Derrick Adams works on his Artful Inlets project in 2019
On behalf of the Norman Arts Council and the City of Norman, Oklahoma, the Norman Public Arts Board seeks artist submissions for Artful Inlets.
The City of Norman operates and maintains a series of underground pipes, open channels, ditches, and roadways used to collect or convey stormwater runoff from our homes and businesses to the nearest body of water, such as a creek, stream, or lake. In urban areas, stormwater runoff from hard surfaces, like roofs and driveways, flows along the side of the road until it reaches a storm drain, which is an opening or grate in the curb connected by pipes to the nearest waterbody. Water and other materials that enter these storm drains are transported directly to our creeks and streams without any treatment. Some of the pollutants that enter our local creeks and streams with stormwater runoff include grass clippings, oil, trash, fertilizers, pesticides, and pet waste.
For the 2nd Annual Artful Inlets program, the Norman Arts Council, Public Arts Board, and City of Norman are inviting artists to submit designs that will transform city storm drains into works of public art. These artful inlets will educate and raise awareness that pollutants that go down storm drains have a devasting impact on our local water quality.
There are currently five Artful Inlets on Main Street, and this year we will be adding an additional five (5) drains identified for this project. They will all be on Main Street between Crawford and Webster Streets. The artwork should have a stormwater and/or water quality theme, H2Only, and must be adaptable to any of the five specified drains. Each selected artist will incorporate their original design into the prescribed area around the storm drain. See below for details.
Submission Rules
Artists (or a team of artists) must be 18 years or older and a resident(s) of Cleveland County, Oklahoma.
Artist who completed an Artful Inlets design in 2019 are eligible to submit in 2020.
All designs must be submitted on the provided Design Worksheet.
Design proposals must be submitted through Submittable no later than February 14, 2020. Only applications submitted through the on-line process will be considered.
Artists must submit only original designs and, if selected, must install the selected, original design.
Submissions must include a short artist biography and information about the proposed design
A list of any additional materials to be used that are not provided must also be included
Design Criteria
Artistic excellence
Each design must include the slogan H2Only within the design.
When designing artwork, each artist is asked to consider the following themes:
Stormwater Pollution
Environmental Protection: the importance of cleaner water
The design must be appropriate for a public space.
Any materials supplied by the artist must be eco-friendly, not contribute to stormwater pollution, and be pre-approved by the selection panel.
The design may not contain any business reference, promotions or advertisements.
It may not contain any breach of intellectual property, brands or trademarks, or depiction of illegal activity.
Final painting must match the proposed design.
Selected Artists will receive:
$400.00 stipend when installation and sealing is completed
Clean, primed area stationed off with appropriate traffic control devices while painting
Tent to provide shade over the area while painting
Sherwin-Williams Armorseal paint – black, white, yellow, red, and blue with a non-slip additive
Water for painting
Tubs and containers for water and paint
Drinking water
Selected Artists must provide:
The original design
Execution of the accepted design
Brushes
Any other supplies or tools they deem necessary to execute their design
The artists will be selected based on the materials submitted in this application. Artist selection for this project will be made by a panel including City of Norman staff and members of the Norman Public Arts Board who will choose 5 artists and 1 alternate based on the Design Criteria listed above.
The Selection Panel will assign a storm drain to each artist upon selection.
Artful Inlets Information Session
An information session will be held on January 22, 2020 at MAINSITE Contemporary Art Gallery, 122 East Main, Norman, Oklahoma at 6:30 pm. At the meeting, we will review the timeline and process for the 2020 Artful Inlets Program. Attendance at this meeting is not required of artists who want to submit for the project but attendance is strongly recommended. This will be an opportunity to learn more about applying for public art projects and to ask any questions you may have.
Timeline
Information Session will be held on January 22, 2020 at 6:30 pm
Submission deadline is February 14, 2020
Artists will be selected and notified by March 9, 2020
Installation of the artwork will be April 10 - 11, 2020 (weather allowing)
Mayor Clark’s walking tour celebrating the Artful Inlets will be April 15, 2020, 10:00 am – 11:30 am.
Questions:
Debby Williams, Public Art Manager, Norman Arts Council
debby@normanarts.org
405-360-1162