process.
Project Budget:
The Project Budget is $8,000.00 per location for artist fees including design services, community engagement, site preparation, fabrication, travel, and installation. NYC Health + Hospitals AIM will provide any necessary supplies, permits, insurance, and documentation. NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine Department will execute a deliverables-based MOU valued at $8,000.00 with the lead artist. Lead artists will be paid 1/2 upfront, and 1/2 upon completion. NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine Department will cover all costs related to art supplies and additional materials for workshops and community events, equipment for the installation, special insurance, permits for mural sites and other relevant costs relating to the production of the murals.
Who May Apply:
Professional visual artists or artist teams working in any media, legally authorized to work in the United States, and who are at least 18 years of age, are eligible to apply. Artists with ties to neighborhoods and communities of the participating NYC Health + Hospitals facilities are encouraged to apply, as well as artists with experience in community engagement practices. NYC Health + Hospitals is committed to the values of inclusion and advancing diversity in the field of arts and health. We highly encourage applicants that are traditionally underrepresented* to submit to this RFQ.
*Including, but not limited to: Immigrant, Indigenous, LGBTQIA, Person of Color, Person with Disability, Socioeconomic Disadvantage)
The project period will occur from February 1, 2021 through July 31, 2021.
Deadline for Submission of RFQ:
Friday, January 29, 2021 at 11:59pm EDT
**Late applications may be disqualified from considerations.**
Finalist Interviews will be held during of February 8 and February 12, 2021.
Selected artists will be notified on February 15, 2021
Project Locations:
Please choose at least one and up to four(4) preferred locations:
(Size of each mural will not exceed 300 square feet)
Harlem Hospital (Interior Wall) 506 Lenox Ave, New York, NY 10037 | Segundo Ruiz Belvis (Interior Wall) 545 East 142 St, Bronx, NY 10454 |
Gotham/Morrisania (Interior Wall) 1225 Gerard Avenue, Bronx, NY 10452 | Gotham Health, St. Nicholas 281 West 127th Street, New York, NY 10027 |
East New York (Interior Wall) 2094 Pitkin Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11207 | Gotham Health, Dyckman-Clinica de Las Americas 175 Nagle Avenue, New York, NY 10034 |
Cumberland (Interior Wall) 100 N Portland Ave, Brooklyn NY 11205 | Gotham Vanderbilt (Interior Wall) 165 Vanderbilt Ave, Staten Island, NY 10304 |
Sydenham (Interior Wall) 264 118th St, New York, NY 10026 |
Project Calendar:
Mural Artists will be required to be on site for 5 public events, plus additional days to present to the facility CEO, prepare mural panels before the Paint Party, finish painting after the Paint Party, and installation. Time required for preparation, finishing, and installation will be dependent on mural size and detail.
Each mural project will be executed over a period of three (3) months, on a rolling basis from February 8, 2021 through December 31, 2021. The NYC Health + Hospitals facility will choose their start date and mural artists may be paired accordingly.
All mural artists will be required to attend virtual training and onboarding in February 2021, exact date TBD.
Artists are expected to develop mural concepts, themes, imagery through engaging with the H + H staff, patients, and greater community during virtual Focus Groups and CEO Presentation. Designs will not be considered final until approved by the facility CEO. The CEO will be asked to limit rounds of revisions to a maximum of two (2).
PROJECT PHASE | TIMELINE | ACTIVITIES |
Plan | Feb 2021 | Orientation and onboarding |
Listen | Month 1 | 2 Focus GroupsFirst Focus Group: Artist presents previous work, H+H community discusses potential themes and content. Second Focus Group: Artist takes feedback from first FG to create 2 – 3 rendering of potential mural designs. H +H community discusses preferences. |
Collaborate | Month 2 | CEO PresentationArtist uses feedback from second FG to create a final mural design, presents it for approval or minor revisions to CEO.Paint PartyH + H community invited to help paint the mural at a fun public event. |
Create | Month 3 | Mural Painting and installationArtists will have no less than 2 weeks to finish painting the murals. AIM Team will provide installation, Mural Artist will be present to touch up seams.Unveiling/Dedication Ceremony |
You can learn more about Laurie M Tisch Illumination Fund’s generous support of NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine (AIM) here:
New Program Will Use the Arts to Promote Employee Wellness and Resilience in Hospitals
Arts in Medicine: https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/artsinmedicine/
If you have any further questions or inquiries:
please email them to adminmurals@residencyunlimited.org
Thomas Morgan
I have extensive experience in public art murals. Interior and exterior. Some combining three dimensional elements.
Facebook.com/morganfactory