Call for lead artist to design and create a mural at the Together Place in Bangor, Maine.

Theme:  An Optimistic Vision of Neighborhood Recovery & Personal Recovery

Empowering The Artist:

The selected artist(s) will be given freedom to create an uplifting work of public art that will have a lasting positive impact on our community.

Empowering Our Community:

Together Place Peer Run Recovery Center is leading a Neighborhood Improvement Initiative and issuing a call to artists to proffer a rendering of artwork for our building at 2 Second Street, with one mural perpendicular to Union Street (10,000 cars pass per day) and the other mural perpendicular to the high foot-traffic Second Street opposite the YMCA. Mural installation must occur in Summer 2021.

Contract Amount: $4200 for murals as described above.

Here’s a video of the broad community participation for our Neighborhood Recovery Initiative:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBy6EiXGn3U&t=75s

1. One can see in the video introduction the time-stamped location of a short summary of the plan. We seek to revitalize a neighborhood immediately adjacent to downtown and the waterfront, a neighborhood with the highest overdose rate in the state, a neighborhood facing considerable poverty. Together Place empowers people in mental health and substance use recovery to support each other in moving forward. It is possible this could lead to further mural collaboration. We seek an artistic vision that matches our optimistic plan. The name Together Place Peer Run Recovery Center must be included in the mural visible to passing cars, but the primary goal is an individual creative vision that will stand the test of time, serving the neighborhood and the entire community.

We Seek Artist(s) Who Will:

• collaborate with a citizen board.
• supervise a small group of members of Together Place who, under the artist’s direction and oversight, would help create the mural.
• have a vision for a mural(s) that will serve as a long-term point of community pride and neighborhood recovery.

SELECTION PROCESS:

The Together Place Mural Committee will review submissions from artists, including renderings, and choose finalists to discuss their original proposals in more detail. Artists may submit proposals for one or two locations on the building. The committee will decide whether to choose one or two artists for the two locations. We also plan to create a minimum of two more murals in the surrounding area once funding is in place.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

Applications are reviewed based on the following criteria:

• Artistic strength as shown through vision, originality, renderings of proposed mural(s), and understanding of craft as well as a portfolio of work and related experience (35 percent).
• Ability to articulate a process to involve people in recovery in both the design and implementation phases of the project (25 percent).
• Ability to translate artistic concepts into work that will activate or enhance the proposed space (25 percent).
• Capacity to complete the proposal on time and within budget (10 percent).
• Application is comprehensive with ideas are well communicated (5 percent).

WHO IS ELIGIBLE:

Professional artists living in Maine (“living in” is defined by state income taxes, driver license, or state ID). •The project is open to artists of any age, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, military status, sexual orientation, marital status, or physical disabilities. Students are eligible so long as they meet the other criteria. •Artist teams are eligible to apply, including teams from multiple disciplines. •Members of the selection committee and their immediate families are ineligible.

DEADLINE for Proposals with Renderings: July 9, 2021.

MATERIALS REQUIRED IN SUBMISSION:

Materials must be submitted via email to mariemmhc@gmail.com. All documents must be in PDF format. All images must be in a jpg or PDF format. Any submissions that do not follow the requirements may be considered ineligible. Make sure submissions are labeled correctly with your name and email information on every document. Your proposal must include:

1. A current concise resume for participating artist(s) (2 pages maximum per artist).
2. A written proposal describing what your concept and approach will be in addressing the public art space(s) of the site, including how you will include Together Place volunteers in your creation.
3. Detailed drawings or paintings of the proposed work.
4. A budget regarding how your $4200 will be spent, including anticipated materials, fabrication, installation costs.
5. A brief anticipated maintenance plan required for the artwork, including how the work will withstand the seasons including snow accumulation. Please upload this as a separate document and do not include this in the narrative of your proposal.
6. Four digital images of recent work. If an artist team or artist organization applies, they may only submit four images for all artists. Do not upload A/V files of any kind. Only jpg or PDF files are eligible for review.

Interested Artists:

Interested Artists, who meet the eligibility criteria should contact MMHC’s Together Place Peer Run Recovery Center should email the MMHC Together Place Executive Director to review mural locations or ask questions: seanmmhc@gmail.com.