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City of Bloomington Signature Gateway Public Artwork Request for Qualifications (RFQ)

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City of Bloomington Signature Gateway Public Artwork Request for Qualifications (RFQ) — City of Bloomington
OT 987 by Stefan Reiss, City of Bloomington public art
  • Who Can Apply: Professional artists or artist teams aged 18+ residing in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky or Illinois who are U.S. citizens, permanent residents or otherwise authorized to live/work in the U.S. Not eligible: enrolled full-time degree/certificate students, selection-committee members and their families, and artists who held an active Bloomington public art commission in the six months before the deadline.
  • The Focus: A signature permanent public artwork on or around the Bicentennial Gateway sign at Miller-Showers Park, Bloomington's northern entrance, celebrating the city's vibrancy, diversity, resilience, creativity and history; it must read clearly for passing drivers.
  • Compensation: The commission budget is $125,000, all-inclusive (artist fee, design, engineering, materials, fabrication, installation, travel, insurance); five semi-finalists each receive a $1,500 honorarium for their site-specific proposal.
  • Key Requirements: Apply through the City's CiviForm portal by December 4, 2026 (no concept designs at this stage): 2–4 past public or large-scale projects (each with up to 3 images, a 3–5 sentence overview, and your role, budget, stakeholder collaboration and community engagement), a 1–2 page letter of interest, a resume/CV (2–4 pages per team member) and three professional references.
DeadlineFriday, December 4, 2026
Pay$125,000 all-inclusive commission budget for the selected artist or team; each of 5 semi-finalists receives a $1,500 honorarium for a site-specific design proposal
Program datesQualification review January 4–February 5, 2027; semi-finalist site visits February–April; proposals due April 9; finalist presentations April 12–23; fabrication and installation Summer/Fall 2027
LocationBloomington, IN
Open toArtists in a specific state or region
ParticipationOn-site
Career stagesAll Stages
Disciplinespublic art
Application notesRead the full RFQ (Google Drive PDF linked from the City's public art page: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ewsKG1K7DcQY56qzdh-R3S2NJAhSBKY5/view) and apply through CiviForm by December 4, 2026; incomplete or hard-copy submissions are not reviewed. CiviForm recommends creating an account so you can save and edit your application. Preference may be given to applicants with a relationship to Bloomington. Questions: Paige Sharp, Assistant Director of the Arts, paige.sharp@bloomington.in.gov.
Contactpaige.sharp@bloomington.in.gov
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